A week into shipboard life.

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I'm a week and a day (or so) into this current rotation at sea.  Hypothetically, if I complete all the time allotted to my contract I'll be aboard for 126 days.  My plan is to avoid taking a trip off (like I did last time - so that I could move out of my place in Houston) and just get all three West Coast - Asian trips done in one clean swoop.

Doing all three trips isn't necessarily the best option for my mental health but, it's definitely the best option for my bank account and annual timeline.  It's definitely a mindset and I'm working on attaining said mindset right off the bat.  I think it was one of the reasons I packed so many 'extras' this go around.  I mean honestly, I'm looking forward to my daily chocolate out of my advent calendar!  Looking forward to small things goes a really long way.  Hence the extras.

It's been radio silence around here.  I attribute that to a small dose of 'hibernation' (ie I've been taking more naps than required....maybe just a touch of 'joining the ship blues'), limited internet (can we all agree I should be grateful just to have a small amount of internet in the middle of the ocean?!) and, plain old laziness.

Here's what the past week looked like:

First things first - setting up my bed with comfy flannel comforter and bottom sheet.  Aaaaah.  Cozy.  I love cuddling up.

November 23rd.  

November 23rd.  

Next on the agenda was getting used to early morning wake ups once more.  Of all the watches, 04-08 / 16-20 is my favorite.  Most times you get the sunrise and sunset.  

November 24th.

November 24th.

Our first morning out of Oakland was foggy yet sunny.  I'll take it.

November 25th.

November 25th.

I tried to get back in the groove by documenting my coffee with a sunrise.  You know....my signature shot.  I got foam blown all over my fingers.  I had to laugh out loud.

November 27th.

November 27th.

Dutch Harbor on arrival = Gorgeous.  Dutch Harbor on departure = snow blowing sideways and an aborted undocking due to high winds - the ship couldn't breast off the dock.

November 29th.

November 29th.

The exciting thing about December First was being able to dig into my Advent Calendar!  Thanks Trader Joes.  Those little chocolates are scrumdiliumptious.

December 1st.

December 1st.

This morning was gloomy.  So, so gloomy.  It was also Thursday instead of Wednesday - after all this time I STILL find the International Date Line confusing!  It's official folks, I'm in East Longitude.

December 4th.

December 4th.

There you have it!  A week in a post!

I hope your Thanksgiving was lovely and that you're gearing up for the Holidays with style!

An Early Morning Panorama

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I was sitting on the bridge on the morning of September 5th and I was assaulted by a pastel sky.

It was the kind of morning you want to commit to memory.  It was the kind of morning your camera waits for.  It was the kind of morning that is so gorgeous it actually feels overwhelming.  It was the kind of morning that makes you want to call and wake up a friend so that you're not the only one to enjoy it.  

I did my ultimate best to get a panorama with my iPhone...and was glad I did.

 

 

This is a scheduled post to keep you company in case I'm incommunicado while I'm Going Nomad!  Thanks for your understanding!  xoxo

September Equinox

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equinox

The sun cracked the horizon at due East this morning and will set at due West.  Day and Night will be almost perfectly split.  Late this afternoon marks the September Equinox here in Hawaii (4:29pm to be exact).  

Today is when the earths equator perfectly lines up with the celestial equator.  The sun will begin moving into the Astrological Sign of Libra - the scales - who's symbol looks like a sun rising above the horizon.

In Greece Persephone will be returning to her husband Hades in the underworld.

Autumnal Equinox Day is a public holiday in Japan so that they may celebrate the Buddhist holiday of Higan, cleaning headstones and offering flowers to passed loved ones.

China, Korea and Vietnam will be celebrating the harvest with a moon festival - giving thanks, gathering with loved ones and praying.  

The Mayan Pyramid Kulkulkan was built to track the equinoxes - the pyramid was built to create a serpent made of shadows - this phenomena is most noticeable at the equinox.

The Iroquois celebrated the harvest with a corn dance.

Michaelmas (or the Feast of St. Michael in the Catholic Church) preparations are underway with people making corn husk dolls and stuffing themselves with a a large goose dinner.

Pagans and Wiccans will be celebrating Mabon, or the time when there is balance between light and dark.  

In Hawaii Piko o Ka Honua in September marks a transition from the move of Kane to Kanaloa time period.

“The season for enjoying the fullness of life — partaking of the harvest, sharing the harvest with others, and reinvesting and saving portions of the harvest for yet another season of growth.”
— Denis Waitley

On a personal note, I can say with absolute certainty that there is very little balance in my life.  I live a life of extremes.  Being at sea, flitting around on land, spending money I don't have (perhaps I should say....spending money like a drunken sailor....), heading back to sea to work my butt off so I can flit around a little more.

Where does that leave me?  With the sun on my face.  With some change on the horizon.  With some important decisions made.  With gratitude for all I harvest.  It leaves me completely unapologetic for every little imperfection I claim my own. 

Here's to balance.  Here's to change.  Here's to the seasons of our lives. 

Technically, the Equinox is an astrological point which means that the day and night isn't exactly equal - it also means that the date and time fluctuate.  Secondly, I prefer the term September Equinox over Autumnal because well, it's not Autumn in the Southern Hemisphere.  

Using the September Equinox as a marker I'll be lining the blog up with seasons.  I figure, what could mark my Going Nomad experience more accurately then the path of the sun?   

ACDC v2

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ACDC v2

This might also be considered a My Life Is So Weird Moment except truly it wasn't so much weird as it was funny.

ACDC Man:  (looking at the Radar sees a vessel named Winning Brother) What a stupid name for a ship...Winning Brother!

ME:  I think a lot of foreign ships names get lost in translation....

ACDC Man:  yeah....but Winning Brother?!

ME:  I dunno dude...

ACDC Man:  If I had a ship I'd name it Bad to the Bone.  Then when people called my vessel they'd have to say it three times!  

We all cracked up.

 

You can read ACDC v1 here.

Happy Birthday Sweet Blog.

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Nautie Mermate is three today.  Three. A lot has happened in those three years.  I lived in Hawaii, tried out Maine for a bit, and then plopped a squat in Houston.  I've changed ships twice.  From the Persian Gulf, to the Med, to a worldwide tramper.  I made the move from tankers to heavy lifts.  I upgraded my license and dove head first into the waters of Chief Mate-ness.

This blog has become so much.  A sounding board for all my coulda, shoulda, woulda's.  A motivator.  A sweet escape.

Two years ago I celebrated Oct. 19th with friends in Maine - there were cupcakes.  Last year, I have no clue why I didn't celebrate and, this year I find myself at sea.  Eastward bound for the Panama Canal.

Today, life couldn't be sweeter.

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I saw an amazing sunrise.

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I sipped an orange goodness.

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I watered my plants.  

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I made a quinoa salad for lunch.

...and seriously, if this blog isn't about sunrises, orange goodness', shipboard gardens and quinoa...well then, I just don't know what it's about...

Nautie Friends, thanks for all your kind words through it all - the pep talks - the mettle making - the whip cracking - the virtual hugs.  I heart you.  Like...I heart you a lot.

I have one small request for you...de-lurk!  Who are you lovely readers?  Where are you from?  What do you do?  What do you enjoy most here in Nautie Mermate Land?

Here's looking forward!