Last night, at around 10 pm, the moment the entire crew was waiting for finally happened. We finally made it to Portland and tied up to the pier at Vigor. We were so excited about this momentous occasion that the crew took bets on when we would finally tie up (our third mate proved that his skills of prediction were the best on board). Before I talk anymore about Portland, let me go back to the beginning.
Our long journey began over a week ago on Thursday the 6th, back in Seward. All morning, the crew was buzzing around trying to make sure everything was strapped down and that all the stores were loaded. Finally, we were able to push off from the dock and get underway. It was really clear and sunny coming out of the port, and I was able to get a few good shots of Seward from the water. The conditions were so good, in fact, that me and Ethan were able to get some projects done sooner than we thought. We spent a few hours starting to install a new LAN rack in the science office and cleaning out the uncontaminated seawater system. We also had to mount some monitors in the computer lab, which isn’t a big thing on its own, but it was the first time I’ve gotten to work with a 3D printer. It was a really cool opportunity to be able to dive deeper into 3D design and manufacturing. Some of my friends have done 3D printing before, but I’ve never had the opportunity. It was really fun, and I’ve gotten to do some more printing work since, which has been very eye-opening.
Unfortunatly, eye-opening experiences can go both ways. Two days out of Seward, we hit a big storm. We had been expecting it since we left, but it still hit us pretty hard. We were riding through 35-foot seas and 40-knot winds for three days straight. I’ve never been this far out to sea before, so even though I tried to ask around and prepare, I was not ready for just how violent the ocean was. I got thrown against bulkheads and doors a lot, and I did get a little seasick, despite how hard I tried to avoid it. Fortunately, the more experienced crew members taught us a trick to not get thrown out of your bed at night: you can stuff a safety suit or a few pillows under one side of your mattress and fold it like a taco so it will hold you. It doesnt stop the rest of the stuff in your room from getting thrown around, but at least you stay put(most of the time).
Luckily, the weather calmed down significantly, and the last few days weren’t too bad. However, yesterday, it picked up again, and it got to the point where we couldn’t take a pilot onboard. Fortunately, we were able to navigate the bar just by following them, and we finally crossed into the Columbia river. Even though we were still on the water, there was a marked difference the moment we crossed into the river. After a week of the ship rocking and rolling harder than Gene Simmons(hi pubs), it felt strange not having to constantly stuggle to walk through the ship.
The trip down the river to Portland takes around 10 hours, so me and Ethan were able to get some more stuff ready for the shipyard. One of the ship’s main winches is getting a new cable, so we had to rotate one of the other winches into a new position so that there is enough room for the respooling job. The winches have a cool design feature that allows them to rotate so they can be used by different cranes/booms as needed, and all it takes is some elbow grease and Dawn dish soap. It wasn’t easy, but for a multi-ton hunk of steel, it moved way more smoothly than I anticipated. While doing that, I got to learn a lot about the winches, how they work, and how the ship operates them, which was really cool. It’s a side of engineering that I’ve never explored much before, and I’m excited to continue it when we replace the cable on the other winch.
Late last night is when we finally reached the pier, and I think I’ve already covered how that went. We’ll be on the pier until Monday, which is when the ship goes into the drydock. We get to stay onboard for the drydocking, which I didn’t expect. Everyone says it’ll be pretty uneventful but I’m still excited for it.