VOYAGE ON THE ILSABE OLDENDORFF

THE VOYAGE OF THE ILSABE OLDENDORF

2005-05-07T20:57:00.000-07:00

The Ilsabe Oldendorf is a bulk tramp freighter. It is owned by Egon Oldendorf in Luebeck Germany. I traveled as a passenger from Long Beach, California to Vancouver, British Columbia. This is an account of that trip. To take a trip like this going to the Oldendorff website at www.oldendorff.com

JOURNAL 2

2005-05-07T20:56:00.000-07:00

Sunday 18 April 2004 (continued)

Today the pilot came by helicopter. Just before the helicopter came, the helicopter pilot's voice blared over the radio:

"What is your speed and position?"

Oleg, the Chief Engineer, was there taking photos with his digital camera from the flying bridge. I did multiple shots from within the bridge. The pilot was let gently down on a rope to the hatch cover of hold number two. This was one of the highlights of the trip.

One of the first nights out on the Pacific, I received a knock on my door. A crewman was there asking me to close my window curtain facing the bow. I told him that I would do it later when I went to bed. He then explained that the light from my cabin window was causing a glare on the bridge. This glare impaired their night vision.

The pilot who came by helicopter kept giving course directions to Angel, the helmsman. If the pilot said 005, Angel would repear it as a confirmation -- just like in the movies. I pointed to the machine that signals the engine room to stop, speed up, slow down or go in reverse. The captain said it was pretty much all automated now. This pilot stayed with us for the 96 mile trip up the Columbia River to Vancouver WA. The captained stayed up too until we docked at 0100.

JOURNAL 4

2005-05-07T20:55:00.001-07:00

Tuesday 20 April 2004

Today the hatch inspectors came and approved the holds we are going to load with grain in Portland. The inspector was hung on a rope by a crane along the walls of the gigantic hold. The captain was happy to have a holds approved. Then a pilot boarded and directed us to middle of the Columbia River where we anchored again. We are waiting in line to load grain in Portland.

JOURNAL 3

2005-05-07T20:55:00.000-07:00

Monday 19 April 2004

In a light drizzle they unloaded the plywood using 1/2 ton forklifts which took longer than those in Long Beach. I spent the day listening to an all classical radio station. I also took morning and afternoon coffee breaks with the officers and walked on the boat deck and accommodation deck for an hour.

After the unloading was done, a pilot took us into the middle of the Columbia River and we dropped anchor. A Foss tug came by and this made me think of Orville and Leonard Sund who worked for Foss years ago. They were my father's cousins from Tacoma who came east for duck hunting.

It is Monday night and we are sitting in the middle of the river. Tomorrow the hatch or hold inspectors to approve our readiness to take on grain in Portland.

The second engineer came down and showed me photos of his beautiful wife and family. We talked for some time about his country, Sri Lanka, which had once been Ceylon and a British colony. Before that it was called Siam and they made a movie about it called the "King and I".

JOURNAL 5

2005-05-07T20:54:00.000-07:00

www.oldendorff.com _If you want to take a trip like this, click on this link!

Wednesday 21 April 2004

We are still anchored in the middle of the river. The bridge watches have been extended from four to six hours. They have this watch at anchor in case of problems. There is no tender or launch so we are all required to stay on board until we get to Portland.

Captain Jan Konecny

Jan is 43 years old and is from Slovakia. He grew up in a village close to Vienna. He likes Vienna and showed me photos on his laptop of his trip there with his wife and children. They stayed in a hotel across from the Stefansdom (cathedral).

He likes:

opera
classical music
classic rock
bluegrass

He told me he is a "cosmopolitan" man. He lived two years in China supervising the building of a ship. Part of his maritime studies took place in Hamburg. He has sailed all the way to Norway's North Cape, been up the fjord to Trondheim and visited Oslo. He is an interesing supper table conversationalist. He says the average wag in Slovakia is $200 a month and that is why he is on board and not home with his beautiful wife. Without communism he must now pay for health insurance. I asked him if he wanted communism to return and he said "no".

2005-04-30T20:20:00.000-07:00

ANCHOR CHAINS

2005-04-30T20:19:00.000-07:00

LIFE PRESERVER

2005-04-30T20:17:00.000-07:00

ANOTHER PILOT COMES ABOARD

2005-04-30T20:15:00.000-07:00

A PASSING FREIGHTER

2005-04-30T20:12:00.000-07:00

THE BEAUTIFUL COLUMBIA

2005-04-30T20:10:00.000-07:00

COLUMBIA RIVER

2005-04-30T20:06:00.000-07:00

CREW MEMBERS BY SHORE LEAVE SIGN

2005-04-30T20:05:00.000-07:00

LOADING GRAIN

2005-04-30T20:01:00.001-07:00

LOADING GRAIN FOR CHINA IN PORTLAND

2005-04-30T20:01:00.000-07:00

ENGINE ROOM 2ND OFFICER

2005-04-30T19:59:00.000-07:00

HELICOPTER BRINGING THE PILOT

2005-04-30T19:58:00.001-07:00

GETTING CLOSER - THE PILOT IS STANDING IN THE DOOR OF THE COPTER

2005-04-30T19:58:00.000-07:00

COMING IN TO DROP THE PILOT

2005-04-30T19:57:00.000-07:00

THE PILOT IS BEING LET DOWN ON A LINE

2005-04-30T19:56:00.000-07:00

THE PILOT IS ALMOST ON THE DECK

2005-04-30T19:55:00.000-07:00

GOOD JOB THE PILOT IS ON THE DECK

2005-04-30T19:41:00.000-07:00

OUR POLISH COOKIE

2005-04-30T19:39:00.000-07:00

CHIEF ENGINEER IN THE GALLEY

2005-04-30T19:37:00.000-07:00

THE CAPTAIN IN THE OFFICER'S GALLEY

2005-04-30T19:35:00.000-07:00

CREW MEMBER ON THE FLYING BRIDGE

2005-04-30T19:33:00.000-07:00

THIS SHOWS SOME DISTANCES ON THE ILSABE FROM THE BRIDGE

2005-04-30T19:31:00.000-07:00

RODLI BY THE EO SIGN

2005-04-30T19:30:00.000-07:00

UKRANIAN OFFICER ON THE BRIDGE

2005-04-30T19:28:00.000-07:00

THE CAPTAIN ON THE BRIDGE

2005-04-30T19:27:00.000-07:00

MY CABIN ON THE ILSABE - NOTICE THE TWO PORTHOLES

2005-04-30T18:19:00.000-07:00

THE DESK IN MY CABIN

2005-04-30T18:17:00.000-07:00

CREWMEN

2005-04-30T18:16:00.000-07:00

CREWMAN IN THE HOLD - THIS IS A GREAT WAY TO SHOW HOW LARGE THE HOLDS ARE.

2005-04-30T18:15:00.000-07:00

UNLOADING PLYWOOD FROM ASIA

2005-04-30T18:13:00.000-07:00

ILSABE'S BOW AT THE DOCK IN PORT OF LONG BEACH

2005-04-30T18:12:00.000-07:00

THE ILSABE DOCKED AT THE PORT OF LONG BEACH

2005-04-30T18:10:00.000-07:00

WORLD TRAVELER ON THE PIER

2005-04-30T18:09:00.000-07:00

ANCHOR CHAINS

2005-04-30T18:08:00.000-07:00

STEERING THE FREIGHTER

2005-04-30T18:04:00.000-07:00

FILIPINO CREWMEMBER

2005-04-30T18:02:00.000-07:00

RODLI DURING LIFEBOAT DRILL

DIMITRI THE CHIEF MATE

2004-04-21T21:27:00.000-07:00

Dimitri is also from Odessa in the Ukraine and one of his responsibilities is my safety. Of course he has many other duties as second in command to the captain. He spends a lot of his time during the day doing paperwork on the computer or standing watch on the bridge and plotting the ship's course. He is happy to explains things and answer all my questions.

OLEG THE CHIEF ENGINEER

2004-04-21T21:15:00.000-07:00

Oleg is a balding man from Odessa in the Ukraine. He is fun to talk to and is stimulating conversationalist and like the captain expresses himself well in English, the language of the ship. I take breaks with him and some of the other officers near the ship's office on boat deck. He joked once about how as a retired person I am always on break. He earns $4500 a month which is much more than he could make in the Ukraine. He has sailed for thirty-five years with 13 of them with the Oldendorff Line. He has a son living in Indiana who soon will become a citizen. He says all the pretty women in the world have black hair and eyes and live in the Ukraine.

JOURNAL

2004-04-13T15:02:00.000-07:00

Tuesday 13 April 2004

I stayed at the Long Beach Motel 6. After breakfast I took a taxi to the ship at Pier 34. The driver asked what letter pier I wanted. I told her all I knew was Pier 34. After looking at the map she took me directly to the ship. As I stepped out of the taxi I was greeted by Chris, the shipping agent.

I walked up the gangplank and was greeted by name by one of the officers. I thought I knew him from my visit to the Rixta O. in Thunder Bay, but he knew my name from the passenger list. Somebody took my pack to my cabin and I was escorted to the captain's office. Chris took my passport which he had to take to the immigration people. He said he was going to classify me as a company representative, but later changed my designation to passenger. He was going to use the company representative designation to avoid problems with immigration. According to maritime law, a foreign flagged ship cannot transport US citizens between two US ports. Therefore I had to stay on board until we reached Vancouver, British Columbia.

After meeting the captain and completing the processing with the agent I was shown my cabin on the accommodations deck. The cabin has two large portholes, one facing the bow and the other starboard. It has a short couch, a desk with many drawers, chair, boombox and a bookcase. The WC and shower are all in one room. When you take a shower you pull the curtain. There is a large medicine cabinet. On the wall near the bunk is a reading light that has a rheostat built into the switch so if you need a night light while you sleep you can have one.

There are five decks from top to bottom as follows:

Navigation Bridge
Captain
accommodation
Boat
Upper

I don't know why you have to go down to get to the Upper deck. From the Upper deck you can access the gangplank and walk around the deck and look into the holds and watch unloading and loading. Today they are unloading plywood and steel coils. The cranes, operated by the stevedores, lift the plywood out of the hold and put them on the pier where forklifts pick them up and take them to the warehouse. By the time I finished paperwork with Chris and the captain it was 1130 and time for lunch.

Meals are served as follows:

Breakfast 0730 - 0900 hours
Lunch 1200 hours
Teatime 1500 - 1600 hours
Dinner 1800 hours

For lunch today we had a very nice beef with a choice of potatoes or rice, a super great salad, banana and water or a soft drink. You can have coffee or mineral water as well. I sat at the captain's table with the captain, Chief Engineer (from the Ukraine) and the Chief Mate who was also a Ukrainian. If the officers are wearing coveralls they cannot eat in the officer's mess. When they enter the mess they say either bon apetit or good apetit.

The largest meal of the day is served at noon. In the evening there is macaroni and cold cuts. Sometimes they have German pumpernickel bread, but also include terrible American white bread.

Wednesday 14 April 2004

Today after a nice sleep in my cabin and an oatmeal breakfast I walked down to the pier. The forklifts were running around the pier carrying plywood. After 1700 when the forklifts stopped running I walked along the pier for the length of the ship. I was impressed how long it was. Sailors say the Ilsabe O. at 28,000 tons is a small ship. There are other freighters that weigh 150,000 tons. Then I walked on the Upper deck for about an hour. After another nice supper I went to the Seamen's Mission which is run by the Lutheran Church. Sailors from all over the world were shooting pool or playing fussball. There was internet access for $5 an hour and telephone for the sailors to call home. On the wall were clocks showing the current time in cities all over the world. There was popcorn at every table and soft drinks were available. I met an American there who had been looking for a ship for five weeks. He said American sailors on ships to Iraq don't want to leave. He was a SUP (Sailors of the Pacific) union and thought the SIU (Seafarers International Union) was a scab union.

Thursday 15 April 2004

The weather was warm and the sea calm. We sailed today from the Port of Long Beach. I had already spent 2 nights aboard the Ilsabe and knew the ship. The stevedore foreman had told me that they would not be finished unloading plywood and steel coils until evening. The two terminal supervisors who coordinate the stevedores convinced them to work last night. So today we sailed at 1630 hours and past the Long Beach breakers and turned north toward Vancouver, BC.

I was given access to the bridge at any time day or night unless the ship was docked when the bridge was locked. I spent my first hours on the bridge today. When I got there a tiny Filipino, an able-bodied seaman, was steering this massive ship. The wheel was 8 inches across and cut in half like the wheel for a racing computer game. The captain said steering is easy in a storm because of the steering gears. I was impressed with all the technical electronic machinery.

When we were still close to Long Beach, we followed a slow speed as directed by law. I think it was 12 knots. The steering man stayed at his post until we were well on our way. Then the Ilsabe O. was put on automatic pilot. A duty officer and an able-bodied crew member stayed on the bridge in 4 hour watches until sunrise and then only the duty officer rotated a 4 hour watch.

I stayed on the bridge into the evening hours and watched a huge container ship about 20 miles behind us. She was traveling faster than us, but I did not wait to see her pass us. As the sun set below the Pacific horizon, they pulled curtains separating the map room from the navigational part of the bridge. Any lights on the bridge ruins night vision. The seamen were constantly checking radar and reading incoming messages. The coast guard radio blared the names of departing ships over the bridge radio. Most of the ships were heading south for Mexico, the Panama Canal and Central and South America.

Friday 16 April 2004

This is another beautiful, warm and calm day for sailing. The Pacific Ocean is trying for the second day to live up to her name.

I talked to the Chief Mate about walking outside on the Upper deck and her allowed it. I walked this morning in perfect weather. Ballast had overflowed the area where I walk along the five holds. They were steam cleaning the holds in preparation of loading grain in Portland. Plywood will be discharged in Vancouver WA and we will bunker in Vancouver BC. Bunker means to take on fuel.

Today we had a fire drill and when the alarm sounded I was supposed to go to my cabin and put on my hard hat and life preserver. We mustered on the port side and then went up to the life boat. Someone started the boat's engine and it sprang to life. Edmundo, the Filipino steward, was assigned to me during the drill. Everyone was there including Cookie who said "no supper tonight". He was joking that if we had to abandon ship there would be no meal for him to cook.

Edmundo serves me all my meals and cleans my cabin every day. He is 33 years old and single. He has been working on ships for three years and although he attended steward school, he says he learned more from being on the job on the ship. I would call that on-the-ship training.

At noon the captain said he had been looking for me about 0900 hours. Some whales were seen and he wanted me to see them. This evening, Dimitri, the chief officer, said he saw dolphins while he was the duty officer on the bridge. He also told me that the officers are required by the company to shoot the stars. He showed me the completed logbook and a very nice looking British sextant.

The chief engineer is a bald-headed burly man with 33 years as a seaman. Thirteen of those years have been with Egon Oldendorff. His area covers:

Fresh water
Hot water
Sewage
Engine power
Heating
Galley
Desalination
Electricity
Air conditioning
Plumbing

At 1700 they all leave the noisy engine room and put everything on automatic pilot. If there is a breakdown or malfunction the computer will notify them and they respond anytime during the night. If the ship is old like the Rixta O. or the Regina O., they never leave the engine room to the computers, but run 24/7 watches down there.

I told Dimitri that I knew our position without looking at a map. I said we were near San Jose. I asked him if he knew how I had figured that out. His one word answer was: "radio". I had been listening to national public radio in my cabin.

Saturday 17 April 2004

Since it was windier than yesterday I did not walk outside on the Upper deck as I had the last two days. I spent my time inside going from the Upper deck to the Bridge on the stairs. The sea was calm like it was yesterday. The ship has been rolling a bit, but I am suffering no discomfort. I was having lunch when the second officer came running into the mess. He said there were whales visible off the port side of the bridge. I ran as fast as I could and when I got to the bridge they were still visible. The whales were spewing geysers high in the air. They accompanied us for miles. They give the bridge watch officer something to keep him company on the lonely Pacific.

Later I saw a southbound freighter on the horizon. The officer checked the transponder and was able to tell the name and speed of the ship. I put the glasses on her when she was just about to meet us. She was a bulk tramper like us with huge cranes over the hatches.

It is 2006 hours and the crew is having a party in the day room. Edmundo just came in with a bottle of Teacher's Scotch and a glass with some lime. I am drinking it straight without water or ice. I can hear their music down the hall along with various shouts. After all it is Saturday and the men's work is done.

Sunday 18 April 2004

Saturday night after I finished writing in my journal I walked down the hall to the day room where the shouting and loud music was coming from. As I walked in a cheer went up from those assembled. Cookie was there shouting "ole" and others were doing karoke.

As the evening wore on Cookie had 4 tumblers of Scotch and passed out on the floor.I had only one Scotch and went to bed. In the morning Edmundo cooked breakfast.