DISEMBARKING BY PUNT BOAT
I like the adventure of joining or disembarking by punt boat (after I have gotten onboard or to firm land)
Departure day is always exciting and sometimes there is a little nervousness mixed into the excitement when disembarking the ship entails: a gangway over open water, a little punt boat and a rocky embankment. I joined this ship 30 days ago and arrived by the same little punt boat so I knew it was possible and I was capable. The difference to getting off the ship by punt boat opposed to joining by punt boat was minimal. I had the last month to get to know my crew and felt confident that they would get me to shore safely. In general, when joining or disembarking the ship, the crew are always very helpful and safety is a priority. I was going down the starboard gangway. I am right-handed and the rope railing was on the left. I asked the deckhand whom I asked to escort me down the gangway and help me into the punt boat if I could hold on to him. He happily agreed and said just take your time. I did and in no time was at the last step.
It is an easy walk down the gangway to the punt boat.
The other crew member who was waiting in the little punt boat helped me onto the little boat and did not rush me as I hesitantly stepped on the bow of the little boat. He gave me the time I needed to adjust to the fact that yes, the little boat moves more in the water than the big boat I just got off of. My heavy luggage had already been ferried over to the other side so I was seated with two other crew members who were getting off and their few pieces of luggage. We made the short ride to the shoreline. I thought I had video taped our quick trip but in the excitement of it all did not push record (this is not the first time this has happened)
I thought it was fun that the crew member had his prized procession, his guitar, strapped to his back. This punt crossing ferried my luggage across.
The water is too shallow to come closer which is why we depart and arrive by punt boat.
Getting up out of the little boat proved a little more challenging and I silently scolded myself for not doing more step-up exercises to strengthen the thigh muscles that are needed to make the big step up. The crew member let me attempt to make the big step up from my seated position to stand on the bow of the little boat before he suggested “just put your arm around me” and with the ease that you only see in the movies picked me up like I was light as a feather and deposited me on the bow. I then made my way across the rocky embankment, carefully selecting where I would position my foot, not nervous at all as the one crew member held one hand and another crew member who was already ashore held the other. The one crew member had his feet in the water to hold my hand as I made the first step and I told him I was worried his feet would get wet and he assured me he was fine and was dressed for the occasion with boots on and his yellow rain gear. I love sailing and part of sailing is sometimes having to join the ship by ladder, gangway and punt boat. Sometimes cooking in bad weather chasing pots. It’s part of the fun, and adventure.
A cheer of success that I was delivered safely. Thank you!
In the mid 80’s when Lorraine and I worked on oil rigs off of Sable Island we would commute to work by helicopter. We always had to wear survival suits to make the trip and sometimes the fog was so think I was surprised that they could land on the little Helicopter landing pad.
In the mid 80’s my commute to work on an oil rig was by helicopter.
I was extra concerned about landing when it was foggy.
We were 85 crew members on board. There were helicopters departing every day
That’s a young me on the left.
We took the helicopters from Halifax Heliport. We would have to wear survival suits in case we crashed. Wearing the survival suit should have made me feel more comfortable but the need to wear one caused me concern. That’s me on the right with a co-worker
This is a young Lorraine. She worked on a different rig, the Rowan Gorilla 1 . The rig she worked on is laying at the bottom of the ocean. It sunk a few years after she worked on it. They were towing it to a new location and sunk enroute. Her rig was in Halifax for repairs so we had the opportunity to visit her on her rig. It is an odd feeling to know that something you are familiar with is resting at the bottom of the ocean. The hallways that you walked down, the messroom that you sat in is now the home for fish, sea and smirch.
The view from the helicopter as we prepared to land. We spent two weeks on the rig before we were picked up and taken back home. These are referred to as Jackup rigs
We shared one ride on the helicopter with Daisy the drug dog. She was there to do a surprise drug search.
The helicopter pilot took us along Sable Island during one trip. Sable Island is famous for the wild horses.
In comparison to commuting to work by helicopter, I feel much safer joining by punt boat! I made my way over the waiting car. I had seen the driver from the car service and waved at him from the ship. The driver, Ash has driven me multiple times. We were four being driven and the first stop was Toronto before the final destination St Catharine’s. I was asked about who pays my way home? The steady crew are paid to their home by the company and of course are paid from their home to join the ship. I am a relief cook so I am responsible for paying my own way to join the ship. When I disembark the ship, the company is responsible for paying my way back to the Union Hall that I shipped out from. In this case they were responsible for paying my way to Thorold. I live in Quebec but I register at the Union Hall in Thorold so that I have more opportunities to join ships that travel the Great Lakes. Often Lorraine (my sister, best friend and publisher) drives me or picks me up from the ship but with winter weather approaching and the uncertainty of road conditions we decided we would meet up in St Catharine’s and I would use the car service that the company provided. The car ride was a little longer because we went by way of Toronto but I didn’t mind. I was on vacation. I had crawled in the back seat of the large car and occasionally popped into the conversations that were going on between the other passengers. They commented what a good ship handler our Captain was as he maneuvered our ship to its resting spot at the stone dock. I commented how nice he was.
On our way, leaving the ship and port of Windsor behind.
Lorraine and I are always happy to be reunited. I am a planner by nature and find it hard not knowing….When will the call come for the next ship, How long do I have before joining. Not wanting to take any chances we decided we should run our errands first. I have to update my laptop. It crashes often and it is so frustrating when it reopens and I realize I have lost the last few sentences. I also needed to buy a new pair of shoes. I usually travel with two pair and made the mistake of only taking one this past month. We had excellent service with both purchases. We went to Sport check in the Fairview mall in St Catharine’s and had the best service in the shoe department. Patrick, the young man who waited on us, knew what he was talking about and suggested a pair of running shoes. They were so comfortable that I asked if I could wear them out of the store. We put the new shoes to the test and took a walk on the walking trail beside Lock One. I know I just got off the ship but look for any opportunity to see a ship. We saw a ship just going out the Port Weller piers. The service at Canada Computers and Electronics in the Fairview Mall also offered excellent service. Jordan the young man who helped me pick out a more powerful laptop that I could easily write my next cookbook and children’s book on. Jordan was very helpful and when he realized I wasn’t understanding the computer technology he was using, slowed down and explained what each feature would do and how I could do without this feature, but should really consider a laptop with this feature. We walked out of the store with a new laptop in hand and Lorraine and I laughed as we were $59.00 below the budget that we had given for the new laptop. It was a great day and I am excited to set up my new laptop. The day was fun and full and we finished it off with a dinner at Nando’s chicken. We love this restaurant. It offers selections that fall in the eating lifestyle that we try to maintain. The peri-peri chicken is cooked over an open flame and the sides you can select to accompany the delicious chicken are also so good. We chose the coleslaw, grilled brussel sprouts and the sweet potatoes. All three were delicious. They have bottles of their med or hot peri-peri sauce and it was delicious. I am having a lovely time off and today will tick some more of the things to do list. Each day is treasured and each minute off is enjoyed. As much as I wanted to stay on the Atlantic Huron for the month of December, I am really enjoying this little break. I am where I am meant to be. Have a great day. I have pictures from my last week sailing including the Mackinac bridge and some fun meals I made. I also have the Atlantic Huron galley tour to share with you. I will keep you posted if we get the call for another job. Stay tuned. See you tomorrow.
We really enjoy eating at Nando’s
It’s the first time I saw the sweet potatoes on the menu. They were delicious!
Lorraine will be happy to mail you your copy of the books. There is still time to order and get them in time for Christmas.