It has been a long while since my last post and time has flown by as I have been very busy !
This is the third day of our voyage from the anchorage near the entrance to Del Carmen, Mexico en route Galveston Texas where we will outfit Discovery for our upcoming trip to Brazil. For anyone not familiar with Del Carmen, it is located in the Bay of Campeche west of the Yucatan Peninsula or about as far south as once can travel in the Gulf of Mexico. Our client FUGRO has a drilling rig on our 180' work-deck where they have been taking core samples ot depths up to 450' off the coast of Mexico.
Our current position is 24 degrees 30.89 minutes North Latitude and 93 degrees 24.79 minutes West Longitude at a speed of 8.5 knots. our Estimate Time of Arrival is 21:00 hours on March 1st, 2007. I'll be glad when we arrive because my cell phone will be working if only for a short time before we sail for Rio.
As Captain this is the first time I have had the vessel alone while my boss Captain Wakefield Ball who is the Master of the vessel, took some time off. As Captain I have been responsible for anchoring the vessel on four points on location with four 10,000 pound anchors that have 6000 feet of 1 1/4 inch cable each. This is quite a challenge as running anchor wires in this fashion requires a lot of skill and experience, but this is part of why I love this job and what attracts me to the work. Wakefield Ball is a Master at this craft and I have learned a ton from him, he has been an invaluable resource and has been very supportive as I hone my skills. Also some of my other duties have been completing customs paperwork with Mexican and US Officials, processing payroll, ordering supplies, supervising ships work, etc.
I extraordinarily miss my beautiful lady Katie who has had family and friend visitors for the past two weekends in our CONDO in San Pedro. Very much looking forward to coming home sometime soon. Our swimming pool and Spa's will be refurbished and we are getting interior shutters installed. Having her in my life has inspired greater confidence in my abilities and for that I am grateful as well as having regular communications with Julia and Hayden Brown, Hayden just started Track at his school (Spencer Butte) in Eugene Oregon and Julia has learned to drive a stick shift, both are getting good grades in school and I am very proud of them.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Passage to Del Carmen, Bahia De Campeche
At sea - Bahia De Campeche, In position 19' 25.30" North, 094' 43.57" West, making 8.5 knots headway in 10 to twelve foot quartering seas out of the north, on course 104 degrees true.
So far it has been a slow rolling journey in moderately rough conditions with infrequent rain squalls. Load on deck is A-OK, 21 souls on board. Enroute Del Carmen Mexico where we will load additional FUGRO personnel and continue core sampling operations. I am standing the 6 am to 6 pm watch and my mate Jesus is standing the 6 pm to 6 am watch. Communications are good with our satellite service that includes internet and two "land lines" however the SSB with Digital Selective Calling that is routed with our GMDSS equipment is inoperable though we have a separate stand alone SSB that is operational.
I've seen a few flying fish and when departing Tuxpan noticed a healthy pod (about two dozen) of Dolphin's though these seem to be more stout and dark in color than the Dolphins around the Channel Islands off California whose pods are vast, often times surrounding the various vessels I have sailed there. I also spotted an large albatross or possibly a frigate bird. Wish I had my bird book for positive identification as I am noticing brightly colored tropical birds that like to hitch a ride sometimes on the shrouds of our forward mast.
All in all things are very good. Good Mexican food with fresh grilled tortilla's at every meal. Asada, pollo, and all the accoutrement's. Especially like the homemade salsas.
Missing my lady Katie and Hayden and Julia Brown very much and hopefully will see everyone soon, about the middle of next month.
So far it has been a slow rolling journey in moderately rough conditions with infrequent rain squalls. Load on deck is A-OK, 21 souls on board. Enroute Del Carmen Mexico where we will load additional FUGRO personnel and continue core sampling operations. I am standing the 6 am to 6 pm watch and my mate Jesus is standing the 6 pm to 6 am watch. Communications are good with our satellite service that includes internet and two "land lines" however the SSB with Digital Selective Calling that is routed with our GMDSS equipment is inoperable though we have a separate stand alone SSB that is operational.
I've seen a few flying fish and when departing Tuxpan noticed a healthy pod (about two dozen) of Dolphin's though these seem to be more stout and dark in color than the Dolphins around the Channel Islands off California whose pods are vast, often times surrounding the various vessels I have sailed there. I also spotted an large albatross or possibly a frigate bird. Wish I had my bird book for positive identification as I am noticing brightly colored tropical birds that like to hitch a ride sometimes on the shrouds of our forward mast.
All in all things are very good. Good Mexican food with fresh grilled tortilla's at every meal. Asada, pollo, and all the accoutrement's. Especially like the homemade salsas.
Missing my lady Katie and Hayden and Julia Brown very much and hopefully will see everyone soon, about the middle of next month.
Monday, February 5, 2007
Passage to Del Carmen
Leaving this morning to Del Carmen at approximately 10:00 hours. Total time is 42 to 44 hours at 8 knots. Watched the Superbowl in Spanish last night at the Jarr Cafe in Tuxpan.
Will get our bow thruster fixed in Del Carmen and have FUGRO personnel from Houston meet us there to continue core drilling operations. The plan is the drill at least four more holes and then return to Galveston Texas to prepare for the trip to Brazil.
Will get our bow thruster fixed in Del Carmen and have FUGRO personnel from Houston meet us there to continue core drilling operations. The plan is the drill at least four more holes and then return to Galveston Texas to prepare for the trip to Brazil.
Saturday, February 3, 2007
Todays Events
Another day at the dock in Tuxpan (pronounced; "tooks-pan") waiting on weather to improve before sailing to Ciudad Del Carmen Mexico this coming Monday. Ciudad Del Carmen is commonly referred to as Del Carmen which is located on the Gulf Coast 100 miles north west of the Mexico Guatemala border and twice as far (200 miles) north west of Belize. The trip down the coast from Tuxpan will take approx. 48 hours. Although it is about 450 Nautical miles to the southeast of Tuxpan, Discovery makes only 8 knots at full throttle ! I've sailed faster than that in my 1988 Hunter Legend 40' Sloop down the coast from San Francisco to Los Angeles. But that is another Sea Story.
Today we have just our crew on board as FUGRO personnel have gone home to Houston for a break and will join Discovery in Del Carmen next week.
The food and drink in Tuxpan is quite inexpensive. At the local watering holes a Cerveza will set you back about 150 pesos ($1.50 USD) but can go as high as 200 pesos ($2.00 USD). Taco's are .50 each ! Also Tuxpan is relatively close to Mexico City which is 150 miles to the southwest of Tuxpan. Although we are right on the coast the seafood isn't the best and by far the best food I've had is BBQ'ed chicken and Steak also there is a restaurant near the inland river front that serves a mean bacon cheeseburger for just 400 pesos.
The people of Tuxpan are very friendly with no problems so far. The streets are pock marked with a pothole count that would put New Orleans to shame. And that's saying a lot. Also there are huge speed bumps, more like knee high concrete cattle guards where the driver is forced to come to a complete stop and traverse sideways to keep from bottoming out.
We have a football pool going on board to make the big game tomorrow more interesting. Also our crew of cooks and steward do a great job of cooking the local cuisine with fresh tortilla's, salsa's, homemade guacamole, etc. This is a good thing.
Until later I bid you farewell.
Ben Brown
Today we have just our crew on board as FUGRO personnel have gone home to Houston for a break and will join Discovery in Del Carmen next week.
The food and drink in Tuxpan is quite inexpensive. At the local watering holes a Cerveza will set you back about 150 pesos ($1.50 USD) but can go as high as 200 pesos ($2.00 USD). Taco's are .50 each ! Also Tuxpan is relatively close to Mexico City which is 150 miles to the southwest of Tuxpan. Although we are right on the coast the seafood isn't the best and by far the best food I've had is BBQ'ed chicken and Steak also there is a restaurant near the inland river front that serves a mean bacon cheeseburger for just 400 pesos.
The people of Tuxpan are very friendly with no problems so far. The streets are pock marked with a pothole count that would put New Orleans to shame. And that's saying a lot. Also there are huge speed bumps, more like knee high concrete cattle guards where the driver is forced to come to a complete stop and traverse sideways to keep from bottoming out.
We have a football pool going on board to make the big game tomorrow more interesting. Also our crew of cooks and steward do a great job of cooking the local cuisine with fresh tortilla's, salsa's, homemade guacamole, etc. This is a good thing.
Until later I bid you farewell.
Ben Brown
Friday, February 2, 2007
Today's Events, M/V Discovery (Vanuatu)
Captain's Log,
Today was quite uneventful. At the dock in Tuxpan, Mexico waiting on weather to cruise down the coast to Del Carmen where we will work with Geologist's, Surveyor's and Drillers from FUGRO in Houston, Texas. FUGRO is doing sampling of the earth at depths up to 400' for PEMEX which is the one and only oil company in Mexico. This work is accomplished with a drilling rig we have welded to our work deck.
In addition to the our full crew compliment of 13 people we have 22 FUGRO employees on board for a total of 35 people. All hands are accommodated on the ship with room to spare as we are 270 feet long at 1405 Gross Ton's.
As of today the plan is to leave on Monday morning February 5th to Del Carmen.
Today was quite uneventful. At the dock in Tuxpan, Mexico waiting on weather to cruise down the coast to Del Carmen where we will work with Geologist's, Surveyor's and Drillers from FUGRO in Houston, Texas. FUGRO is doing sampling of the earth at depths up to 400' for PEMEX which is the one and only oil company in Mexico. This work is accomplished with a drilling rig we have welded to our work deck.
In addition to the our full crew compliment of 13 people we have 22 FUGRO employees on board for a total of 35 people. All hands are accommodated on the ship with room to spare as we are 270 feet long at 1405 Gross Ton's.
As of today the plan is to leave on Monday morning February 5th to Del Carmen.
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