Today we will depart from Cork, the last scheduled port in Ireland. Over the last month many of the projects I have worked on have been in preparation of this day. I have been getting very comfortable with the ship and have found my skills being put to use much better than during my first few weeks here.

 

The largest, and probably must useful jobs I have had was spending several weeks overhauling two out of three of our air compressors and trading parts out of the third. These air compressors are about the same size if not larger than the engine you will find in your car. Most of the skills required for this job I picked up from Cummins when I was taking engines to bits and putting them back together again for quality assurance. This is due to the fact that these air compressors are basically engines without a combustion stage. Once we get to the Caribbean I will be installing a brand new air compressor to replace one of the three.

 

As I am writing this, our bow thrusters have started and we are beginning to climb away from the quayside. This is very exciting because this ship has never left Europe in the 36 years it has been in service. As we cross the Atlantic ocean, we are expecting gail force 8 winds which should result in 5-7 meter tall waves. Given that we are crossing during hurricane season it should make for an entertaining voyage. The other OM ships have experienced 30-35 degree lists before, and for a reference, 45 degrees is the point at which it does not matter if you are standing on the wall or the floor because they both have the same slope. We have prepared for the worst and have lashed down anything potentially hazardous, because of this many areas of the ship are unusually open.

 

Personally, I am very excited not only to sail for two weeks straight, but to sail across the Atlantic ocean and of course to arrive in the Caribbean. In this day of age it is an experience reserved primarily for cargo ships with skeleton crews, although there is a cruise ship or two that still make the voyage. Sailing is by far one of the best parts of this trip.

 

I have finally managed to get some photos up, so please enjoy them. And the photo above is what I consider to be the best place on the ship while sailing, the hammock on the starboard stern.