Tag Archives: deck

106.   🚢ah, days & days of salty air!

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Oh my beautiful blue Pacific Ocean ~

On this leg of the voyage, I rarely missed sunsets or a sunrise -these I quickly realized were gifts of the journey to me.  And if the seas were not rough, I’d find myself relaxing on an uncrowded deck in a comfortable sun-worshipping lounge chair, legs up and all!

It certainly felt good to just soak up the sun -nap style, getting hypnotized by watching the ocean go by or leisurely flip through the pages of a magazine, that is to say, if I could keep my eyes open long enough in this lazy position.  

Taking the most important daily walks from one end of the ship to the other and breathing in deeply the freshest salty air was always invigorating and enjoyable.  

Not every time but certainly at least half the time I was out there, I’d see some dolphins and an occasional whale or three.  The other fish I took notice of were schools of Pacific Bluefin Tuna in the course of their migration.  

There were others watching along the rails at any given part of the ship, at any time of the day and when a pod, a school or what have you passed alongside the ship, there was a whole lot of cheering coming out of the excited men.  This was ocean entertainment at its finest!

It was an awesome site -as was the whole of it- to see the flying fish and catching glimpses of billfish who were also being watched carefully by the ever-stalking seabirds along the way. 

Every now and then I’d spy a ship waaay out in the distance on the horizon.  One minute she’s there and another -gone!  

Not that any passed by close enough to say hello … 🔭 even if I had a telescope.  Well, maybe but then they’d have to have one too just to see me wave!  

Occasionally the Skipper’s voice blaring out of the bullhorn startled us.  It was like he’d wait for the perfect moment to catch us unawares.  He’d say things like, “I see you all out there having fun.  Good!  Go ahead and enjoy yourselves. Make the most of this time at sea, it’s good for you!”  I think he wanted to make sure we didn’t fall victim to sea madness … or something!

Along with some form of exercising, the strolling or brisk walks, any style of lounging or napping and daily duties, we’d play cards, most often, poker.  We played in my charge area, the officer’s saloon. 

These poker nights gave way to opportune time to share stories with one another; be it of home, passing thoughts or what experiences we had while on this Asian tour.    

Our evening snacks always lined up; sandwich makings, non-alcoholic beverages and snackable what-nots.  Beer 🍻or wine 🍷 but no 🥃 hard liquor; I’ll mention here, if we wanted it, the beer or wine that is to say, we had to buy our own and bring it on board.

Btw:  “Why is the rum always gone?” Captain Jack Sparrow  

That reminds me I didn’t tell you how we mainly got our beer earlier in the trip.  The seasoned veterans of our ship told us about this barter.  We had cartons of American cigarettes on board and so while in the Philippines, when we saw a small boat approaching our ship, we’d load up a largish basket with some of those cartons.

It was attached to a very strong rope and then lowered down to those guys.  They were zippy in the unloading of this large basket and then refilling it with the favorite beer of their country, 🍺 San Miguel Beer. 

Cartons for 6-packs!  What a deal I thought.

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billfish because I’m not entirely certain if I was seeing swordfish, marlins or sailfish … not so close to the ship they were spotted and so without binoculares handy at those times unfortunately, I couldn’t really tell.  I had thought in my mind these must be one of them.

105. Catch and Release of a Different Kind

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I only noticed what developed next by being conveniently located when the MPs boarded our ship.  This certainly wasn’t an action to be announced especially if they were trying to be secretive or something.  

I did speculate to myself if they were to sail with us and if so, why?

Not much later I learned why the MPs had two of my fellow crew members in handcuffs and were escorted off of the ship.  It seems these two apparently couldn’t resist some of the ‘goodies’ which they’d come across from their land excursions and so, brought these illegal items on board.  

Clearly the authorities found out and suffice to say, the matter was taken under immediate control.  These two young men sadly would miss the boat.  And that was that.

The remainder of the evening and that night seemed rather quiet.

Our Captain had already left the saloon; the Officer’s promptly finished their morning meal and made way to their posts.  Breakfast -mine included- was complete.  I quickly cleared the dishes and postponed setting up for lunch. 

And I put off my normal routine of cabin tidying in lieu of making an appearance on the outside decks.  I had heard Skip and his Officers speaking of the release from drydocks and it fascinated me.  I really wanted to see this.

It was time for the braces to let loose the Trans Western and set her free into the Pacific Ocean by way of first slipping her into Tokyo Bay.  The Harbor Master was already up on the Bridge with our Skipper and his crew.

We were sliding backwards, very carefully until our ship was completely in the water.  I really couldn’t feel anything.  I don’t know but I expected a different sensation in my legs maybe?  I was told this was due to not having a load of cargo on board.  

And again, me without a camera!  Well, I definitely committed this (and so many other once-in-my-lifetime events) to memory.  Undoubtedly I’d never get to witness something like this, any of this, ever again.

I looked around for a moment at all who assembled -those who could be- on decks and we watched our own departure.  I know I was grabbing at the last eyesights of Japan that I possibly could.  

We shared our farewell with the dockyard crew … they waved us a goodbye and I’m certain I heard them cheering – perhaps for a job well done?  I certainly hoped so. 

The Trans Western was attached to two powerful tugboats by very strong, thick tow-lines on both the port and starboard.  All this time since we hit the water, our engines were idling as the ship was being pulled through the harbor waters within the bay.

I took notice of dozens if not hundreds of fishing boats lined up on either side of us and ready to go out for profitable ¥ fishing trips, I have no doubt.  Tokyo Bay being abundant in fish, I believe sea bass particularly, these boats wouldn’t have to venture too far out to fill their live-wells and purses too!  

Cormorants, some diving at the surface of the water for breakfast and a multitude of Gulls were loitering in the near distance and looking out for their fair share to be sure. 

Very slowly still, we were approaching the part of Tokyo Bay which became the Uraga Channel and that linked the bay to the mighty Pacific Ocean itself.  

It is here that I watched the Harbor Master climb down the rope ladder to board his own little boat (by comparison) for his return to Yokohama.  I intended to stay out here until the shorelines of Japan became fuzzy to my eye.

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101. 🌸 Now I Smell Like a Japanese Flower?

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I found myself undressed down to my jockey pants. Each and every article of clothing, the lady carefully folded and placed them on the side table.

I walked into the bathing area and just before stepping into the tub set up for me, I removed my only remaining article of clothing. The water was comforting and warm and I could feel everything melt away.

The young lady used a mitt-like cleansing cloth which she placed over her four fingers, leaving the thumb exposed. This washcloth had little scrubbie bumps to them yet it was very soft.

Instantly and completely relaxed, all I had to do was raise a limb when asked to do so by her gentle, experienced motions and still, no words. I noticed she remained on her knees while bathing me, wow!

She pulled the plug, draining the water from the tub. Then I was rinsed with a shower-hose attachment; Bill was experiencing the same thing a few feet away from me.

The ladies then dried us off and helped us into robes with slippers at the ready. Bill was led to his sectioned off room and I was asked politely to lie down on the bed in my area of the room.

I believed that I smelled like a Japanese flower after a very, very relaxing massage. 🌸 The young lady asked me if I wanted something to eat. Again only with motions, her suggestion demonstrated eating this time. Oh yes, this sounded perfect!

Bill? He was in agreement; we were given a menu (already in the room) and we selected our dinners from there. Both of us were so relaxed that leaving the room this evening was out of the question.

The two girls left the room to fill our food orders. We shared a few words of expression in the ladies’ absence. About 25 minutes later they returned to the room with our meals on trays. Bill stayed in his area of our room with his new friend and I stayed with mine.

I was already sitting up on the bed when she placed the tray in front of me and she then sat down at the foot of the bed. My dinner looked so delicious, I remember that much 😀 I began to eat my meal and the girl remained sitting there at my feet.

I looked up at her and she’d shyly giggle, putting her hand lightly over her mouth as she did so. What else to do? 🥢 🍽 🥃 The dinner sharing began. She sat a little closer. I fed her a bite and then I took one so, back and forth we went to the end.

After she cleared away the tray, she once again used motions to ask me if I wanted her to return. I’ll ask you here to imagine how that must’ve looked.

Feeling relaxed, refreshed and very much alive in the morning, it was time to check out. The girls made certain we knew the robe and slippers were ours to keep. After carefully folding and placing these into our bags, they carried them once again for us.

The young ladies and our overnight bags were downstairs waiting for us at the front desk when we arrived moments later. With the bill cleared, we each then handed some American dollars to the girls. They bowed slightly and shyly giggled once for our departure.

At a relaxed pace, we walked a little and then took a taxi back to the ship at the dry dock, arriving just before lunch time.

Normal duties took place. After lunch, I cleared the saloon and quickly set it up for dinner; this was really easy as I already knew the numbers in attendance would be few.

Now to check the pantry, freezer and refrigerators for our provisions (especially food) must be maintained. The land crew of suppliers had the order and they’d return with it in a couple of hours.

Our storehouse of provisions was dropped off on the designated area of the deck and we all hustled with others in the crew to get these securely stored into all the proper places.

There was still enough time to take care of ourselves, to clean our own cabins and do our laundry. Dinner hour was upon us and well, time to feed the officers again!

Subsequently I prepared the saloon for the next morning’s breakfast. I myself had a quick bite to eat because I wasn’t sure if I’d dine out in town.

Afterwards Bill and I grabbed our overnight bags once again and off into Yokohama we went. Another evening of Japanese hospitality was waiting for us!

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