No sunset last night or sunrise this morning. I'm starting to get red
sky withdrawal, or maybe it is red wine withdrawal.
After a minor loading complication, we finally escaped Philadelphia
after 0200 this morning. For most river channels and harbors, a local
pilot comes aboard. The pilot was with us until around 0800. The safe
navigation channel is marked by buoys and on charts, and extends a good
distance into the ocean.
The ship turned northeast around noon. The sailing was smooth in the
river channel, and is still smooth here at sea. There are no whitecaps, so
far today.
My bride asked me about the 'slop chest'. While many ships, like this
one, are new and modern and safe, some of the language of the sea goes
back to the days of sailing ships. I'll list a few examples below, but
allow me one aside. When I was in the Navy 40 years ago, some of the
old chief petty officers claimed to long for the days of 'wooden ships
and iron men'.
Master: The ship's master is the captain.
Port means a safe place to discharge or take on cargo or passengers.
You may be familiar with the expressions, 'a girl in every port' and
'any port in a storm'.
Port also means an opening, like a port hole or window.
Port (side) means the left side.
Starboard is the right side.
Fore is the front.
Aft is the back.
'Two points abaft the port beam' means 2 compass points behind straight
left from the front of the ship.
Naut: Even with wide use of the metric system, nautical miles are still
used and understood. A speed of 1 naut is 1 nautical mile per hour. A
nautical mile is slightly longer than an english mile.
Poop deck: Usually the first deck above the main deck.
And finally, Slop Chest: There is no 7-11 on a working freighter. The
Master controls a small store of duty free items, referred to as the 'slop
chest'. These items are only available on certain days, in international
waters. At the Master's discretion, passengers and crew may purchase
tobacco, soft drinks, beer, liquor, wine, chocolate, and select other items.
My request today is for 18 liters of mineral water and some red wine.
It occurred to me this morning that standing at the front window of the
bridge is far far better than riding a freight train.
We cross another time zone tonight.
