The prognosis

The last few days haven't been good to us. Apart from the way things have
turned out on the ship, the weather's been doing its bit keeping us in a
gloomy mood. Todays weather report shows another cold front (the curved
lines with spikes) swooping down on the Texas coast, bringing with it,
another spell of fog, cold, showers and squally weather.

I guess the only thing to do is to batten down the hatches, turn into the
wind and ride out the winds.

Seabulk energy at Gaveston anchorage

 

Things are looking up today. The sun has come out and the fog seems to be dissipating. I can now actually see the mast and funnel of “Seabulk Energy” a mile off as the sun works on this fog from the top down. As I came down from the bridge, the pilots were opening up the Houston Ship channel and taking in the ships in.

 

I would be lying if I said that we weren’t enjoying the anchorage. But the problem with anchorages is that you can’t make fresh water and your provisions start running out. So it will be great if things start moving up in the channel and we can get some fresh veggies on our plates.

 

 

 

Cold, foggy and spanky in Houston !!

As might have been guessed, I am back on the ship and back in the same part
of the world, the US gulf. It's a part of the world that I am beginning to
like. The US gulf is a rather dull place. And dull things are something that
I am beginning to relish these days as a Captain. I go to ports I've been
to, I meet pilots I've met, I dock at berths I've docked at and even the CBP
(Customs and border patrol) personnel have begun to recognize me (heaven
forbid!).

So all in all it was a rude surprise when I came in to Galveston fairway
anchorage and met a wall of fog that everything more then 20 meters into
blankness. Fog is something god made strictly so that like minded people
could frolic in it over sloping hills and unending meadows. It was not made
to roll over into the sea and terrify you with fog horns blaring out at you
from all seeming directions. And it most certainly was not meant to be
rolling out over the US Gulf. Everyone seemed to be as disoriented as this
supply boat by the name of "Spanky" was going up and down the anchorage till
panicked duty officers would call out to it and warn of impending
collisions. Undetered, Sapnky would simply alter her course and go headlong
into the next ship that came up. Keeping as large an discance as I could
from that fellow and another madcap fishing vessel called Sea Angle, I
dropped anchor as early as I legally could.

The local weather reports are actually forcasting a worse cold front coming
down and freezing water pipes around the Houston greater area.

I do not like cold. I don't like fog and I don't think I like Spanky much
either.