Week Five - Almost Ready to Go

Still in Kristiansand but this coming week we set sail! 

A new chief cook got hired and arrived so my days are now easier (for a few days until our 60 voyage crew arrive). 

Other exciting news is I got a Kristiansand library card! Not a huge selection of English books but it's still fun to have some more choices and it's free so it seems like a win-win situation. 

One night I went to quiz night at the pub with several of the crew. We had to get the Danish people to translate the questions and were quite horrible at the local news category but did ok on the others. Surprisingly I knew a fair amount of answers in the social media category!

This week I went provisioning (for 12-60 crew) in an 2 seat Alfa Romeo. Perfect vehicle choice?! Everything just fit - phew! We also had some things arrive from a chandler and we will pick up a big provision order on this first sail. 

As we get going into operation mode we've been going through some safety and drill things. We had the fire hose & pump out and we all had a turn to hold the hose. It's quite heavy with all that water pressure - rather glad that's not my job in an emergency situation.

Galley work slowed down and I got some deep cleaning done. Some of the places I scrubbed haven't been accessible for a few years so it was very satisfying to wash that dirt off!

The ship had sanitation and radio inspections this week. All is good and those items are checked off our pre-season to so list. 

The next update should be more interesting with the news of a sail to include!

Change of Address

Please note as of April 30 I have a new mailing address!

c/o Fullriggeren Sorlandet
P.O. Box 102
4662 Kristiansand
Norway

Week Four - Staying Put in Kristiansand

With Easter holidays over the contractors were back to work on the ship. This week a lot of galley areas got attention so that at one time or other almost every galley space was inaccessible due to work going on! Since I knew ahead of time I'd prepped a lot of meals and stuck them in the freezer so at the end of the day all that needed to be done was sticking something in the ovens which thankfully were never out of commission! I snuck in bread mixing/baking when the galley was emptyish and prepped cold food in whatever area was free at the time. It all worked out, everyone ate at appropriate time, dishes got done etc. 

There were some new cooking experiences like pulling soup from the oven (made possible by the steam setting) and boiling eggs on deck with the hot plate usually reserved for tar!

In galley news the chief cook cancelled at the last minute so it was another week of a solo galley team. Not really a problem since everything was pre prepped! It was also the week where crew started eating at two tables, not one. We are now 12 which is just enough to make sitting all together a bit cozy. 

I went for a few runs and found some nice trails that I'm sure I'll revisit at some point. Although I spend much of my day in motion it's nice to get away from the ship and see some land based nature. 

Photo Essay from Bredalsholmen (Dry Dock)

Week Three - we go sailing! (Kind of)

The excitement this week was going (motor) sailing! We went out twice. The first time to leave the dry dock and head back to the winter dockage by the Kilden centre then after two nights there we came back to Kai 6, the "home dock" of Sørlandet. We had to make the stop at Kilden to pick up items we'd left there but didn't want to stay long as the shore power had been turned off. 

One of the nights at Kilden we had our first BBQ of the season. Hopefully the next one will be warmer! We set up quayside but the ship blocked the sun so it was rather chilly. Now that we are at Kai 6 with no big buildings around we get sun all day and it's lovely. 

The past weekend was Easter holidays which is a very extended long weekend in Norway. Everything closed Friday, Sunday, Monday with shortened hours on Saturday and Thursday. I understand a lot of people go skiing or to their cabins on that weekend. 

This past week the captain and chief mate switched over/rotated and there are a few new crew members joining this upcoming week. Including the chief cook who is new to the ship. 

One of the things I had to get used to as a galley team of one was timing not only dinner prep but also setting the table. Luckily dinner is the quickest meal to set for (surprisingly the fewest amount of food choices on the table) so it's not too bad. Usually I start dinner, put it on hold or let it cook in the oven, set the table and then come back to do final food things. Setting it before I start cooking doesn't seem like such a great idea as sometimes there is work related business going on in the salon. 

Also upcoming this week: work in the galley and aft pantry. Some equipment is being moved around, taken out or changed. It will be interesting to see how that goes. At any rate I've got a week's worth of dinners in the freezer so hopefully we can just heat and go. Or, if that doesn't fly we can go to town to eat. When you're on a ship you need to be ready to go with the flow (pun intended)! 

Week Two - Staying Put and Getting Wet

Another week in dry dock, another week of work. Today (Tuesday) we got the boat floating again and tomorrow we'll be off! This has been the longest I've spent in one location on the ship and even when we move it'll still be in Kristiansand, not going too far!

We had some snow on deck for a day or two. That's something I haven't seen before! 

On Friday night the crew was invited over to dinner and a movie over on the Hestemanden, a steam ship that is (permanently) moored here. The movie was SS Martha (http://m.imdb.com/title/tt0061957/) which I have seen before (it's basically required viewing here!). It was a fun start to a weekend that turned out to be pretty low key. Shorter work hours and not a ton of projects going on was nice. It was also the time change (spring forward) weekend. 

Due to getting the ship afloat and back to the city as well as the upcoming Easter holidays we went provisioning on Monday. There were also a lot of other errands to be done so I was away for the ship for a good part of the day. That's always a nice change. I saw some spring flowers and made it to the post office to buy stamps so I am set for a while!

Here's the water beginning to fill the dock, I think every crew member took a picture like this. 

Here's the crew looking at the water/taking said pictures. 

The galley on the Hestemanden looks slightly different then ours. 

A few hundred metres away from the workyard is this beautiful spot. 

Till next week (or so)!

Week One - Staying Put in Dry Dock

Each journey I've taken on Sorlandet is unique and different. The biggest difference (so far) on this journey is that we're starting in dry dock. The ship arrived here the day before I did and we'll be here for about two weeks getting lots and lots of work done. Some is being done by our crew but there are also workmen coming in during the day to do specific projects. Why dry dock? Well it's set up for this type of work with tools and workmen availablr etc. also some of the work being done isn't really possible while we're in the water (i.e. painting the hull under the waterline). 

One of the projects is repainting the ornaments and I've helped a bit with that on days I have extra time. Painting has been a nice change from cooking although it was also a lot colder. 

So in galley terms being in dry dock means it's been pretty easy: no rocking, dishes that stay put and a grocery store a drive away. The crew currently numbers 10 and that is a very manageable number to cook for. Good thing as I'm the sole galley representative for a few weeks. The others arrive over the next month or so as voyages get underway. 

The day flows much as I remember, finish one meal, get ready for the next and it must be almost time to put coffee on again. The hours are a bit different, the workyard starts the day at 7:00 am so we do as well Monday-Friday and take a bit later start on the weekend when it's just us. 

No big provision orders for a crew this small, just a van trip to the local grocery store and a couple carts of food to get us through the week. I'd forgotten how spoiled for choice we are in Canada (at least where I live). The produce section here is about an eighth of the size of the one I'm used to back home and the selection much smaller. It makes you think creatively about what you do have and appreciate the bounty I am used to in a way I don't usually do. 

Besides these weekly shops I'm also cooking my way through some of the provisions leftover from last year. Meat was purchased at the end of last season and put in the freezer when we were in (comparitively) cheaper Denmark. Some other dry provisions like pasta are still here and it's a bit like seeing old friends again. 

The weather has been cool and variable. I've seen the sun a few times but also ice on deck and snow flakes one day!

One week down, many more to come. Before I close a bit of housekeeping: 

-The schedule for this summer is over on the sidebar (view on full site, not your phone). 

-Should you wish to send me mail that address is over on the sidebar too (and I always write back!)

-Want to know when I update? Subscribe by e-mail (guess what - link in the sidebar!)

That's it for now!