Under Way

Port of Houston, 6 June

Short rain showers came and went as we waited on board the Rickmers New Orleans for the last of the cargo to be loaded.

General cargo ships carry items that cannot be transported in containers. In our case, we watched at Port Houston as two yachts and an experimental windmill blade (among other large items that were unrecognizable as they were packed in large crates) were loaded via giant cranes.

As we pulled away from the dock just before 8 pm, Henry noticed a rainbow arcing in our direction of travel toward Galveston and the Gulf of Mexico. Oh, happy omen! Even a virgin sacrifice could not have been a better start to our voyage!

As the sun set and a nearly full moon emerged, we turned with the help of a tug boat and set out through the awe-inspiring nighttime landscape of the Houston Ship Channel and surroundings.

Intellectually, we knew this area was a huge industrial center, but it’s almost impossible to invoke its immensity – for almost 50 miles of channel and as far as the eye can see on each side stretch refineries, treatment and storage facilities, processing plants, hangars, loading docks, ships from all over (Singapore! Panama! Valletta! Madeira! Hong Kong! Doha!), barges, ancillary vessels – bright lights, twinkly lights and flaring gas jets.

What a thrill to be perched in our jammies on the pilot deck of our new abode, knowing that we will enter and leave many more ports and travel vast stretches of ocean before coming to roost again.

At the San Jacinto monument and Battleship Texas site, we bid farewell to our home state……. and shortly after midnight, one last row of lights near Galveston outlines the darkness of the Gulf ahead.

Gulf of Mexico, 7 June

Practical matters – we are the only passengers on board the ship, with one other to join in Philadelphia for the Atlantic crossing. Crew members are Filipino, and officers are mostly Romanian; all have been very nice and accommodating. The food is basic – some of it pretty tasty – but not quite as much in the way of fresh fruits and vegetables as we usually eat. Our systems will have to adapt. So far, we have been eating alone, although the “port captain” who supervises loading/unloading has joined us a couple of times and we have enjoyed chatting with him.

The schedule has already changed – original plan was to arrive in New Orleans for 2 nights on the 7th; instead we will arrive the 8th and spend 4 nights! Working on a shopping list of things we need to get there – fluffy towels, a few cheap and colorful posters to lighten up our quarters, some apples and oranges, a small fan and a couple of boxes of wine, late-night nibbles (dinner starts at 5:30 pm!), gentle toilet paper….. and Henry needs a haircut.

There are plenty of areas on board we can access – the pilot deck is large and has open and covered areas for viewing over all sides; there is a minuscule pool that reportedly will be filled with sea water when we are out at sea;

an indoor “bar” area has built-in seating and lots of windows , which will provide a nice place to be in bad weather;

a small and smoky indoor lounge is probably somewhere we will not spend much time; and of course our cabins which are quite comfy, but not oversized. We have two single cabins – one for sleeping and the other will be our “day” room – each with private bath bigger than what we anticipated.

We’ve seen the galley (kitchen) which is manned by Mark (chef) and Francisco (mess man and porter), the bridge (briefly – hope to spend much more time there), but not the engine room so far – may have to wait until after Philadelphia for that. We have also not yet had a chance to traverse the length of the ship through the cargo areas and down toward the bow.

The ship is currently traveling 15 knots…. about 17 miles per hour…. Due to arrive New Orleans on 8 June around 11 am.

Mississippi River, 8 June

I would be remiss if I did not mention our dinner last night….. which was a piece of beef that truly defined the term “hockey puck”; never have I had to saw with such fervor in order to hack off something only quasi-edible.

Truly, food has otherwise been pretty good.