Sea Fever (poem by John Masefield)

“I must down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking,
And a gray mist on the sea’s face and a gray dawn breaking.

I must down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the seagulls crying.

I must down to the seas again to the vagrant gypsy life.
To the gull’s way and the whale’s way where the wind’s like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over.”

I think we have…. sea fever

Robbie’s father, Jack, died at age 96 after a very full life; his only regret, articulated in his later years, was that he never sailed on a “tramp steamer.”

Please don’t look this term up in the Urban Dictionary; Dad was talking about a ship that would transfer cargo across the seas to ports unknown on no particular schedule.  The whole prospect calls up images of adventure, romance, mystery and maybe even some danger.

Today, tramp steamers operate on a more limited basis, but no longer negotiate terms of passage on boat docks at the whim of the captain.  As with most other modes of travel, even plebeian cargo ship passage is subject to security measures, safety and legal compliance hurdles and business necessity screens.

A bit of research, however, revealed that some cargo ships will take on a limited number of passengers for voyages through-out the world.  All the would-be adventurer needs to have is lots of time, flexibility and the ability to amuse himself/herself during long days at sea.

Not wanting to leave too many potentially rewarding opportunities pass us by during our brief stay on this planet, we decided to do what it takes to make this journey.

We depart early morning June 6 on the Rickmers Line M/V New Orleans (general cargo ship) from the Houston city port, heading for New Orleans, Savannah, Philadelphia, Antwerp, Hamburg and Genoa.  After a couple of weeks in Italy, we will board the CMA CGM line M/V Vela (a containership) in Genoa, destined for stops in Malta, Beirut, Suez Canal transit, Jebel Ali, Xiamen (China) and Qingdao (China).  We will be in China for 3 weeks, then will again board the New Orleans in Shanghai for possible stops in Nagoya and Kobe, Japan, the Panama Canal transit and back to Houston on November 17.

We’ll update this blog periodically, but with no internet service on-board the ship, updates will be intermittent.

We are excited, a bit apprehensive – but after months of planning – ready!