There isn't really much to say about crossing the Atlantic on a freighter. Most of the time is spent reading and writing. There was only one English DVD on the ship: CSI: Las Vegas, Seasons 1 & 2. All the other DVDs were in Swiss German which is difficult for even native speakers of German to understand. However, there were a few times it got interesting.
On the second day at sea the Chief Engineer gave us a tour of the engine room. The ship is powered by a seven cylinder diesel engine. The Chief Engineer and his crew must be able to carry out all repairs needed in an emergency at sea. They had a set of tools I could not believe. I have tools at home, but these were something else. The largest wrench I have at home is a 24mm. The engineering team on the ship had a 74mm wrench and I suspect some were larger. Even though there was high tech equipment everywhere, the crew had made a container from a butter cookie can to catch oil from a small oil leak in the engine!
The engine of the Rickmers Hamburg
The injectors
The Chief Engineer
Home made oil pan
On the fourth day at sea we had our lifeboat drill. There are three types of lifeboats on the ship. The first type is used when we need to leave the ship, but plan on returning. These are circular, inflatable boats that are covered for protection from the elements. They literally explode from containers that look like 55 gallon barrels and we descend to them on rope ladders from the deck. The second type of lifeboat is the "man overboard" boat. This is a small fiberglass boat with an outboard motor. This boat will probably never be used because if you fall overboard you will probably not be missed until the steward notices that you have not been showing up for your meals. By that time the ship could be miles from where you went overboard and you would never be found. The third type of boat can only be used by command of the ship's captain. This is the "abandon ship" boat. When you get in this boat you are not coming back to the ship. It looks like a large orange shoe and can hold up to 36 people. Everyone has a certain place to sit assigned by your number. I was number 30. We had to enter this boat and adjust our seat harness. In case of an emergency there would be no time to adjust it before launching.
Lifeboat containers for inflatable lifeboats
Man overboard boat
Abandon ship boat
Well, that is enough for this post. Tomorrow or day after tomorrow will post about fun and recreation aboard the Rickmers Hamburg.
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