In Louisiana

It's been a while since the last blog - and time now for a new one. I arrived Wednesday evening in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Had a nice dinner, and found my cabin - where I'll settle in for the next two months. My cabin is port-side aft (on the left-back side of the ship). My Canadian cabin-mate is a nurse who has been in charge of ensuring vaccinations for the crew. Thursday morning, my day began bright and early - radio hours, up at 5 AM. I've allowed myself more time to rest in order to keep my immune system intact. Tomorrow, breakfast starts at 6:30 AM.

The port is in full-swing, what might look like chaos is more like a beehive, in preparation for the trip to Haiti. Each day is a step closer to our departure. The office has been almost overwhelmed with work, not forgetting to mention everyone else! We're all working hours into the night, inside and out - on the ship, on the dock, and on land.

Thursday, Friday, and Saturday are all a blur.

Visit: www.friendships.org
Email: radiojewels@live.com

The crew and Friendships' volunteers eat together in a large mess-hall. We start early and break into work groups. 25-50 young men from Alert came to give us a helping hand. Alert trains young men (like boot camp) to help with disaster relief situations. They're helping us now, but won't join us for the trip. http://www.alertacademy.com/iaa/

It's funny to see the dock / land area all a-buzz. Men and women on forklifts. Men and women in the galley (the kitchen). Men and women selected for watch. There's literally "no respecter of persons" here.

A typical watch in the United States is usually a shift of 4 hours on, 8 hours off, and 4 hours on. The watch that I will keep in the wheel-house will be either the 4-8 AM & PM split-shift, 8-12, or 12-4. The watch includes a Helmsman/Lookout, and an Officer, First-Mate, or Captain. On the M/V Restoration, I was on the 4-8 watch as a Helmsman/Lookout. I liked the shift because I could see the brilliant bright stars at night, sunrises and sunsets, the incredible sea-life: enormous whales that would surface next to the ship, sula birds flying over the deck and sitting on the rails, dolphins playing at the bow, and ancient turtles bobbing on the surface. I hope to get the 4-8 AM & PM watch again.

I've had to purchase some necessary things for our trip. Bungee chords are a necessity - everything moves once you're sailing. In fact, if anything is not battened down... it will fly elsewhere. Velcro is also a great tool. You can stick just about anything to the wall or something else. Line can be used to fasten things down or tie things to your belt or pants' loops. Knives are indispensable, not only are they good for safety (if a rope get's caught around your ankle) but you can quickly open packaging of all sorts. Binoculars for lookout duties, two-way radio - when you're on one end of the ship and need to quickly talk to someone on the other side, and a good pair of comfortable deck shoes - you stand for long periods on watch.

There's excitement in the air as needed supplies are loaded. Galley supplies are packed tightly in the reefers. The helicopter this afternoon buzzed around. It will later be stored on a truck bed. The loading is almost complete. Crew members have flown in from all over the country. The beehive will soon turn into an ant farm with our tasks becoming understood. Our ship duties will fall into merchant marine cadence.

Though our sailing has been delayed - our departure is near. Part of our crew will stay and set up camp in Haiti. We'll return to the U.S. to pick up the rest of the crew and more supplies. It will take us 6 or 7 days to reach Haiti. And only a few days back and forth from Miami.

Hopefully we'll be able to make a difference - to ease the bottle-neck and get needed relief to the people in Haiti.