Baptism of fire

Not really going to plan today, the old enemy the weather has played a big part in today's proceedings.  We left at 08:00 for Craignure in a brisk Easterly which was a full gale by the time we approached Craignure Pier,after 45 minutes or so we got alongside stern in and some of the vehicles had to back off.  The other ferry that has been standing in for us the Hebrides, then took up our run and is still doing it while we are manoeuvring around Oban Bay waiting for a free berth, and the wind is still howling.  Welcome back.

Back home, for the ship that is.

22:00 and back alongside in our usual berth, #1 at Oban, great passage back via the Sound of Islay and up the west side of Kerrera.  The weather was fine all the way up with a gentle swell coming in when we rounded the Mull of Kintyre, but not enough to spill the gin.  Back in service tomorrow morning with the 08:00 out of Oban.

Change to plans

It has been said that if you want to make God laugh tell him your
plans. The ship had left the dry dock on Monday and shifted around to
James Watt Dock where we were afloat to continue the last of the
maintenance work.
In the forward part of the vessel there is a large void space under
the car deck, some of the metal work had been painted and needed
inspection. On entering the space the Chief Officer noticed quite a
lot of water at the bottom and traced this back to a little crack in
the hull up on the starboard side. The Lloyds surveyor had a look and
as a result we are back in the dry dock having repairs. This was a
photo I took last night as they worked away through the night.
The repairs should be finished by tomorrow (Thursday) morning and then
we aim to depart at 14:00 for sea trials.

In the Garvel

Here in Greenock at the Garvel Dry Dock getting the annual service or
overhaul. I joined on Wednesday and was down in the dock bottom 20
minutes later replacing the bungs or plugs in the double bottom tanks.
We are scheduled to move out of the dry dock on Monday and move round
to James Watt dock next door to complete all the work, at the moment
it doesn't look likely that we will have any engines so it'll be dead
ship with tugs to help us around.

Day two of the Ice Station Zebra training

Out onto the Humber today to zoom around with the fresh wind and spray
in our faces. These are two of the boats that we are training on, the
one on the left can go up to nearly 40 knots which is really quite
scary.
There was the odd snow flurry during the day but in the main it was
clear and sunny and about 26 degrees colder than Tampa on Saturday.
Tomorrow we do our swimming pool training, capsizing and righting the
boat. We've been assured that the pool is heated. After that it is
back to Albert Dock for our practical exam.

First day of the Course

Lifeboat launching gear

First day of my course at Hull learning how to drive a Fast Rescue
Craft, in reality a RIB (Rigid Inflatable Boat) with two 75 hp
Evinrude outboards on the back. Today we spent most of the time
learning about the boat, how to launch and recover it using a davit,
then going alongside and picking up buoys. All of this was in the
non-tidal Albert Dock, tomorrow we are off out into the Humber and
maybe the North Sea to get some experience driving around in a sea.
And probably snow if the forecast is correct, the old nose and feet
were a bit chilly by the time I got back to the hotel tonight.

Don't want to come home!

Today, here in Tampa we woke yet again to blue skies and a temperature heading for 26 C mid afternoon. We drove across the Bay to St. Petersburg on the Gulf coast and visited the Dali Museum Fabulous building and a wonderful collection of pictures, made all the better by the interesting and knowledgeable tour.
Tomorrow we head East to Orlando International to nip back across the pond to London then Glasgow.  Another week of holiday, would be fabulous but I have a date in Hull starting Tuesday morning at 8:15 for the Fast Rescue Craft course on the River Humber.  Can't wait.