pack your virtual seabags
Excited to join the Atlantic Huron
We got the call! Pack your virtual sea bags. We are joining the Atlantic Huron around the 1st of November. I always wonder with great anticipation which ship will be my next job. After I wrote to you last week I mentioned that I was going to work the months of November and December and was delighted to get a tip that there would be a job calling for the beginning of November. There were no guarantees, but I was optimistic. I got the call Friday afternoon while I was in the car and before the Union Dispatch could get the whole sentence out I said "Yes" I will join the Atlantic Huron. I already worked on the Atlantic Huron October 2022. I am beyond pleased that there is a second cook and I heard that they were very nice. The last time I was on the Atlantic Huron, the second cook was on vacation. The second cook I worked with came the same day I did. It was a joy working with him and I hope we can work together again. We did the 2022 Thanksgiving dinner together and he made beautiful desserts. While we were together for the month he made his specialty, homemade Roti one day. I had the pleasure of eating the freshest, most delicious authentic homemade roti filled with his chicken curry. It was delicious and I am going to try to make it myself. The Union Agent said that I am scheduled to join the ship in Windsor late on the 31st. With ships there are always delays so I am thinking it will be more like November 1st, however, have your bags packed and ready just in case they arrive in Windsor on schedule. We will also have to verify if they have a change of location.
October 2022 in Johnstown. Lorraine came to pick me up while we unloaded to go and visit my mom.
Lorraine picking me up in Johnstown for a surprise visit to see my mom in October 2022
The relief Second cook on the Atlantic Huron making roti from scratch
The relief second cook’s homemade roti was exceptionably good.
The strike has had a huge impact on the shipping industry. I have been on many ships that have gone to anchor. The first day is always a welcome relief for the crew because everyone enjoys a slower pace at anchor (everyone except the galley cooks, meals are never cancelled) . By day two or three at anchor, the crew start to become restless. It has been one week now and I think about the crews who are sitting at anchor not knowing when they will hear the familiar sound of the engines starting up again, signalling that the strike is over and they can start on their way again. I am certain there is extra stress for those crew members who are scheduled to go on holiday at the end of the month. The crew changes in general are the first of the month. The unknown of when they are getting off for their long awaited vacation adding a note of disappointment to their day. I was on a tanker once, the Algoma Hansa, we were at anchor in the Sorel anchorage for over a week waiting for a large tanker to arrive with the fuel from overseas that they would unload and then we would load and take to either Sarnia, or Nanticoke, Ontario. We were running very low on groceries and crew change was fast approaching. I spoke with the Captain and he arranged for a grocery order to come by tug. It was the first time that I received groceries with a tug.
June 2020 sitting at anchor for days with mutiple ships in Sorel Anchorage, waiting our turn.
November 2019 receiving groceries by tug during an anchorage over a week long.
bringing on the groceries
A full pantry, fridge and freezer is always good. I wonder about all the ships at anchor during the strike and their dwindling supplies. I hope the strike will be resolved soon but I am sure the tugs will be delivering groceries when needed.
They also set in motion a crew change. When I was on the Algoma Hansa we were on a 30 day on 30 day off cycle so they try to stay on schedule. It was decided that crew change would be made by pilot boat. Before calling the chief cook back that I was replacing, the Captain asked if I would be ok descending over the ship's side to join the pilot boat. I asked immediately if the gangway would be down and he said "Yes" he laughed and continued on to say that he would not even suggest or allow me to go over the ship's side using the pilot ladder. I was relieved and started packing my bags. It was November and I was looking forward to my vacation and thought that taking the gangway to the pilot boat was worth overcoming my fear of the gangway hanging over the water. The gangway is like a stairway with rope handles. There is some movement as you make your way down and of course you are stepping onto a pilot boat that is moving a little too. The pilot boat offers a large area to step on to so it is not that difficult and they were on the bottom ready to help me make the final step. My very heavy luggage was lowered down over the ship's side and tied down on the deck of the pilot boat. Within minutes, myself and the second Engineer were speeding off to the Sorel Dock and vacation, the Algoma becoming a small ship in the distance.
Leaving for vacation by pilot boat November 2019 from the Sorel Anchorage while I worked on the Algoma Hansa
This is what the gangway looks like that I took to disembark the Algoma Hansa that November day in 2019
2019 leaving the Algoma Hansa in the distance as we made our way by pilot boat to the Sorel dock and the start of my 30 day vacation.
The Atlantic Huron has still been moving since the strike and did not get caught up with the multiple ships waiting at both ends of the canal. I will keep you posted on when and where we should join. It looks like it will be a 30 day relief but I am already thinking it would be great if it included the month of December but I don't want to get ahead of myself. I am just glad that I got a job with a second cook. This past week was less scheduled so it offered more time to just relax and organize my bags for the ships. Both Lorraine (my sister, best friend and publisher) and I thought it was important that I took a week to really relax before going back to work. Of course I always say to Lorraine "I'm not going back to work I'm going back to sail and cook my favorite things" She always laughs knowing that there is always more work involved then just cooking." The last two months have been very busy but a lot of fun. Our last book signing for the fall was last Sunday. We had a nice book signing in Brockville at RiverWest Co. If anyone is looking for the 2023/2024 porthole calendars, they still have a few left, and have shipped in the past if you are not in the area. The staff always welcome us like friends and it was fun to meet new people and some other familiar faces at the event, a few just wanted to say hello or came by to get another book and have it signed. Our parents had a home in Brockville for over 60 years, and I still feel like Brockville is home even though Lorraine and I moved away 30 years ago to live in Mont Tremblant when we opened a restaurant at the ski resort Tremblant, Quebec. There was one gentleman who came in the rainy Sunday afternoon and shared with us that he worked with our dad at Black and Decker years ago. Another gentleman came by with his wife and he shared with us that he played saxophone in a band with our Dad years ago. He spoke about a few of the other band members and where they were now. We recognized some of the names that he mentioned and it was fun to reminisce. While he spoke I had a vision of my dad coming home after midnight and hanging up his red with black paisley entertainment jacket. (he had some fun ones over the years, gold with black, some a little sparkly...and more, I remember wearing one of his retired, more fancy entertainment jackets for a halloween party). He kept his entertainment wardrobe in the upstairs front closet. Our dad built our family home and there was no door on the closet ( something our mother joked about saying dad built the house for over 60 years and it still wasn't done). The front closet was right beside the living room where we would watch TV as a family. My dad would come home and hang his entertainment jacket in the front closet where it would hang until the next gig. He would put his short sleeved white shirt aside to be washed. The same short sleeved white shirt which a mere 6 hours prior was hanging from a hanger, perfectly ironed by my mom. There would be a tie to match his jacket slung across the shoulder of the crisp white shirt. The tie would often be decorated with an embroidered musical note or accordion pin attached to complete his look. My mom had great taste and always dressed beautifully and made sure my dad, who was not interested in the process of selecting his wardrobe, looked his best. She would make sure her selections were right for the event or a simple trip to the grocery store often matching their outfits a little when making her selections. Music and entertaining others with music was a constant in our parents lives. We had another wonderful conversation with a woman at the Brockville book signing who also spoke of our parents and how much she enjoyed going to the dances where my dad made the music. She went on to mention that her children would ask about the dance and the music the following morning and how her children would make accordions out of Kleenex boxes and dance around the house pretending they were Heinz Schmuck. Lorraine and I loved that story.
1220 Long Beach Drive
The house our father built. The closet where he hung his entertainment jackets is inside the door at the top of the stairs
My mom and dad were so wonderful! After my dad retired from Black and Decker he continued making music and this was his relaxed Florida attire when he entertained the Floridians and Canadian snowbirds. This shows the synthesized set up that he set up each time.
I will have to look at older photos of dad in his fun entertainment jackets but if you look closely, on his lapel is his accordion pin.
I never imagined sharing my stories online, writing the books, the book signings and all that entails would be such a wonderful experience. We have heard from and met so many wonderful people through comments on my online stories, and meeting people at the book signing events. We loved hearing the stories about our parents and the memories that people have of them. It puts us in contact with people that we might not otherwise have met and I hate to think that we would miss out on all that we have enjoyed over the last few years. It has been and continues to be wonderful. It's a rainy Sunday morning and as usual I found that I have drifted off into the memories of my family. A wonderful Sunday morning trip. I have my Sunday morning old standards playing as I write. I switched over to my Old standards when I started thinking about my dad and the big band music he used to play. I am so happy to share the news of my next job and look forward to cooking for the crew of the Atlantic Huron. I will keep you posted. Have a great day.
We have books in stock. They make great Christmas gifts. We will ship from the US on Tuesday and ship regularly from Canada too.