Easter has been and gone and this has been a quiet week April 7th 2013

Easter has been and gone and this has been a quiet week on the Maestro Sea; we spent five days at anchor off Cotonou, Benin then had a brief 12 hours alongside before heading off to Malabo, Equatorial Guinea. I’m now pleased to say we are finally heading in the right direction; home! After four weeks heading south and away from Europe we have finally finished discharging the cargo and we have one stop to collect our cargo of Yellowcake Uranium Ore and head back to Europe.

Pirate Attack

When things are quiet seafarers tend to do one of two things, (no Hawthorne; not that!) they either drink or fish. Actually you can drink and fish at the same time, and so as we sat at anchor off the coast of Cotonou for what seemed like an eternity, drinking, fishing and pirate lookout kept us occupied. One of the things the “anti-piracy manual” tells you about pirates is that they use small boats and act like fishermen to get close to the vessel before launching their attack. So you can imagine the excitement when this innocuous little fishing vessel approached the ship on Easter Monday. The ship went into full alert as we prepared to repel all boarders, the fire hoses were rigged, the razor wire sharpened, I was preparing buckets of hot oil to pour on the buggers (I was wishing we still had those mortar rounds!) So in a state of heightened anxiety you can imagine our disappointment when the little boat turned out to contain a family on a day trip fishing and trying to sell trinkets and fake watches to the crew.

Fishing

Back to the fishing and drinking; as the excitement of our near death experience with the evil pirates receded, we cracked open another can of “Royal Export” and settled back down for some more fishing in the sunshine. It was not a very productive day; the two pictured being the total I caught. I dined well that night, not on fish I might add.

Rules on ship seating likely to be changed

This was reported in a recent Maritime Safety Bulletin:

“A number of wheelhouse accidents have led to calls for a change in rules for ship seating.

According to reports, a series of "seat related incidents" have been reported over the past month.

The USCG was forced to issue new guidance on "Captain's chairs", after they dramatically broke under strain. The new USCG guidance was launched following three separate accidents on US flagged vessels.

In one of the incidents, "a Master, Captain of a bulk carrier was returning from making a coffee and grabbing a few muffins, he sat down only for the seat to snap sending the shaft rapidly upwards causing some severe problems".

Currently, the companies involved are undergoing a rigorous seat testing process”.

I would like to think this was first reported on April Fool’s Day but took a few days to reach the vessel! However this is a United States Coast Guard release regarding incidents on American vessels; don’t be surprised if it’s true.

Malabo, Equatorial Guinea

Malabo is a bit of a surprise, it’s almost Caribbean like with lots of lush vegetation but by God it’s humid! The aircon is blowing full blast and the condensation is flooding out of the drains. Malabo is capital of Equatorial Guinea but is actually 200 miles from mainland Equatorial Guinea, but just 30 miles from Cameroon and 70 miles from Nigeria. The head honcho here is a bit of a ruthless dictator who murdered his uncle to take power; he used the oil money to bribe the local militia to support him. He keeps all of the oil money and just gives enough out to the army and militia to keep power; Malabo is quite modern and affluent, however mainland Equatorial Guinea is one of the most poverty stricken places in Africa.

This is one of the very few Spanish-speaking places in Africa, I can’t think of anywhere else. You can see that with colonial style buildings, the three big buildings are government buildings and on the second photo the large building in the centre is the Presidents “home”. As there is so much money in Malabo it doesn’t feel quite as dangerous as the likes of Lome and Cotonou where even walking along the quay you felt vulnerable. We had a San Miguel at a stall set up on the quay, I treated “Team Engine Room” to a couple of beers; $10 for 12 cold bottles of beer. Generous aren’t I!

… and finally…..

You know it’s been a quiet news week when you read this story in the daily newsletter we get from the United Kingdom.

“Corrie star weds

There was a soap wedding with a happy ending on Saturday when Coronation Street's Helen Worth tied the knot in a star-studded ceremony - an event which Gail Platt could perhaps only dream of.

The bride, who plays Platt in the long-running soap, arrived at the church in central London just a few minutes late in a silver Mercedes. She greeted bystanders who were waiting to catch a glimpse of the famous faces.

Dressed in a green silk and lace Bruce Oldfield gown, 62-year-old Worth looked calm as she posed for photographers outside the venue, raising her bouquet in the air before entering the church to marry teacher Trevor Dawson.”

Congratulations Helen! J Although they could have deleted this and included a match report from T’Reebok; however they did include a story about Blackburn Rovers. Mustn’t laugh…….

“Rovers slide towards the drop

Blackburn Rovers slipped into the n-Power Championship relegation zone with a 3-2 defeat away to fellow strugglers Sheffield Wednesday.

Although they had led through Jordan Rhodes' early penalty, Jermaine Johnson scored twice for Wednesday, with his outstanding second in the 78th minute proving decisive.

Rhodes won and scored a 12th-minute penalty after being brought down by goalkeeper Chris Kirkland, but Johnson leveled eight minutes later and Leroy Lita gave Wednesday a 35th-minute lead from the spot after Johnson tumbled over in the area.

Scott Dann rose to head in a 71st-minute equaliser but Johnson fired home from 25 yards to seal it late on.”

Birthday wishes this week are heading to “Royal” Berkshire and to South America. So to Jasmine Walker, have a very happy birthday on the 12^th April and to Guadalupe Perez in Peru for the 11^th April.

This week’s culinary tip regards the fruit of the week…

Bananas

Creamy, rich and sweet bananas are a favourite food for everyone from infants to elders. Sports enthusiasts appreciate the potassium-power delivered by this high energy fruit. The potassium in bananas can help prevent muscle cramps after exercise. Bananas are naturally fat and cholesterol free. Use mashed bananas to substitute for some or all of the butter or oil when making cookies, for example, for a healthier treat. Bananas contain a good amount of vitamin C. It is also a good source of manganese and fibre.

Chocolate Banana Smoothie

Ingredients: 1 banana; 1tbsp chocolate syrup; 1 cup milk; 1 cup crushed ice.

Method: Combine banana, chocolate syrup, milk and crushed ice in a blender. Blend until smooth. Pour into glasses and serve.

I have a better idea; add “at least” one measure of Kahlua and replace the milk with coconut milk for a delicious cocktail! I’m going to title it Barry’s Bounty….

Banana Cake

Ingredients: 3/4 cup butter; 2 1/8 cups white sugar; 3 eggs; 2tsp vanilla extract; 3 cups all-purpose flour; 1 1/2tsp baking soda; 1/4tsp salt; 1 1/2 cups buttermilk; 2tsp lemon juice; 1 1/2 cups mashed bananas; 1/2 cup butter (softened); 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese (softened); 3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar; 1tsp vanilla extract.

Method: Preheat oven to 275 degrees F. Grease and flour a pan. Take a small bowl, mix mashed bananas with lemon juice and set aside. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside. Take a large bowl, mix butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, and then stir in 2 teaspoons vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk. Stir in banana mixture. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven for one hour. Remove from oven and place directly into freezer for 45 minutes. For the frosting: Take a large bowl, mix 1/2 cup butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add one teaspoon vanilla and mix. Add confectioners’ sugar and beat on low speed until combined, then on high until frosting is smooth. Spread on cooled cake.