Another lockdown… another commute

[happynz]

During the night we rounded the Peloponnese peninsular without incident, and I think by avoiding foundering on the rocks at Cape Maleas, Armstrong's best opportunity of winning the competition has gone.

Tomorrow is 08 October. I have you docking at 06:45. C'mon! Get a move on.

[Buckaroo Banzai]

During the night we rounded the Peloponnese peninsular without incident,

My brother is retired and has a place on the Peloponnese near Corinth. Did you see him? LOL
If I knew you were going that way, I would have told him to wave to you

very interesting Thread , I am enjoying it Mak Mak.

[Mendip]

Given you have put your clock forward an hour was the sunrise early or late? Or maybe it was on time?

It was bang on time Ootai.

My brother is retired and has a place on the Peloponnese near Corinth. Did you see him? LOL
If I knew you were going that way, I would have told him to wave to you

BB, there was an old hairy guy, five O'clock shadow, with a slight paunch sat up on the hill. He was wearing a sweat-stained white singlet with black trousers held up by braces and had a little flat cap on his head... smoking a cheroot and drinking a nip of ouzo.

Could that have been him?


I've been getting the impression that some people think I'm on a leisure cruise out here. Well, far from it.

The weather's been getting progressively worse since Sicily and yesterday we were sailing into a brisk nor'easterly coming in from central Asia. We had a chilly 21 degrees (we can expect 15 degrees at Istanbul) and the helideck was brass monkeys. I had to find some shelter for my afternoon snooze.

I settled down on a small deck just aft of the accommodation block.



And very nice it was too... until a bladdy AB decided to start flushing with his pressure hose on the deck above. They do this to wash the salt off the superstructure but I don't see why they can't do it in the morning?



After receiving a constant stream of spray I retreated under the deck in an attempt to stay dry...



And he bladdy well started spraying down the stairwell.



I got pretty well soaked, as did my sandals and socks.



But don't worry, it'll take more than that to get me moaning. All was well in the end!

But it certainly ain't a holiday.



While I had my footwear off I checked out my toes. Don't worry, I'll spare you a view of my two poor big toes, but what I found interesting was that my good toes clearly show the day I left Isaan nearly seven weeks ago. It's written in my nails!



But anyway, yesterday afternoon we were entering the Aegean Sea and started threading our way between the Greek islands. There seems to be hundreds of them and I never realised just how many there are.

While I was trying to have a snooze we were passing Kythnos off our starboard side.



And there's Kea off to port. We bisected the two islands.



Just before I called it a day we were about to clear Kythnos' northern tip.



There were bladdy yachtsmen getting in the way everywhere... the cyclists of the seas.



And I left it here...



... with a lovely view of Kythnos off to starboard...



And Kea off to port...



A great thing about being on a boat is that the view always changes!

[Buckaroo Banzai]

I he had a lazy left eye and was scratching his ball that was definitely him. The bastard is always scratching his balls, I don't know what's wrong with them, but whatever is going on down there can't be good.

Seeing your pictures makes me nostalgic of the days I worked on the SS Volendam for Holland American Cruises. There is something about the smell of the sea air and and the mystery of foreign lands going buy, i cant put my finger on, I guess a bit of the Odysseus syndrome. And my time on the ship was literally a sea cruize LOL

[Mendip]

Tonight as I started up we were just passing everyone's favourite island, Lesbos. We are well on schedule to enter the Dardanelles after day break.



I'll get my first sight of Asia in the morning since flying out of Bangkok at the end of August.

I've always been interested in Lesbos so did some research on the internet. I couldn't understand why it's a Greek island, yet lies just off the coast of Turkey... but it seems it was one of Greece's territorial gains during the First Balkan War against the Ottoman Empire (1912-1913). You live and learn.

I tried to get a picture of Lesbos but it was disappointing. Those lights are either Lesbos at night or passing ships.




Tomorrow morning we have to pick up a pilot before being allowed to navigate through the Dardanelles. This can take several hours of waiting depending on how busy it is, and doubtlessly, how willing you are to smooth the way. Norway has heavily bought into the 'No corruption or bribery' charter and Norwegian companies are heavily vetted by their government and I doubt that anything more than a few packs of duty free Marlborough would ever change hands. This has of course put Norwegian companies at a distinct disadvantage when bidding for work on the international scene and there's a reason why a certain country's contractors get the majority of work in West Africa.

But I'll say no more. C'est la vie.

Tomorrow is 08 October. I have you docking at 06:45. C'mon! Get a move on.

Sadly HNZ that is just 2 hours 25 minutes away... I was rooting for you but it just ain't gonna happen. We won't even have reached the Dardanelles by then. You can't even use the excuse of not factoring in the clocks going forward... you are way off. But better luck next time!


I've been studying the entries and have split them up into several groups.


Pink means absolutely no chance, your slot has passed

Green means no chance, we may even still be waiting for a pilot

Yellow means pretty well no chance without a small miracle

Turquoise means you have an outside chance if things go very well

The red hot favourite means may be a little early but have a huge window to get the closest time

Orange means second favourite if we have a small delay

Pale grey means who knows... if there's no berth available when we arrive at the docks you're in with a chance (it also means I'm running out of colours)

And finally, shitty brown means you're always in with a slim chance but I very much hope you don't win

Topper:- Thursday night at 11:22 pm

happynz:- 08/10/2021 at 06:45 AM
mudcat:- October 8, 7:09 AM
malmomike77:- 09.00 on the 8th
JPPR2:- Oct 8 @ 9:38am
nidhogg:- 10:35am on Friday October 8th
Mendip: I'll kick it off with 10:45am on Friday October 8th (included as the marker).
Saint willy:- 10:46am on on Friday October 8th
Joe 90:- Friday, 8th at 12 noon

Shutree:- 14:15 hrs Istanbul local time on Friday, October 8th.

Headworx:- 16:37 on Friday

David48:- 07:10 pm on Friday October 8th

helge:- Oct 9 -0200 (helge, ever the optimist)

Shy Guava 9.00am 9th.

Armstrong: the boat sinks

Good luck everyone!

[Mendip]

The bastard is always scratching his balls, I don't know what's wrong with them, but whatever is going on down there can't be good.

Well let's hope it wasn't hereditary, hey!

[katie23]

@mendip - that Merrell pair looks more decent than your Jesus sandals. But hey, whatever floats your boat! (or should I say, vessel)

Good luck to everyone in the contest!

[MarilynMonroe]

But a nice sunrise, nonetheless!

That's a beautiful sunrise. Great thread, and a lot of reading to catch up on .

[MarilynMonroe]

Anyway, the video I took yesterday finally uploaded and here are a few more for you

Love the dolphin vid!! What kind of dolphins are they? These creatures are very very smart and social.

[Saint Willy]

I was instructed to take a couple of days off. I said yeah sure, but ignored it... I'm here to earn money. But then I read the email again and it said to charge my days off to both projects...

shore leave? Perfect.

[Saint Willy]

A great thing about being on a boat is that the view always changes!

And you're in a nice part of the world to be having a jolly too.

[Mendip]

shore leave? Perfect.

No, sadly. There's no chance of shore leave... we'll be taking on crew and stores at Istanbul and then off.

They've instructed me to take a couple of days off work on the boat to 'give your head a rest before the next project'.

It's a bit strange, but they're paying. And it's not really happening of course... I'm getting issues with the project I just finished and questions from the office.

[ootai]

No, sadly. There's no chance of shore leave... we'll be taking on crew and stores at Istanbul and then off.

They've instructed me to take a couple of days off work on the boat to 'give your head a rest before the next project'.

It's a bit strange, but they're paying. And it's not really happening of course... I'm getting issues with the project I just finished and questions from the office.

If the questions are via email just set up an out of office reply stating HSE told you to rest.
I'm sure they will understand.

[Buckaroo Banzai]

I've always been interested in Lesbos so did some research on the internet. I couldn't understand why it's a Greek island, yet lies just off the coast of Turkey

I think you got things backwards.
Asia minor (Anatolia) was always Greek The people that lived there were genetically Greeks, they spoke Greek, and had a Greek culture. The ruins are of Greek architecture, and all the inscriptions are in Greek. In fact even those who call modern turks are genetical mostly Greek.
It is the Ottoman occupiers' who do not belong to on the other side of the boarders and not the Greeks on Lesvos and other Islands who have lived there for thousands of years.
Ancestry .com who conducted the turkish DNA project, revealed that most turks are more Greek Genetical than Anatolian turks. They are simply Pontiac Greeks, Armenians, and other ethnicities of that are who survived the genocide, and were torched to convert to Islam,
Why We Put Greek and Turkish Together - DNA Consultants

[Saint Willy]

They've instructed me to take a couple of days off work on the boat to 'give your head a rest before the next project'.

It's a bit strange, but they're paying. And it's not really happening of course... I'm getting issues with the project I just finished and questions from the office.

So take time off, but not really. 555

Perfectly onpoint for HR.

[Mendip]

^^ Interesting stuff, BB!


First light found us just north of this small island off the Turkish coast. I'm not sure what it's name is but it's doubtless Greek.



A look back at the island shows all the vessels anchored up in it's lee. Katie, you asked about the circles. Red circles are anchored tankers and green circles are anchored cargo vessels. They're kept segregated for some reason, maybe so that tankers can be easily boomed off in case of a leak?



We have to wait until around 10am to take on a pilot to enter the Dardanelles so are now just proceeding at half speed to kill some time. It's deceptively cold out there despite the lack of waves so I also killed some time by having breakfast. I've been getting the chief stewardess to put aside an evening meal every day for me to eat at breakfast time. Today was kumla, the most traditional west coast Norwegian meal you could ever find.



The kumla is actually the dumpling, but traditionally it goes with sausages, mashed swede, boiled potato and cured mutton. Before anyone (Edmond) starts going on about how much food there is... I have been unsuccessfully pleading now for two weeks for small meals to be plated up. I'm finally not offered potato but get heaps of other stuff instead. Most of the kumla went to feed the fish and at least two thirds of the cured mutton (my favourite) is fat and bones. This diet is serious.

And the money shot!



After breakfast I popped outside for my first view of Asia in seven weeks. That is Asian mainland Turkey in the background behind the island... unless the Greeks have claimed that as well.



Red sky at night, Turkish Delight!



It's amazing how the colours change at sunrise.



And the first Turkish sunrise of the trip!




This delay to get a pilot sadly means that the Green contestants are now out of the running. I would also say that Shutree's miracle did not happen and that Headworx is looking decidedly dodgy.

The initial field is now down to three runners; David48 the favourite, Helge and Shy Guava. I guess you can't completely rule out the rank outsider Armstrong, but I wish I could.

[malmomike77]

Mendip, did you bring that chair with you from Thailand?

[malmomike77]

chief stewardess

I have been unsuccessfully pleading now for two weeks for small meals to be plated up

she's making a play for you, pictures!!!

[Saint Willy]

^^ Interesting stuff, BB!


First light found us just north of this small island off the Turkish coast. I'm not sure what it's name is but it's doubtless Greek.



A look back at the island shows all the vessels anchored up in it's lee. Katie, you asked about the circles. Red circles are anchored tankers and green circles are anchored cargo vessels. They're kept segregated for some reason, maybe so that tankers can be easily boomed off in case of a leak?



We have to wait until around 10am to take on a pilot to enter the Dardanelles so are now just proceeding at half speed to kill some time. It's deceptively cold out there despite the lack of waves so I also killed some time by having breakfast. I've been getting the chief stewardess to put aside an evening meal every day for me to eat at breakfast time. Today was kumla, the most traditional west coast Norwegian meal you could ever find.



The kumla is actually the dumpling, but traditionally it goes with sausages, mashed swede, boiled potato and cured mutton. Before anyone (Edmond) starts going on about how much food there is... I have been unsuccessfully pleading now for two weeks for small meals to be plated up. I'm finally not offered potato but get heaps of other stuff instead. Most of the kumla went to feed the fish and at least two thirds of the cured mutton (my favourite) is fat and bones. This diet is serious.

And the money shot!



After breakfast I popped outside for my first view of Asia in seven weeks. That is Asian mainland Turkey in the background behind the island... unless the Greeks have claimed that as well.



Red sky at night, Turkish Delight!



It's amazing how the colours change at sunrise.



And the first Turkish sunrise of the trip!




This delay to get a pilot sadly means that the Green contestants are now out of the running. I would also say that Shutree's miracle did not happen and that Headworx is looking decidedly dodgy.

The initial field is now down to three runners; David48 the favourite, Helge and Shy Guava. I guess you can't completely rule out the rank outsider Armstrong, but I wish I could.

the Dardanelles have a fair bit of history too.

that food looks... ok, for dog food!

And the portion SIZE!

[Mendip]

Jesus. Some history there. Home of Sparta and Corinth. Site of the Peloponnesian war (basically Athens versus Sparta, plus allies on both sides).

Awesome.

Some more history here for you Nid...

We hung around the entrance to the Dardanelles waiting for a pilot.



It would be difficult to imagine a much more strategic location through history... this narrow waterway controls access to the Black Sea and also on to the Caspian Sea by a system of locks.



Europe to the north (port) and Asia to the south (starboard).



Being such a strategic position caused the ill-fated Gallipoli landings in 1915/1916.



It's strange to think of the history a little over 100 years ago.

This would have been a very different waterway to navigate through back then.



Here's Cape Helles today, where the British landed with such loss of life.



And further northwards up the coast, away on the distant horizon you can just about see Anzac Cove where the Anzacs landed with an equally awful death toll.



Gallipoli campaign - Wikipedia

[Joe 90]

Interesting history lesson Mendip.

But them toes have just put me off my omelette.

[malmomike77]

But them toes have just put me off my omelette.

you'd think with all this time on his hands he could have gone t town on them, given em a good buffing, get the MEO to take a rasp to them or Miss Stewardess could have painted them an attractive shade of puce.

[Mendip]

Well, not for the first time I find myself very disillusioned about what people focus on in this thread. This are my best toes as well.

I've a good mind to show a pic of my big toes... that'll put you off more than an omelette!


Later this morning I went on deck to see what was going on and started imaging how awful the British landings on Cape Helles must have been...



... until a bloody great container ship blocked my view.



I took a look for'ard from the bows to admire the view with Europe on the port side and Asia on the starboard side. That still gives me a kick.



... and then noticed a small boat leaving a container ship, one in front of us in the queue for a pilot.



It was the pilot boat... and it took a turn to starboard and started heading directly toward us!



He's done this a few times.



And swiftly came alongside.



The pilot was delivered bang on 10:45, exactly on time. Amazing.



From then on it was full steam ahead for Istanbul.


Sadly Headworx has now fallen by the wayside and we have four left in contention, although I'm not really taking Armstrong seriously.

The OM recently told me that we're due in 'around midnight'... realistically making it a two horse race for the finish. Helge is now the red hot favourite, and if we berth before 22:35 the honours go to David, after 22:35 they go to Helge. Or with an outside chance if we get delayed beyond 05:30 tomorrow, Shy Guava could sneak in. We're not gonna sink.

It doesn't get more exciting than this!


David48:- 07:10 pm on Friday October 8th

helge:- Oct 9 -0200 (helge, ever the optimist)

Shy Guava 9.00am 9th.

Armstrong: the boat sinks

[malmomike77]

The OM recently told me that we're due in 'around midnight'..

Ang on, i guessed night-time first and you categorically stated there was no way the boat would be docking nigh time.....where's that bloody outraged emoji....

[armstrong]

Still a chance it'll sink coming into port!