Diary at Sea, Part 3

26 October – North Pacific Ocean, south of Hawaiian Islands

Most people think of Hawaii as a neat group of 7 islands, starting with Kauai in the west and ending with the big island in the east. But there are actually a whole slew of islands that make up this chain, stretched out in a long arc of about 1500 miles, extending much further west than typically thought. All by way of saying that it will take a while for us to pass them by. Not that we can see them….. the islands are about 270 miles north of us.

27 October – North Pacific Ocean south of Hawaii

We finally see another ship – it’s a tanker, a long way off, but just visible on the horizon. Huzzah! We have not fallen off the map into a kind of twilight zone….. Other life exists on this Earth.

Or does it? Maybe it’s a mirage.

The starts are bright tonight, as is the moon. There’s a bit of cloud cover, but we can see the one constellation I can consistently identify – Orion. But he has shifted position – reclining on his side instead of standing solidly upright, the way I usually see him…. A lyin’ Orion! (Easily explained by the fact that we are viewing from a perspective on the planet much different from that of East Texas…)

28 October, North Pacific way south of Hawaii (the Big Island)

Once we pass Hawaii, there will be no further nearby geographical reference points to use other than our destination in Panama. Just open ocean as we chug along the 15th parallel (approximately) toward the Canal. It will take about two weeks.

The crew conducts an emergency muster today – all hands gather hard hats and life jackets to rendezvous next to the big life boat on “A” deck. We check the whistles and lights on our life jackets and practice strapping into our designated seats.

In addition to the big life boat, which can presumably easily accommodate all of us, there are 8 to 10 rubber rafts positioned around the ship, as well as a motorized dinghy. All are stocked with water, food, motion-sickness meds and emergency rescue devices, such as flares, horns, etc.

The stowaway sparrow is still with us – infrequently spotted flitting by on the pilot deck or bridge. We sprinkle bread crumbs from the galley around for her – maybe she finds a way to get into the trash cans to forage for food. Fresh water…. from the puddles of air conditioner condensation? Hers is a genuine survival story. Gosh, hope she makes it.

29 October – North Pacific

Ed endures. His body seems to be shrinking, but his will to live is strong….. as is his fundamental desire to mate, expressed through his repeated chirping. What a bug!

A whole flock of seagulls joins us for a time today, wheeling across the front of the ship and diving for fish. We are easily 500 miles from land of any kind. Where did they come from?

And then they are gone. Where did they go?

30 October – North Pacific

I’m in the doldrums.

Mind you, the ship moves on at its usual “brisk” pace of almost 15 miles per hour. The ocean undulates up and down gently and the breeze is cool. The air is clean and delicious, blue skies and fluffy white clouds complement the dark marine blue of the water.

No, mine is a doldrums of the spirit. Dull routine has set in and I’m ready to get off this old tub. I pick up the knitting for a while, then put it down. Find a deck of greasy and creased playing cards and try to remember how to deal a hand of solitaire. Cannot focus on a crossword puzzle. Turn to my book but it’s not very good (and I’ve read half of it already so must force myself to struggle through the rest). Actually look forward to washing a small load of clothes and hanging them to dry around our rooms since the ship’s dryer does not and never has worked.

I fantasize a crisp salad – any fresh lettuce other than iceberg, deep green of spinach, peppery surprise of arugula, bright red counterpoint of ripe tomato, crunch of celery, a sprinkle of garlic sprouts and maybe the creaminess of a dab of goat cheese and the mellowness of toasted pine nuts, topped with…. dare I dream big?…. a tangy dijon vinaigrette that brings it all together. My mouth waters, my soul yearns……

Ed falls down a crack between the wooden floor boards of the Blue Bar. Henry pries up a board, but Ed has crawled down underneath the window frame where we cannot reach him. He continues to chirp periodically (which helps us track his approximate location) and appears to be in no distress.

Since he has lost his feet, we are challenged to find a life line that he can climb using his remaining legs. I make an 18-inch braid of knitting yarn which Henry weights with a bolt found on the deck. It is lowered through the gap in the window frame, and we use a phone flashlight and hand mirror to try to see his progress.

Hey – we’ve got nothing better to do.

After several failed and one almost-successful rescue attempt, we toss some wet celery leaves down the hole for his sustenance and reluctantly abandon the search for the night.

31 October – North Pacific Ocean

Seriously, the galley is almost completely out of fresh produce. We cadge a couple of the last oranges – from here on it is canned fruit, if any. Plain shredded cabbage was on the menu a couple of days ago, but if there are any canned or frozen vegetables, they are doled out rarely and very stingily.

On a joyful and highly unlikely note, this morning we track Ed’s chirping, pull up another floor board, and there he is! A little the worse for wear – he’s dirty, both antennae have been foreshortened, and he’s quite grumpy, sinking his mandibles into Henry’s hand immediately upon being freed. But he is safely installed back in his little cricket home. Future perambulations will be more closely monitored.

We contemplate getting dressed up for Halloween – the only option would be the Arab attire we purchased in Dubai – but discard the idea as we realize that the cheerless Romanian officers would only grimace briefly at our effort to lighten the atmosphere, and then dig back into their greasy brown grub.

1 November – North Pacific Ocean

Sadly, we have not seen the little stowaway sparrow for a few days.

Things are otherwise looking up. Ed recovers well from his ordeal, and is back to a fairly normal chirping schedule. And it turns out we get a bit of a Halloween treat – the cook has made a sweet dish from sticky rice that is commonly consumed this time of year in the Philippines to commemorate deceased family and friends. It’s tasty.

The month of November is here; feels like we’ve passed a milestone. We can see past the next week or so to the exciting conclusion to our adventure.