OK, it has come to my knowledge that we have senior citizens visiting my web page. How hard can it
be? So it's not very easy for them to see the blue coloured links to the next page. Jiffy (also jiff)
noun [in SING.] informal a moment: we'll be back in a jiffy.
ORIGIN late 18th cent.: of unknown origin.
So as you understand, in a jiff pretty much depends on your internet.
Marunong ka mag-tagalog? Walang problema! Magpunta sa kabilang pahina pindutin ang “NEXT” button sa itaas
Faites vous parlez le français? Pas de problème! Pour arriver à la page suivante faites s'il vous plaît un déclic le bouton “Next” ci-dessus!
Haga usted dice el español? No hay problema! Ver la siguiente página sólo hacer clic el botón “Next” encima!
Farla parla l'italiano? Non problemi! Per vedere la prossima pagina lo scatto per favore giusto Il bottone “Next” sopra
Sprechen sie Deutsch! Kein problem! Wenn Sie die folgende Seite sehen wollen gerade klicken der Knopf “Next” oben!
คุณพูดภาษาไทยได้ไหม ไม่มีปัญหา ถ้าคุณต้องการไปหน้าถัดไป ให้กดปุ่ม “Next”
ข้างบนนี้
Вы говорите по-русски? NJET PROBLEMA! Просто нажмите синюю кнопку "Next" с левой стороны и Вы моментально переместитесь на следующую страницу!
E ni Svenskar och inte förstår Engelska så ska ni skämmas. J och Björn, med det menar jag inte att alla mina stavfel ska ältas varje gång vi träffas.
Well, the flag of Skåne, just a BONUS flag.
“The postings on this site are my own and don't represent Maersk Group's position, strategies or opinions. All views are my own”
No longer any need to use the Internet Explorer or run the Internet Explorer rendering engine. I gave up IE after the introduction of Internet Explorer 11
Page is tested in Fire Fox, Chrome and Safari. Looks like it works OK in all browsers, except the sounds in Safari.
Of course, browsing www.aladdin.st in Safari on an iPad is a different story, nothing looks as it should
Page is tested in Fire Fox, Chrome and Safari. Looks like it works OK in all browsers, except the sounds in Safari.Of course, browsing www.aladdin.st in Safari on an iPad is a different story, nothing looks as it should
Friday 21 st of June 2013 and I woke up at 8 thirty, then again around 9 o'clock. And darn, I felt
asleep again and when I woke up 10 minutes before 11 I had an head ache from too much sleeping,
I think. Well, anyway, too much sleep is better than no sleep, and I haven’t had 8 hours of sleep since my flight from Bangkok to Amsterdam.So I guess I needed the sleep. We were about to heave up our anchor and go along side. So I started my day with the pre-arrival check and tests on deck.
Our anchor was up quarter to 12 and we had the pilot onboard just after 12 thirty. And we
expected the tug boats around 1 o'clock. It was hot on deck, the wind
was gone and the sea lookd like a windmill pond and it looks like we will finally have some summer. But I don't know for how long.We had all fast at 14:18 and the Surveyor was on board at 14:45. We did the ullageing and calculations and when we were ready the Loading Master came on board. They had a sequence plan and I asked them to change it. We had been asking for their sequence plan several days ago
and I could have had it prepared for arrival.But we just got their sequence plan and they wanted us to load the small parcel from CT 2 as last parcel. I wanted to discharge this parcel first, should be kept at 63°:C and as we expect a long discharge here we would have had to warm it up wasting expensive gas oil. And we would have had trouble with the trim for stripping keeping cargo in CT2 so I asked the
Loading Master if we could change the sequence.Can as well take the chance as we would have to wait for me to make a new discharge plan anyway. Yes, we could discharge CT 2 first, good we get rid of this hot cargo and we will have ample trim to strip our tanks.
I completed the cargo plan ad we started to discharge at 17:54. Our 2nd Officer was releived at 18:00 and he went for a shower. He was going ashore with 2nd Engineer and the Cadets.
And as we had started the discharging and everything looked good I decided to join them, but first I had to enjoy one of my new found Diet MAX . Our Surveyor had asked for something cold to drink and I checked our fridge in the CCR. We usually keep some soft drinks there for representation.
- What the
There were 5 cans of Diet MAX in the fridge, who the foock have put the Diet MAX here to waste on Surveyors and other people coming on board. They can drink Coke and Fanta!! I filled my pockets with Diet MAX and I gave the Surveyor a Sprite before I dashed off to my cabin with my
newly found Diet MAX
. I finished my last can this very morning and I was happy to have found an additional 5 cans.We had to walk to the gate, more than 1 km and when we came to the gate it was around 7 o'clock. As we were 5 we needed 2 taxis and it took quite some time before we had explained where we wanted to go. None of them spoke word of English even though Spain has been a member of the EU since the last ice age.
When we finally got on our way we had lost a lot of time, I had planned to be back on board early It was around 7 thirty when we got out of the taxi. We walked up a walking street and we ran in to
our Pilot after 2 minutes. He was the one who had recommended the restaurant we were going to. He said that we were early and 9 o'clock would be a nice time to go to the restaurant.So we decided to kill time by walking around town and we ended up at a square with several restaurants and kiosks
- Let's find some ice cream! I suggested.
I could not find any place with ice cream and when the other guys took a seat at a table for something cold to drink I went to
explore the neighbourhood.Unbelievable, no ice cream to be found and I were more than disappointed. There was a frozen yoghurt place next to the place where the guys were sitting to
enjoy the sun shine. I have had frozen yoghurt in Bangkok. Buddhi Belly, the frozen yogurt left more than a little to wish for and as
I remember it most of the Buddhi Belly yogurt ended up in the trash can somewhere at Siam paragon.This place, Smöoy looked like an ice cream place but it was only frozen yogurt, yes I was disappointed, but desperate and I decided to try one. I asked for a yogurt with mango and it was actually quite good, not very good, but good.
I asked for mango toppings and the girls put up 3 fingers and I understood that i could chose 3 toppings. She put on mango and she came back to ask what else I wanted as topping. I said mango while doing the internationally recognised sign for “mango for all the money” with my fingers.
- Mango totalo?- Si, mango totalo! I said in my home made Spanish
I told the guys that I would meet them at the restaurant at 9.
- Where are you going?
- I will walk around
- We all go
We left and as we were walking down the walking street we passed an Ice cream shop and I went inside. I pointed at a cone and I did the internationally recognised sign for “fill up the cone with soft ice” I thought they had soft ice but they didn't and I was about to turn around.
The girl, the second beautiful girl I saw in Huelva, and by now we had spent more than 1 hour here! She was kind of beautiful and I decided to ask for an ice cream.
It was a lot of cone but not much ice cream and I asked her to add for 2€ of ice cream. She put an extra ball of ice cream on top of the other and I had a few word with her in my “MADE UP”
Spanish. And yes, she was sweet. Well, the other guys were jumping up and down impatiently
outside the ice cream shop and I had to leave the shop and the girl behind and we continued down the walking street.
We have spent more than an hour and only 2 beautiful girls, otherwise all girls a beautiful after 2 weeks on board. But I'm sure I haven't turned gay. How? A simple test, there wasn't any handsome guys either so the lack of beautiful girls was not due to that I have turned gay.
What a foocking relief!
Cadet taking pictures with his iPhone
Ok, it was close to 9 o'clock and we decided to return to the restaurant, but our 2nd Engineer
wanted to go check out the Supermarket for some ham before we went to the restaurant. I had been in the Supermarket before looking for ice cream and I had told him about the ham.We crossed the square for the second time. Our 2nd
Engineer bought ham and sausages while our 2nd Officer and I went to the second floor. I bought an electric toothbrush and our 2nd Officer bought chocolate.Our Cadets and 2nd Engineer were waiting at a bar outside the Supermarket and when our 2nd Officer and I was ready we left for the
restaurant. Lo and behold, we saw 2 beautiful girls on the way to the restaurant.They walked ahead of us and I didn't get a good
look, but we have seen 4 beautiful girl, but only 2 girls confirmed beautiful.We were at Achabache Bar & restaurant a few minutes later and it looked like an ordinary Spanish bar. But there was a restaurant in the back and we were the only guests.
Azabache Bar & Restaurant in Huelva
I started by asking for tea, not an easy thing, but I managed to make the Waiter understand, it took me a few minutes. Then it was the milk.
- Milk!I'm used to it by now and I did my normal “milk” routine. I put 2 fingers to my fore head like 2
horns and I started to sound like a cow.- MOO! MOO! MOO! MOO!
I continued with the MOO sound and I moved my hand from the fore head and now I used both my hands to do the internationally recognised sign for “milking” using both
hands. The Waiter, well, all the restaurant staff gaped at me with open mouths. But suddenly the Waiter realised that I wanted milk in my tea.- Leche!!??
- Si claro!
I love bread and I haven't had any decent bread since I joined Richard Maersk and I
asked the Waiter for some fresh bread.- Fresho breado?
- ???????
- Pain riche?
- ???????
- Breado!
I pointed to the snack they had served us when we sat down, small toast with pate.
- Pan?
- SI SI!!!
I did the internationally recognised sign for “spreading butter on bread”
- Buttero
- Mantequilla?
- Si, I said
I pointed at the plate with the by now finished pate while using my totally “MADE UP” by myself Spanish.
- Una mass pate por favor- Si Si!! He said and he ran away and he was soon back with a basket with bread.
He returned with a big basked of bread and he handed our Cadets one piece of bread each. He stopped at my place and I got a piece of bread on a small plate. He left for our 2nd Officer.
- EH EH EH EH!!!
The Waiter turned around and I moved my bread to my big plate. I pointed to another piece of bread and he put
the bread on my plate and he went for the 2nd Officer.- EH EH EH EH!!!
I had 4 pieces of bread on my plate when I grabbed the whole basket and put in front of me.
I reminded him about the butter and pate and when he left I held up my tea pot.
- Repito!
- Momento!
We were soon having pate and butter and I had a fresh pot of tea in front of me.
Now we could get serious with the orders. They had English menus and I asked for some toast as starter and some filet Loin for main course. They had lamb chops, but they were out so the filet was the second best choice.
Azabache Bar & Restaurant in Huelva
I had ordered some toast with cheese, honey and thyme, and it sounded way more exciting in Spanish. It was good, but the honey, well, would have been better with out the honey. When I tasted it
tasted strange. But it was something I recognised and it took me some time and a few sticky fingers before I realised that it was the honey.Our Cadets had asked for something they didn't knew what it was and they didn't liked it. They didn't know if it was fish or
liver. I liked my starter and our 2nd Officer and 2nd Engineer liked their starters.I had asked for a “GRANDE” tea pot, but they only had the small size so it was REPITO all the time and they took turn to bring tea to our table. And I will for sure skip the bread next time, I was full when I had finished
the bread and I could not finish my starter. And even though it was a very nice steak I could hardly finish the steak, and it was not a small steak.I really felt bad when I ate my steak and I thought I was going to throw up more than one time. But I managed to finish my steak and it was excellent. There was Michelin guide and several other stickers on the door to the restaurant. Of course, could have been made on the computer. But the food was excellent.
And the food was very good even though the restaurant didn't look like much. We were alone, but at 22 thirty it was full. Strange eating habits in Spain. Having dinner in the middle of the night.
But the night life starts late around here, it is empty until midnight and by then I have the
concrete hat on. So I have always found Spain a wee bit boring, no music and by the time the music comes on I
have capsized.When I made my order I had asked about the dessert and they had told me, what I understood as “we bring after your dinner” and i was happy for that. I had not room for even one single flaxseed.
But I felt peckish for some chocolate mousse with whipped cream, real whipped cream. And this looked like a place where
they served real whipping cream.I called the Waiter.
- Mousse de Chocolato?
- No, tarte?
- You have whippo de creame?
- ???????
I did the internationally recognised sign for whipping cream consisting of the internationally recognised sign for milk. By now they
understood the MOO MOO and milking movement with my hands.I added the internationally recognised sign for whipping the cream with a Brrrrr so he should understand that I meant a electric hand mixer to the milk sign. I made a BZZZZZZZ (A widely recognised sound for spray cream) sound and I said NO NO trying to make sure that I would not accept any whipped cream from any spray can.
- ???????I tried again but he never understood and I gave up. He brought the chocolate surprise and there were 4 small dots with whipped cream. I tried the whipping cream and it was real whipping cream. I asked the Waiter to top up my plate with whipped cream. The Waiter left with a smile.
It was quite embarrassing when he came back, I could see my plate l ready when they left the kitchen, and no doubt
that the plate was for me. A super tanker with whipped cream on the way towards us. And believe me, people were gaping at the plate. They were green of envy.- Look at that guy, he get whipped cream with his chocolate SURPRISE®
Of course, just ask for extra topping and they are happy to help you at most places.
Why foocking bother with the whipped cream? I sent out the plate again
Now we're talking whipped cream
The chocolate SURPRISE® hidden in the whipped cream
Of course, I took the opportunity when they had real whipped cream.
I haven't had anything but the foocking spray cream since a very long time
I haven't had anything but the foocking spray cream since a very long time
The Cadet with his f***ing iPhone
Our 2nd Officer tried to steal my whipped cream, but I was soon taking it back with interest.
Darn, I was full and we asked for the bill. It came to 65€ per man. we paid the bill and we walked to the square where I took a
taxi back to the ship and the other continued to some other place.I was back on board around 23 thirty and I went straight to my cabin, well, I had a stop in CCR. But after that I went back to my cabin to check out my pictures from today's adventure.
But we don't have any internet so I will have to wait to up load the pictures.
+++++++++++++++
Saturday 22 nd
of June 2013
and I got out of bed 15 minutes after 6. I had been trying to sleep all night long and I had get exactly ZIP of sleep. I was dead tired but it was impossible to sleep so I went
down to the CCR to repair one of our gas detectors.We don't have any new batteries for the gas detectors and one of them are running flat and the other gas detector has an alarm for LOW battery.
And as I was going to take inventory on our test gases I opened the cabinet. I found some batteries that someone had hide there as back up. So I had our 2 gas detectors up and running in a jiff, good. I also had time to make an inventory of test gases
and our chemical test tubes before they came from Lloyd's Register to renew some of our certificates.We had the Lloyd's Register people on board all day and this would have been a nice experience for our Lloyd's
Trainee, but he left us yesterday. The only excitements during the day was when our 2nd Officer opened the chocolate he bought yesterday. It tasted good and there is no chocolate left for his nephew.They finished the inspection around 6 thirty and they had a few hours of paper work to do. But I was not
needed for this and I had planned to go ashore.But I was tired and it was late so I decided to stay on board. My speakers broke down and I had to go ashore to buy a pair of new loudspeakers.
One of our Cadets and I went ashore and we stopped at the HUGE shopping mall. The HUGE shopping mall turned
out to be a department store and no milkshake or soft ice places were to be found.I bought my speakers and we left for some burgers and milkshake. Well, to make a long story short, they din't had any milkshake and the burgers tasted very bad. We had asked the driver to come pick us up after 15 minutes.
Our Cadet bought burgers for the other Cadet and we returned to the ship. I told the Cadet that now we would never have to come back to Huelva again. He agreed with me.
+++++++++++++++
Sunday 23 rd
of June 2013
and no more cadets or Lloyd's Register Trainee on board when I woke up at 10 thirty. Our Cadets left us with a taxi 4 o'clock this morning.I had been sleeping until 10 thirty and I went back to bet at 2 thirty and I woke up at 17 forty five. Well, I have never been sleeping so much so that says a lot, I needed sleep. And I was lucky
to get the extra sleep. We expect to be up all night
discharging slop and to do paper work.I had a shower and I went for dinner, our 2nd Officer just got off his watch and he was alone at the “LITTLE” table since the Lloyd's Register Trainee and our Cadets had left the ship.
I felt sorry for him and, well, of
course, we needed some company at our table and I told him to come sit at our table. We could need some extra company at our table.- Come over here, have a sit at the “REAL MEN's” table
- Are you sure?
- Hell yes, and we have tea at this table
- Are you su.....
- Yes, no problem as long as you shut the fock up! Take the opportunity to listen to “US” old
people and you can pick up a thing or two. BRING A NOTE BOOK AND TAKE NOTES!!!
A diligent 2nd Officer with an ambitious plan to become a Chief Officer
We finished our dinner and we passed his cabin to pick up some chocolate. He told me to pick-up some chocolate in his cabin earlier in the afternoon, but I never took the chocolate. Good, then I might have spent the time eating chocolate instead of getting my extra sleep.
And while waiting for them to be ready with the discharging I took the opportunity to Learn Thai with Mod and Alif Silpachai videos. I had also got some practice watching a Thai movie about a
Lady Boy that was a famous Thai Boxer, a trues story. And the sub titles capsized and sank after 15 minutes so I got some practice listening to Thai.I finished the movie and I went down to the CCR to start the IG plant. I went to our Cook's fridge to
get a Marabou Schweizernöt to put out side our 2nd Officer's door. A surprise when he opens his door when he goes on his watch at midnight.TO THE NEPHEW!
No, I don't think that there is any chance for him to save this Marabou Schweizernöt chocolate for you. The chocolate will most likely be finished tomorrow.
I put the chocolate outside his door, it was 11 o'clock in the evening and I could hear Ramstein from his cabin. I thought he was sleeping. I went to my
cabin to get my camera and I returned to his cabin. I knocked on the door and I dashed off to hide behind the corner. Yes, some good ol' SPY CAME action.I went to knock on his door 3 times and I ran off to hide every time and no one opened the door. I gave up
and I went up to my cabin. I ran in to our 2nd Officer coming down the stairs from the bridge. He was on the way down to the galley so I returned to my hiding place outside
his cabin. Now I knew that he would soon come back from the galley.I could hear him coming and he caught sight of the Marabou Schweizernöt immediately when he came around the corner. I had not managed to hide my camera very well, so he was soon discovering my SPY CAM and the whole SPY CAM action adventure hit a wall and came to a full stop. What a disappointment!
Yes, I remember my duffel bag when we left Malmö, full of
Marabou Schweizernöt and Aladdin chocolate. The bag was brimmed and I was going to bring the chocolate to Bangkok as gifts for my friends.But the Cadets, the never stopped nagging about the Marabou Schweizernöt. And as soon as we had had the first Marabou Schweizernöt it was like the air escaped the “bring
chocolate to Bangkok” project and, well, the darn chocolate will most likely be long gone by the time I'm back home in Bangkok.And seriously, it is better that I give away the chocolate than that I eat it myself. OK, I brought 2 Marabou Schweizernöt when I left the CCR, I brought one of the Marabou Schweizernöt as a cover. If someone would have
stopped me claiming 1000US I would have said it was for our 2nd Officer.And as I wrote this I decided to bring back the second Marabou Schweizernöt to the fridge. Trying to save what I can save for my trip back to Bangkok. And my diet has taken a few broadsides the last few days. So this is a last effort to save what I can save, not much but better than nothing.
+++++++++++++++
Monday 24 th
of June 2013
and I returned my Marabou Schweizernöt and I stopped at the CCR where our 2nd Officer was relieving the other 2nd Officer. Expected to be ready with the discharging around 3 o'clock. Then we're going to discharge our slop and we can take off to Didon Terminal in Tunisia to load our crude oil. Will be nice to put Huelva and Spain behind.
We finished discharging at 4 o'clock in the morning and we discharged slop between 05:00 and 08:55 and I managed to get some sleep. Pilot on board at 10 thirty and we left Huelva around 11, Didon Terminal in Tunisia next. Not that I'm looking forward to Didon Terminal in Tunisia, but it was nice to leave Huelva.
I managed to do my Thai books before I went to the bridge at 8, it was a long time since I did my books last time. And I did some of the Learn Thai with Mod and Alif Silpachai videos as well, so it was a good day, at least when it come to Thai studies.
It was almost blowing full hurricane force from East when I came on the bridge at 8 o'clock. I was
not surprised, this seems to be the new “NORMAL” summer weather, storm non-stop for 3 weeks. OK, 4 days without wind in Huelva but now it is back to full storm again.
We're coming from North approaching Banco Del Hoyo TSS and Strait of Gibraltar
We are going SSS Super Slow Speed because we should not be at the Didon Terminal until the
30th of June. So we were steaming slowly towards the Banco Del Hoyo TSS where we will change course to 90° to get through the Strait of GibraltarMy brother is Captain on a ship and they are going to arrive to Huelva tomorrow and I could see them coming out from Strait of Gibraltar. I called them on the VHF.
I said that it was Richard Maersk and I wanted to speak with the Captain. He asked 2 or 3 times for my ships name and I gave up. My English are obviously not the very best if I manage to foock up the name Rickard Maersk so no one
can understand what I'm saying.Well, anyway, I could see them change course towards NW and Huelva and they had soon disappeared behind us and we continued towards the Strait of Gibraltar.
It was blowing force 9 to 10
from the East, but we didn't move much so I hope
the crew doesn't get sea sick. And for sure, we need good weather tomorrow with drills and ballast tank inspections.
No problem for me, but I don't want any of the crew
to blow off the ship never to be found againTime was passing quickly and it was soon midnight and I changed course to 090° (T) just West of the Banco Del Hoyo TSS and our 2nd Officer stepped in on the bridge.
He had some snacks with him and I could see that he had hidden some Marabou Schweizernöt under his
sandwich. We cracked a few jokes before I turned serious. I had discovered a jar of Digestive when I came on the bridge at 8. And it doesn’t take much imagination to realise what this jar together with
my poor self-discipline leads to.- Who the foock brought the Digestive on the bridge? I asked.
- I don't know, but I will launch a investigation
+++++++++++++++
Tuesday 25 th
of June 2013
and we had just passed Tanger when I came on the bridge at 8, still strong winds from the East. But it was soon down to a force 6 and nothing compare to force 9 to
10 yesterday evening.Tanger, an exotic name but I'm pretty sure the place isn't that exotic. A place I always wanted to go to at the same time as I never want to set foot there. I have been in Morocco and there is
We passed Gibraltar and Ceuta on the Moroccan side and I changed course to 082° (T) and the sun started to shine and a gloomy and grey morning had turned in to something almost nice. We had cancelled the enclosed space rescue drill due to the bad weather, but now we changed our mind
Morocco side of the Strait of Gibraltar
Passing Gibraltar on a gloomy and grey morning
We held an unannounced fire drill after the coffee break at 10 o'clock and after that we had our enclosed space rescue drill. AB found a guy in the pump room, general alarm was sounded and I had 1 AB to done the BA set. Pump Man and I went to measure the pump room for gas and we pulled up the guy and saved his life
It was soon lunch and our 2nf Officer came to the bridge, he told me that his nephew had sent a
e-mail and he had sent it to me. So I went to check my e-mail and there was a message and a picture of a young nephew. And of course, his dream was to become a salty sailor. Yet another fan mail
Dear Kapitan Aladdin,
My name is Ivan.
I'm a big fan of your ALADDIN website and watching it almost every day. One day I will be Kapitan of a Huge Cruise Ship and will make my website too. There is a picture of my first journey on Ras Maersk. My uncle Sergey is Kapitan of that ship.
Fair wind!
Ivan.
The Nephew's adventure on board Ras Maersk
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Resend by Sergey.
I forced my nephew to write letter to you in English. There is a picture of him, when he visit me on Ras Maersk. He would love to be on your website!
YES!!! Two consecutive days with the Learn Thai with Mod and Alif Silpachai videos plus my Thai books, GREAT! Earlier today our 2nd Officer found a CD for learning Thai and he gave it tome. But I told him to keep the CD.- Can come in handy if you want to learn some Thai before going to Thailand
+++++++++++++++
Wednesday 26 th
of June 2013
and we had a force 8 blowing from the East when I came on the bridge at 8 o'clock. But the sun was shining and the crew were up and running with the chipping
and painting on deck.2 of the ABs prepared the ventilation in ballast tank DB 6 Port side so we could inspect the tank after lunch.
We made a paint requisition for deck and the engine department and it was soon time for lunch again. And then the normal paper work for the tank entry and we were ready to enter 20 minutes past 1 o'clock in the afternoon.
Pump Man entering the ballast tank DB 6 Port
Pump Man in DB 6 Port
Pump Man in DB 6 Port
Pump Man in DB 6 Port
We spent 35 or 40 minutes in the tank and it looked good. The guys moved the stuff to starboard side and we will do DB 6 Stb tomorrow afternoon. I went to make the report and I went to
bed at 4 o'clock and I managed to fall asleep and my alarm went off 15 minutes before dinner.I started to read my Thai books after dinner and I
finished one out of three book, and it was the heavy part I finished. My computer was over heated so I had to skip the Learn Thai with Mod and Alif Silpachai videos.The wind had decreased a wee bit when I came on the bridge at 8 o'clock and it was quite a nice evening. I put on the
kettle and I checked the compass error against the sun. I took the bearing and I went in to make the calculation.Our 2nd Officer came by with his iPad taking pictures of me taking pictures of myself taking the bearing to the sun. I checked the true bearing to the sun with my tables and I got the true
bearing to 299,5°. He wanted to check my calculations with the sky mate program.- What did you get?
- 299,5°
- That's wrong, it should be 182°
- Well, I might have made a mistake with my calculation, but I don't make a 20° mistake in the bearing, I said.
He came to check my calculation and I checked again, we had just passed the Greenwich meridian and I had calculated that we were west of Greenwich. That is minus from the GHA. But we were East and I made
a quick calculation and I checked the tables. Now it was 298,5°He was confused and he returned to the computer, he entered the data and he realised that he had entered the wrong time of observation. Now he got the same as my result.
- Good to do it by hand to check the computer, I said.
He had brought chocolate and I'm proud to be able to say that I didn't
ate any of the chocolate. My diet is in desperate of some heavy duty
“emergency treatment” after our visit to Huelva in Spain.My plan is to have my diet back on track and it is in the nick of time, soon time to go home and my Teacher at Sophia
Muay Thai gym will for sure not be impressed by a cubic ton of Aladdin coming around the corner.Well, I was lucky that I didn't throw away my old Scooby Doo e-cigarettes when I bought my new Bazookas. Both of my Bazookas have been hit by a train and they seem to be beyond repair. They have been in the engine room for repair and overhaul several times, but now it look like they have finally given up to work. That was 2 expensive Ovale eVic, Ovale's top of the line product.
So I'm back to my old “smokers” and I will try to find Ovale's web page in Europe to see if they can have some new e-cigarettes delivered to me when we arrive to France.
2nd Officer comes on watch at midnight and he starts by sorting out the paper to the course recorder
Well, a little for your nephew so he don't think you're only eating chocolate while on board
Time turned quite quickly and our 2nd Officer was soon on the bridge and we talked about astronomical navigation and i could not help myself. I had to brag a wee bit and I told him that they use www.aladdin.st as a reference on Wikipedia for one of their articleas about astronomical navigation. And when I was on I told him that there were a few other articles with www.aladdin.st as reference. And as I told him: Not to brag, just for your information
+++++++++++++++
Thursday 27 th
of June 2013
and I discovered a gorgeous morning when I came on the bridge at 8 o'clock. No wind and sunshine and I really enjoyed my tea. We will inspect ballast tank 6 Stb after lunch and our 2nd officer had been asking me several times if he could join us. But he didn't dare to ask Captain if he could cover for him on the bridge while we were down the tanks.- Just ask him, he is a nice guy! I said
- Can't you ask?
- No need to shityour pants, just ask
- PLEASE! Can't you ask?I grabbed the phone and I called Captain
- Yo! 2nd Officer wants to join me in the ballast tank and he don't dare ask you
- Why doesn't he dare to ask- I don't know, but his trousers are full....- I can cover for him, no problem.Our 2nd Officer turned cartwheels on the bridge when he got the news.
- YIPPEE YIPPE!!
Our Pump Man and I had some other business to attend to after lunch, but at 13:45 we entered the ballast tank together with our enthusiastic 2nd Officer.
Pump Man and 2nd Officer ready to enter ballast tank 6 Stb
2nd Officer in the tank
I don't know about you, but I haven't seen anyone “glowing” with enthusiasm for a very long time
Every square inch had to be scrutinised
Even if we're dead serious with the inspections there are time for some lark
I'm taking the lead down to the double bottom
2nd Officer coming down to the double bottom
I don't know about you, but I haven't seen anyone “glowing” with enthusiasm for a very long time
2nd Officer coming down to the double bottom
I don't know about you, but I haven't seen anyone “glowing” with enthusiasm for a very long time
Pump Man and 2nd Officer in the double bottom
Pump Man and 2nd Officer in the double bottom
Pump Man and 2nd Officer in the double bottom
Coming up in the stool and it looks like some of the enthusiasm has worn off
We are ready and on our way back up
We are ready and on our way back up
Pump Man is back up on deck
HERE HE IS!! Our hero is back up on deck
HERE HE IS!! Our hero is back up on deck
We were back up after 50 minutes and I went for a shower before doing my inspection report. There was an e-mail from Ovale Europe and I hope we can arrange some new e-cigarettes to be delivered in FOS in France. They have about 1 week to get the stuff to get the stuff from
Ireland to France. They have a French web page, but only in French language so I understand foock all. I sent an e-mail and they told me that the page was available in English, well, not on my computer.But I put a lot of hope in this guy on Ireland, or I will go crazy without my e-cigarette. I even
suggested that he should send the stuff with DHL, and then you know I'm desperate. DHL, I swore never to use them after the last fiasco with a parcel from Europe to Bangkok. But this time it is never mind what uniform the delivery guy is wearing. Of course, if he wears FedEx or something I would be happy, but give me my e-cigarettes
and I will be happy even if they are delivered by DHL.+++++++++++++++
Friday 28 th
of June 2013
and it was a beautiful morning even though we had an increasing wind,
but now it was blowing in our back, so it is OK.I was soon having the kettle on and I checked the compass error against the sun, better off taking the opportunity when we have the sun shining. We are steering towards East and the Sicilian Channel where we will turn right towards the Didon Terminal in Tunisia. I could see Tunisia on my morning and we will soon pass Tunis. And yes, that is the capital of Tunisia.
Our guys continued the work to chip and paint deck. I made a work permit for 2 of our ABs and they continued to chip and paint in the deck crane. This is a job we started long ago, but the
weather has left a lot to wish for and
we have not been able to work with the crane. So no rolling and sun shine means all available crew to the crane for chipping and painting.Our Pump Man had the crew on the fo'c's'le after the coffee break to demonstrate how to use the torque wrench when breaking the winches. The winches forward are freshly painted, and I had one of the ABs to remove the paint from the nuts yesterday or we could not get the torque wrench on the nuts.
I saw them from the bridge and I took a
picture through the binoculars.
A ship passing us
It was soon time for lunch and our 4th Engineer had asked me if I could do an enclosed space entry permit for the pump room in the afternoon. He had to do his weekly routine and I decided to
take the opportunity to check our “high and low” suction for the ventilation at the same time.We have a low suction and when the pump room gets flooded we need to change to the high section. Operated by a wire from the entrance. So I asked our Pump Man to join us and he would operate the wire according to instructions on the radio.
We went down and the ventilation flaps worked as they should. Our 4th Engineer did his weekly checks and we went back up on deck again. Now our 4th Engineer had to check the bow thruster room and our Pump Man and I went with him. I needed o check out how our bitter ends have turned out since they got painted red yesterday evening.
4th Engineer looking for oil leaks in the pump room
Painting deck and it willhopefully be ready before the vetting inspection
hopefully be ready before the vetting inspection
Our Pump Man and I stopped to see how it went for the crew painting the deck on our way to the
fo'c's'le. It looks good and this will hopefully
be ready before the vetting inspection, most likely in 2 weeks from now.I checked some old vetting inspections from the Maersk fleet and the bitter end had been one observation on one of the ships. So I had the AB to paint it red yesterday to make it look nice, and of course, the sledge hammer was painted red. Yes, we try to keep Swedish standard.
The bitter end is the end of the anchor chain and when we release the bitter end there is nothing holding the anchor chain and we will drop all the anchor chain. Of course, this is ONLY for an emergency.
I only been on one ship where they let go the bitter end, but this was more of a mistake and luckily enough we didn't lose the anchor chain. Well, anyway, as you understand it is important to keep the bitter end clear of obstructions. And there should be a sledgehammer stand-by in case of need, imagine having to release the bitter end and you don't know where the sledge hammer is.
BEFORE and AFTER
I was satisfied with the result and it looked good with the new red paint. I left Pump Man and our 4th Engineer under the fo'c's'le and I went to check out our steering engine room. We received
information about a ship getting a remark for
having painted over the anti skid on the floor in the steering engine compartment.I checked our steering engine compartment and we don't have any
anti skid in the paint, we have like rivets on deck and that is good, just to paint.I felt asleep for one and a half hour and I was a wee bit late for dinner but I guess I needed the sleep because it was a very deep one and I got a slight
head ache when I woke up by the sound from the alarm.Maybe it is time for me to start making some money on my web page. I have by now well known brand name, aladdin.st, and our 2nd Officer suggested that I should call Pepsi.
- You have made a lot of people start drink Diet MAX
- Well, yes, maybe, but isn't that like begging for money
- What you mean?- To call Pepsi and ask for money
- No no, it is called sponsoring!
- Hmm, maybe I should call San Miguel Light as well
Our 4th Engineer and I were watching our Pump Man when he was in the Pump room in the afternoon. The Engineer asked me if I made any money from my web page
- You have a lot of visitors
- What web page?
- Yours
- How do you know about my web page?
- My friend told me about the page
- What is your friend know about my page
- He was searching for Richard Maersk and he found you page. He asked me if I knew about the page and I said no. He told me that there were pictures of me and my colleagues.
He told me that he was making some money on videos on U TUBE. Well, I have been offered sponsoring, but then I will lose some of the control over my web page so I told them no. But I
might give Pepsi and San Miguel Light a try.We were in the Sicilian Channel going SE in the Pantelleria Channel approaching Isola di Pantelleria when I came on the bridge at 8 o'clock in the evening.
We retarded ships time by 1 hour yesterday so it is dark when I'm coming to the bridge at 8. So I didn't see or hear the 2nd Engineer coming to the bridge. Suddenly he was standing next to me with a
250 gr bar of chocolate. I was chocked and suddenly our 2nd Officer jumped up behind
me. I almost shat my pants.- What theThis was a pleasant surprise, nice company and chocolate. I suspect that this chocolate was for his nephew, but we enjoyed the chocolate while talking about the good ol' times and we didn't even think about his nephew. I guess our 2nd
Officer will have to buy a nice gift before he is back home again.Well, killed an hour and it was soon midnight and time for me to go to bed. And I hope
I can fall asleep even though I'm more than disappointed with Ovale Europe. Ovale franc/ Italy, well, I give them 5out of 5and that sums up to ONE big
No reply, well, there was one reply referring to their shitty web page in French language only. Ovale Ireland, they try and latest info is that DHL doesn’t send batteries and liquid (mu nicotine juice) Yes, what did I tell you about DHL? Well, anyway, I told them to ask if they could send it separately, I would pay the extra fee for 2 parcels. I'm obviously hoping
for the best. I also tried Ovale in Greece, they should be desperate for business in Greece. But so far no reply and that’s even though I put an order for e-cigarettes and juice worth 500€+++++++++++++++
Saturday 29 th
of June 2013
and I came up to yet another beautiful morning with the wind coming from the back. We will arrive tonight and Pilot boarding tomorrow morning at 06:00 as we must have daylight going up to Didon FSO.No cameras are allowed so we need to lock them up, but I will
hopefully manage to get some picture before the Authorities comes on board. We need some arrival action on the page. But just in case, I found pictures on the internet. So go ahead, enjoy the below pictures and information if I don't manage to get any pictures of our arrival.All the talk about making money from internet made me think and I came up with an idea. And this was maybe the best idea ever, I will make a video, and educational video on how to obtain
the compass error by the help of the sun.I started to plan for this, how to do this video? And the only thing to do is to do it as a “SLIDE SHOW” A video of me obtaining the compass error would not attract much people.
I had a plan before I had finished my first bucket of tea. I took the bearing to the sun 09:14 ships time and I was almost ready with the pictures when I realised that I had forgot one important thing. I decided to try again some other day, it was soon 12 o'clock and time for lunch.
ABs working on deck
I kept my self busy in my office and on deck until late in the afternoon and when I returned to my
cabin I decide to go visit our 2nd Officer on the bridge. I told him about my idea with the movie and the compass error.- GREAT! LET'S START, he said
He was more than willing to be the model. I had asked him to take the picture of me, but, well, it will be better with him on the pictures. I even suggested that he should
check the compass error in his underwear only to attract more visitors and thus more money.We started by taking some pictures of him with the AZIMUT device on the gyro repeater on the bridge wing. This was the easy part, now, how to make a video of the books and tables? Well, I had an idea.
Checking the bearing to the sun
We went back in to the wheel house and we did the calculation while I took pictures of all the tables and books we used. I also took step by step pictures of the piece of paper I used for the calculation. It went pretty smooth and I was very happy with the result.
Now time to fill up the compass error log book and of course the STEP BY STEP pictures. It went great all the way until the gyro error column, I put an + instead of a - in front of the 1°.
- What theI was very angry, everything down the drain. 2nd Officer told me that we could correct it in Photoshop on the computer. This was an idea I didn't liked.
- Well, that won't due, this is a million dollar video.
But this is a video you won’t see on www.aladdin.st because this is for U-tube and this will
hopefully
generate a lot of money. But I will of course make a link when the video is ready.We passed Didon Terminal around 10 o'clock in the evening. We kept 4 knots and we expect to be at the anchorage around midnight. Now they have changed berthing prospects from early tomorrow morning until tomorrow afternoon or Monday morning. So we might get a day of painting on the anchorage.
+++++++++++++++
Sunday 30 th
of June 2013
and we were still anchored when I woke up at 9. 2nd Engineer called and he
asked if I could measure the crank cases for gas before they were inspecting the crank cases.I measured the crank cases and I returned to my office. We had some problem with our high level alarm in CT 1 Stb and I was looking for a new sensor. I also calibrated the gas detector in the cabinet measuring our ballast tanks.
We will not start loading today, latest news is that we will take the pilot 6 o'clock tomorrow morning and we will do a tandem operation with Didon FSO. She have a cargo hose and mooring line
from her stern. We will connect their chain to our bow stopper on the fo'c's'le and the cargo hose will go to our port side manifold.I finished my job in my office and I went to the bridge to pester our 2nd Officer. 2nd and 4th Engineer was on the bridge and they were doing something with their computers.
Our 4th Engineer is making some music and, yes, that's how I came up with the idea to make videos for U-tube. He makes music and he puts them on U-tube. Today
he told me he had made 1 € from visitors to his music videos on U-tube.-
1 €!! I'm impressedI had planned to make 10,000€ on the first day after uploading MY video. 1€ isn't enough to
retire, but I give it a try with my video. We decided to meet at the pool for a bath at 16:30 and I returned to my “compass error” video in the cabin.What seemed to be a quick job turned out to take a long time and the video will be about 10 minutes long. But to learn how to obtain the gyro error in 10 minutes is very good.
I was alone in the pool when I arrived, but our 2nd Officer arrived a few
minutes after me. I jumped in and it was very cold. I almost bounced out of the pool as soon as I hit the water. DARN IT WAS COLD!
Afternoon bath
Afternoon bath
Afternoon bath
Afternoon bath
There were also a few VERY unpleasant pictures of me. But don't worry, you will never be exposed to this ghastliness. Maersk doesn’t want to have any
“unpleasantness” associated with their brand. Well, seriously, I think we can survive without seeing those pictures. And just to make sure not to embarrass Maersk I made sure I ran the pictures through Eraser.Eraser wrote over the pictures 35 times and they are beyond saviour. If you delete your files from your computer a baby can recover then in a jiff. But when you have started the Eraser there is no way back, you are way past the “POINT OF NO RETURN”. Easer is made by Sami Tolvanen, a guy from Finland and it is a world famous program.
Highly recommended. And thinking of “unpleasant” pictures and John Ballong springs to mind.He was always taking pictures of me and yes, he had some “unpleasant” pictures of our hero. So when he wasn't home I started his computer, and as he didn't had Eraser installed it was tricky to get rid of the pictures. What to do? The old “Delete
and Empty trash bin” trick would not work. He would have recovered the pictures with in a jiff.- Hmm, what to do?
Suddenly, the best idea ever, as good as eraser, actually better than Sami Tolvanen's Eraser. If I
would have erased the pictures he would have know that I had been Scooby Dooing around with his computer.I had the idea of the century. I will resize all his pictures to thumbnails, keeping the
same name and the original picture will be lost forever. We can see on the thumbnail on our right hand side and that is the same picture as above.Hell, even a hippo looks good on a thumbnail so I resized all the pictures. I was looking forward to the next time John Ballong would browse Windows Explorer. Rubbing his hands scornfully while sneering. He could inform me every now and then on how many pictures he had. I was sitting in the sofa watching him
- OK, try to view one of your pictures motherfoocker!
Coming back to my cabin after dinner and I discover a e-mail with good news. It is from Ovale in
Greece and they will send my Ovale eVic, even called the Bazooka. A pack containing 2 Oval Elipse e-cigarettes plus juice and accessories. GOOD NEWS!!
Thank you, your order has been placed successfully!
Item: TOBACCO Classic Black - Old (16mg)
Price: € 12.00
Quantity: 20
Cost: € 240.00
Item: elips Double Kit (Silver)
Price: € 99.00
Quantity: 1
Cost: € 99.00
Item: eVic (Silver)
Price: € 120.00
Quantity: 1
Cost: € 120.00
Item: elips-C Atomizer Heads
Price: € 25.00
Quantity: 1
Cost: € 25.00
Item: elips-C Lanyard with Protective Case
Price: € 16.00
Quantity: 1
Cost: € 16.00
===================================
Total: € 500.00
Shipping: € 4.00
Grand Total: € 504.00
===================================
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Detta e-mail har blivit undersökt av http://www.comendo.com
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So the end of June ended with good news, and I'm happy to say that I managed to finish most of my Thai books and I managed to Learn Thai with Mod and watch video with Alif Silpachai before I went to the bridge at 8 o'clock. Good end of the month June 2013 and I hope the month of July 2013 start as good. Well, just to CLICK the link to find out!
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