Another fair greeting from the high
seas! This week our journey has taken us down the west coast of the magnificent
continent that is Africa; we had a very brief stay in Dakar and are now in the
Gulf of Guinea just off the Cote d’Ivoire; that’s the Ivory Coast to the
non-French speaking amongst you.
Dakar, Senegal
Our visits to Senegal are usually
fraught with the vagaries of corrupt customs officials, port inspectors,
incompetent stevedores and millions of flies. Well now I’ve discovered the
solution; arrive after dark! As we were running slightly ahead of schedule the
decision was made to berth us in the evening rather than wait until the
morning, so at dusk we picked up our pilot and headed into port. As usual the
hoards of officials arrived to inspect the stores, the engine room, the galley,
the cargo and anything else they could inspect. However on this occasion, as it
was after dark and I’m sure even corrupt customs officials have homes to go to,
rather than 2 hours of grief; the papers were presented and signed with minimal
fuss and even less distribution of cigarettes and whiskey. I was primed for the
usual scrap with the customs officer, my friend Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz, however on this occasion he had little
interest in accounting for every drop of lubricating oil and signed the
clearance papers with a slight grunt and left with several thousand cigarettes!
Greasing a few palms with
cigarettes and whiskey is widely accepted as a means of expediting port
clearance, however it seems that officials don’t like to see other officials
see them accepting gratuities. And so as we had customs, immigration, port
health, port state inspectors and the police all on-board at the same time
everybody was looking to each other to take the lead in asking for a gift; however
on this occasion nothing was asked for and nothing was given and clearance was
issued with a minimum of fuss. In fact my old friend Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz was the only one to leave with his bags full
of contraband.
I also discovered that the former
Wanderers player El-Hadji Diouf is not only hated by almost every football fan
from Liverpool to Glasgow to Middlseboro to Portsmouth (and Blackburn but who
cares about Blackburn) but isn’t too popular in his nation of birth, Senegal!
Whilst casually discussing Premier League football with a few security guards
in the port of Dakar, I mentioned Bolton Wanderers and Diouffy. That didn’t go
down too well; I do know a few French expletives (I am well-travelled after
all) and the security guard seemed to question his parentage and his sexual
preference. We’ll leave it at that then…but best not mention Jay Jay…
And so in a little over 3 hours we
discharged our cargo of used trucks and broken down Peugeots and had back
loaded a handful of containers and we were on our way again. The cargo we
loaded was described as “cargo” on the customs manifest, I have no idea what
the “cargo” is but it stinks of rotting fish; can’t wait to get it off in Lome,
Togo!
Use By Dates
There is a long-standing joke about
ships stores once being stamped as “Only suitable for consumption as animal
feed or by seafarers”; and so the chandler in Dakar demonstrated that whilst
that was considered a joke, in West Africa it still remains true. We took on a
limited amount of stores but almost all of it had little stickers over the
original use by dates, with a new date of 31/12/2014. When the chandler was
queried he said, “Use by dates are only valid in Europe, nobody in Africa takes
any notice of them!” He should tell that to the port health officer in Togo,
who inspected every single can, packet and carton last time in Lome and issued
a fine for every item that was within 30 days of its “use by date”. Sometime I
think the whole lot of these guys are league with each other, one gives whilst
the other takes away; it really wouldn’t surprise me if the port health
inspector then sells the almost out of date stuff back to the chandler who puts
a little sticker over the “use by date”…
On the subject of selling, due to
the late arrival in Dakar I was unable to make a buck or two; now I’ve been
here a while I’m seeing the opportunities to increase the size of my “Barry
wants a new Harley Davidson” fund. In Europe waste oil is rather expensive to
dispose of, in Africa they buy it from you; and if you get a few different
dealers then the price can be quite nice, $100 a tonne is not unheard of. I’ve
got 15 tonnes of it ready to go, and as I’ve learnt from various bunker barge
operators there is plenty of water around a ship to “bulk” up the delivery
amount. It does concern me though that the same people offering to buy waste
oil are also the same people that you take fuel from; diesel engines don’t run
too well on oily sludge; however as long as I don’t load fuel in Dakar it isn’t
a problem! And we won’t even talk about the very illegal refrigerant gases that
I’ve discovered stashed away in various lockers round the ship…
Tropical Weather
Jack Sparrow and his mates…
The Gulf of
Guinea is now the hotspot for Pirate Activity, since our good friends the US
Navy has become very pro-active in dealing with the piracy problem off Somalia,
the number of incidents in East Africa has plummeted whereas in West Africa the
situation is worsening dramatically. A recent seminar in Cameroon highlighted
the problem, nobody really cares; the Nigerian government is so corrupt it has
no effective way of co-ordinating any kind of action. The pirates appear to be
located in the Niger Delta and pretty much in complete control, as they had out
bribes to all concerned to turn a blind eye. The Nigerian government isn’t
bothered if cargos are being hijacked, they receive taxes when the oil is
exported; if it is hijacked why bother, they’ve already been paid! The oil
companies don’t really care because once the oil is in the tanker it is insured
by the ship owner, so if it goes missing the ship owner has to pay for it. The
ship owner doesn’t really care because he has insurance to deal with such
matters, and so the only one really worried is the poor seafarer who is on the
front line and left to face heavily armed pirates with nothing more than a fire
hose. A recent comment from our operations director summed up the attitude of
ship owners toward the problems faced, “I think the problem is being blown out
of proportion, it doesn’t seem too bad; anyway you get a bonus, don’t you!”
Probably doesn’t seem too bad from your office in Limassol, but 587 reported
pirate attacks in 90 days on a coastline stretching 50 miles worries a lot of
seafarers.
The coming week
The next seven days sees us heading
to Lome, Togo; Cotonou, Benin and Malabo, Equatorial Guinea; well it should!
However our last trip saw us suffer delays in all three of these places, in
Lome they stuck a forklift truck through the side of the ship, in Cotonou they
had a strike over the Easter weekend and in Malabo they lost the keys to some
of the cars! I just love this part of the world!
If my lists are correct (thanks
Mum, you’re always organised) there are no birthdays this week, so enjoy the
summer.
The Galley
I remain to be convinced about the new chef,
“low fat”? I didn’t come to sea to eat healthy food; I’m here for the out of
date, high cholesterol muck served up by Polish chefs. Anyway, here are this
week’s offerings… (…and before you ask, I don’t know what Tahini is either and
the cook didn’t really answer the question, Google™ it!)
Low Fat Chicken Shawarma
Ingredients: For the
shawarma: 500g chicken (thinly sliced); 1 cup shredded cucumber; 3/4 cup
yogurt; 1tbsp garlic paste; 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper; 1/2tsp curry powder; 1/2tsp
cinnamon powder; salt as per taste; pepper powder (a pinch); 1/2tsp all spice;
1/2tsp paprika; juice of 2 lemons; 1tsp oil. For sauce: 1/2 cup yogurt;
little lemon juice; 1tsp tahini; salt; 1tsp garlic paste.
Method: Preheat grill to medium. Take
a medium bowl, stir cucumber, tahini, lemon juice, yogurt and 1/4 teaspoon salt
together and then put the sauce aside. In another medium-sized bowl, mix garlic
powder, curry powder, pepper and salt. Slice chicken breast crosswise and mix
it with spice sauce. Grill the chicken, two minutes per side (turning once).
Take pita bread, spread the sauce on it. Add chicken, tomato, onions, parsley,
chilies and make a firm roll.
Potato and Yogurt Salad
Ingredients: 1/2kg
potatoes (boiled); 200ml yogurt (whipped); 1tbsp oil; 1tsp cumin seeds; 1tsp
yellow mustard seeds; salt and pepper to season; 4tbsp sliced spring onion;
4tbsp pineapple (chopped); 2tbsp garlic (chopped); 1rbsp mint (chopped); 2
green chilies (chopped); 1tbsp melon seeds (roasted); 4 slices of dried bread.
Method: Take a small bowl, add boiled
potatoes and mix it with yogurt, lime juice, lemon juice, slices of dried bread
and cumin. Add pineapple, chopped green chilies, sliced spring onion, mix it
until everything combines in right proportion. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour
before serving.
Rime of the
Ancient Mariner (continued)
Part III
"There passed a weary time. Each throat Was parched, and glazed each eye. A weary time! a weary time! How glazed each weary eye - When looking westward, I beheld A something in the sky. At first it seemed a little speck, And then it seemed a mist; It moved and moved, and took at last A certain shape, I wist. A speck, a mist, a shape, I wist! And still it neared and neared: As if it dodged a water-sprite, It plunged and tacked and veered. With throats unslaked, with black lips baked, We could nor laugh nor wail; Through utter drought all dumb we stood! I bit my arm, I sucked the blood, And cried, A sail! a sail! With throats unslaked, with black lips baked, Agape they heard me call: Gramercy! they for joy did grin, And all at once their breath drew in, As they were drinking all. See! see! (I cried) she tacks no more! Hither to work us weal; Without a breeze, without a tide, She steadies with upright keel! The western wave was all a-flame, The day was well nigh done! Almost upon the western wave Rested the broad bright sun; When that strange shape drove suddenly Betwixt us and the sun. And straight the sun was flecked with bars, (Heaven's Mother send us grace!) As if through a dungeon-grate he peered With broad and burning face. Alas! (thought I, and my heart beat loud) How fast she nears and nears! Are those her sails that glance in the sun, Like restless gossamers? Are those her ribs through which the sun Did peer, as through a grate? And is that Woman all her crew? Is that a Death? and are there two? Is Death that Woman's mate? Her lips were red, her looks were free, Her locks were yellow as gold: Her skin was as white as leprosy, The Nightmare Life-in-Death was she, Who thicks man's blood with cold. The naked hulk alongside came, And the twain were casting dice; `The game is done! I've won! I've won!' Quoth she, and whistles thrice. The sun's rim dips; the stars rush out: At one stride comes the dark; With far-heard whisper o'er the sea, Off shot the spectre-bark. We listened and looked sideways up! Fear at my heart, as at a cup, My life-blood seemed to sip! The stars were dim, and thick the night, The steersman's face by his lamp gleamed white; From the sails the dew did drip - Till climb above the eastern bar The horned moon, with one bright star Within the nether tip. One after one, by the star-dogged moon, Too quick for groan or sigh, Each turned his face with a ghastly pang, And cursed me with his eye. Four times fifty living men, (And I heard nor sigh nor groan) With heavy thump, a lifeless lump, They dropped down one by one. The souls did from their bodies fly, - They fled to bliss or woe! And every soul it passed me by, Like the whizz of my crossbow!" |
Part IV
`I fear thee, ancient Mariner! I fear thy skinny hand! And thou art long, and lank, and brown, As is the ribbed sea-sand. I fear thee and thy glittering eye, And thy skinny hand, so brown.' - "Fear not, fear not, thou Wedding-Guest! This body dropped not down. Alone, alone, all, all alone, Alone on a wide wide sea! And never a saint took pity on My soul in agony. The many men, so beautiful! And they all dead did lie; And a thousand thousand slimy things Lived on; and so did I. I looked upon the rotting sea, And drew my eyes away; I looked upon the rotting deck, And there the dead men lay. I looked to heaven, and tried to pray; But or ever a prayer had gusht, A wicked whisper came and made My heart as dry as dust. I closed my lids, and kept them close, And the balls like pulses beat; For the sky and the sea, and the sea and the sky, Lay like a load on my weary eye, And the dead were at my feet. The cold sweat melted from their limbs, Nor rot nor reek did they: The look with which they looked on me Had never passed away. An orphan's curse would drag to hell A spirit from on high; But oh! more horrible than that Is the curse in a dead man's eye! Seven days, seven nights, I saw that curse, And yet I could not die. The moving moon went up the sky, And no where did abide: Softly she was going up, And a star or two beside - Her beams bemocked the sultry main, Like April hoar-frost spread; But where the ship's huge shadow lay, The charmed water burnt alway A still and awful red. Beyond the shadow of the ship I watched the water-snakes: They moved in tracks of shining white, And when they reared, the elfish light Fell off in hoary flakes. Within the shadow of the ship I watched their rich attire: Blue, glossy green, and velvet black, They coiled and swam; and every track Was a flash of golden fire. O happy living things! no tongue Their beauty might declare: A spring of love gushed from my heart, And I blessed them unaware: Sure my kind saint took pity on me, And I blessed them unaware. The self same moment I could pray; And from my neck so free The Albatross fell off, and sank Like lead into the sea." |
Actually when I said there was 29
parts, I’ve divided it up into 8 sections for you continued enjoyment!
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