Brazilian tattoo, ice breaking adventure and the mystery of the flying fish... look for pictures in the czech post...

We crossed the Atlantic six times already. Each trip to Brazil and back to Canada takes about a month with a short stopover in Searsport and Portland. Im halfway through the first sailing job. The job I dreamed about for so long. And like most of the jobs, the dream sometimes turns into a nightmare. When there is a storm out there and its impossible to sleep normally, when something breaks down in the middle of the night and you have no other option, then getting up and work on it until its fixed, when its over 120F in the engine room... Most of the time its ok work, but sometimes you wish this thing sinks already. 
I guess you can get used to anything. 
Time passes different here. Since we work every day, you stop paying attention to the names given to them. Noone is excited on friday afternoon and no one bitches about having to go to work on monday morning. If there was no ice cream on sunday you wouldnt know another week has passed. We count time on each individual trips south and back, as well as running hours of different machines, so we can maintain them on time. When I first heard of Einsteins theory of relativity, I was amazed. The concept of time passing slower as you reach the speed of light. Its the same on the ship. It feels like so much happened on the shore in last three months and we only went through like a week. As I was asking the older guys here who sail their whole life, I discovered, that most of them spent about a year on board at once. This one guy spent sixteen and half months on a ship when he was younger. Its funny to listen to their stories. They all start "This one time, we were shipping wood from... '' or '' This one time we were carrying iron ore from''.  Some of the stories he tells are crazy though. Like the one when they were hauling coal... 
The place we go to in Brazil is this small town close to Belem. Its in the delta of Amazon. Its amazing to see the water turning light brown as you get closer. The size of it is mindblowing. There are branches and leaves floating around us and the smell. You can totally smell the jungle in the air. This water flushed through the rainforest, sat still in muddy pools until it was pushed away by a heavy rains. And now its here at the edge of this vast ocean. Its full of life.. and garbage...
I always try to go out on shore, when in port. It takes about 24 hours to load Anette with 20 000 tons of cargo so we got plenty of time to hang out. If I didnt live in Peru, I would be probably amazed by the way of living down here. Its the same style of chaos, same 'broken houses' architecture and garbage everywhere as a proper city waste management. As we sit down to have beer these girls show up. They sit down at our table on the sidewalk without asking any questions.  At first I was stupid and was hoping on maybe meeting someone local to maybe have a conversation with. Just about anything. Well, these girls (you can call them whores if you want) arent the best people to talk to. All they know about my country is that its a country.. And pretty much all they know about Brazil is that its a country as well. I try to ask them about Belem, since I find it on almost every map of the world. I give up with laughter, after they tell me, that there is about hundred people in that town. Its a big town you know...
The one next to me is missing some teeth and it looks like her boobs are gonna fall out from her shirt on the table pretty soon. 
''Do you want sex?'' 
''Why the hell would I want that?''
''Because I need money''
Oh stupid me... What was I thinking. That is exactly what I want. Sex with you and pay for it in the end. There are some guys who cant resist the temptation though. I mean there are some pretty girls afterall. This one sailor summed it up pretty good the next day. I got drunk last night, I had dinner, I had a girl who carried my groceries and then had sex with me and all I spent was 100 dollars. Oh man, looks like you got a deal right there.  Then he starts describing the bathroom, trying to explain us, that a local sanitary equipment is a little different from what we are used to. Yeah.  Oil barrel full of cold water is not a sanitary equipmnet. 
It took me three returns to that town to understand better the 'relationships'. Once you go with a girl, she considers you 'yours'. She will find you in about 15 minutes you leave the boat and wont let you alone. Its crazy. Some guys pay them to leave them alone:) 
Last time we were there, it was the cooks last time, since he was going back to Czech republic. He had this girl there. As we were hanging out in this bar this young bartender(about 15 years old) showed up with a homemade tattoo thing(the device you use to make a tattoo). The girl with no teeth and dangerously low-hanging boobs grabbed cooks 'girlfriend' and the bartender started to tattoo her. Oh, things are getting interesting here. In about 5 minutes he is done and the girl has a beautiful new tattoo of our cook's name on her shoulder. Probably amazed by her love, he wants her name on his shoulder now. It took us some time to convince him not to do it. 
As we head up back north, the ship sits pretty low above the water and the passage is really calm. Even when the waves get big, we sail still. We take out the grill and have a nice barbecue on the deck. The suns sets quickly around the equator and the unknown southern constelations lit up the night sky. I gaze at the stars enjoying the warm tropical night. In a couple of days we will leave the gulf stream and cold days will come. 
The storm we went through leaving the stream was pretty crazy. Short, but strong. The waves washed every inch of the deck, carried away forgotten tools and equipment, and we woke up to a really cold day. It didnt take long till we hit the ice fields. Its a world of its own. These large white planes are amazing. And powerful. As we ram our way through it, the whole ship shakes in a really weird way. This is how I imagine earthquake. The floor just moves sideways, up and down under your feet and vibrates with the strangest noises. It doesnt take long and we stand still with large icepacks closing in behind us. The engine stops and it gets quiet for a moment. We are perfectly wedged in between two large ice plates. 
Dead astern... nothing. Slow atesrn... nada. Half...  It takes good 5 minutes for Anette to start moving back on full power. Its loud as hell. Ice cracks and squeeks as it gets crushed by the ship's huge steel sides. I wonder what we are gonna do. Well, we are men and this is men thinking at its best. We back out of it, about half a mile and ram the ice ahead of us. Full power of course.  And then we get stuck again. And we back out and ram again. All day and the next night. Because we dont need a god damn ice breaker. We are the sailors from Czechoslovakia and Russia and nothing is stopping us to deliver the cargo(late).
Anette is actually built to deal with ice. The rudder and propeller is positioned lower than on normal vessels and the hull is reinforced. But who knows what kind of steel was used and again my mechanical engineering knowledge of brittle fracture haunts me during the night as I feel and hear the ice scratching Anette's back. 13 ships got stuck in the ice in those two, three days out there and Canadian coast guard icebrakers had plenty of work to do. We were accompanied by seals. There were tons of them on the ice fields around us. I wonder why they never learned how to dress in white. You can see them so easy! It was awesome to see them in their natural habitat. Slide across the ice, sticking their heads out the water wondering what the hell is this big floating thing. 
Its as awesome as to see the flying fish. There is so much of them. Large groups just jump out and glide across the water. They fly so far! They make turns, go up and down. Its obvious that they do this for pure pure enjoyment. Or is it me who enjoys watching them? As I did, I noticed this weird thing. They seemed to push themselves with their tail fin halfway through the flight. It looked like they wanted to gain some more speed before they finally hit the water and dissapeared under the surface. Well it didnt take long and the most athletic ones started to land on the deck. We keep finding them every morning. Probably the waves help them too. I was so happy to find out, that my theory was right. Looking at the fish I found out its tail fin is designed to do exactly what I thought they were doing. The lower side of the fin is longer than the upper one. Opposite of shark's tail fin, for example. This allows them to submerge just this part of the fin during the flight and gain some speed... Amazing. And the wings. Just a perfect shape. What a beautiful creature. Pretty stupid on the other hand. I was watching these weird segulls catching them. The fish, instead of swiming away kept jumping up and trying to outfly the birds. So funny. 
This is the dream part of the job. Seeing things I would never see on land. Dealing with problems you never thought existed. And all without the help Including some work we have here. I mean, have you ever been inside the engine? Talking to a man, who is also inside the engine, but one floor higher? 
Thanks for reading. Next time Ill write about the safety drills, more about the crew and the captain... and who knows what Neptune has in store for us on our next voyage. 

Hospodske tetovani, uviznuti v ledu a litaci ryby postopadesate

Pulka prvniho nalodeni je za mnou. Zatim to utika docela rychle a kdyby nebyla v nedeli po obede zmrzlina, tak ani nevim co je za den v tydnu. Tim, jak makame kazdej den tady pojmy jako vikend ztraceji smysl. Nedele je sice od slova nedelat, ale to je zase od slova delat. Tak makame jen do tri. Cas se tady pocita na jednotlivy cesty na sever a na jih. Ta posledni byla docela dlouha. Po ctrnacti dnech na mori se vsichni docela tesime na to, ze na obzoru uz bude i neco jinyho nez voda. Zazili jsme toho zase celkem dost. 
Posledni navsteva Brazilie se celkem vyvedla. Posledni noc pred pristavem se v noci rozbilo zarizeni na cisteni paliva, tak jsem s tretim dustojnikem ve ctyri rano v padesati stupnich opravovali, dokud nebylo hotovo. Pak jeste hodina spanku a rano zase do kotelny. Dlouho jsem premejslel, jestli mam jit ven.  Jeste, ze jsem sel. To co se zase delo v tomhle brazilskym Chanove stalo za to. 

tady uz se trenuje na mistrovstvi sveta. Doufan, ze s tech orechu doma neco vyroste

 Devcata nas sice zase nenechaly na pokoji a otravovali nas celej vecer, ale poprve v zivote jsem videl, jak se nekdo nechava tetovat v baru. Asi na znameni velke lasky si jedno devce nechalo primo u stolu vytetovat kucharovo jmeno na rameno. Kluk, kterej nam celej vecer nosil piva se najednou zjevil s podomacky vyrobenou tetovaci pistoli. Mohlo mu bejt odhadem tak patnact.  V rumu namocenym ubrousku otrel slecne rameno a z vicka od koly zacal na hrot pistole nabirat inkoust a tetovat. Bezzuba kozata stetka, u ktery hrozilo, ze ji nadra kazdou chvili vypadnou na stul se zvedla a svoji kolegyni chytla zezadu kolem pasu a pevne ji drzela, aby se moc necukala a kuchtovo jmeno bylo dostatecne citelny. Uz jsem parkrat videl lidi s cerstvym tetovanim. Pekne si to mazou nejakym kremem, maj to zabaleny v igelitu... Tady bylo za pet minut hotovo. Utrit hadrem, za dalsich deset minut znova utrit hadrem kapky krve a hotovo. Nadhera. Kuchar se chce nechat tetovat taky. Skvelej napad vole. Nastesti se nam mu to podarilo rozmluvit. 

Tetovani za pivo

Druhej den nas cekala prace, o ktere jsem zatim jen slysel. Jednou za dva, tri mesice se musi motor cistit zevnitr. S Hujerem jsme se s chuti pustili rano do prace a z prostoru pod pistama jsme vyhrabavali celej den kyble pekelne cernyho mastnyho bahna. Olej smichanej s mazutovejma sazema a kovovejma pilinama. Uvnitr motoru je krasna akustika. Zpivam si, Hujer se poti jak hokejovej brankar a jen do obeda se jde trikrat sprchovat a prevlect. Ja sem zatnul zuby a skoncil jsem az kdyz jsem vycistil svoje 3 pisty. Hujer se mnou uz zase prohral kamen nuzky papir a musel delat 4. Kdyz jsem cernej vylezl na palubu na kafe, uz jsem mel od palubaku na hrnku napsano MAZUT HEY.

grilovacky na zadi jsou super. 

Cesta nahoru byla tentokrat neskutecne klidna. Jednak jsme byli nalozeny skoro az po vodorysku ukazujici maximalni moznej ponor v severnim atlantiku v zime a pocasi bylo vazne skvely. Cestou jsme si udelali grilovacku na zadi, ktery se ucastnila jen pulka posadky, ktera si nakoupila v brazilce burty. Ta pulka posadky, ktera bejt na jiny lodi pred par stoletima, by urcite zorganizovala vzpouru. Kazdy rano sbirame v golfskym proudu na palube litaci ryby. Nektery kusy fakt stoji za to a zustava rozum stat nad tim, jak vysoko dokazdou vyletet. Dlouho jsem zkoumal jejich pohyb nad hladinou a zdalo se mi, ze po tom co vyskoci a plachti, obcas ocasem machnou do vody aby jeste nabraly trochu rychlosti a doletely dal. Po tom co jsem pak videl prvni mrtvou na palube mi doslo jak to delaji. Spodni ploutev na ocasu maji delsi nez tu horni. Opacne nez treba zralok. Timhle spesl ocasem se takhle chytre dokazou nad hladinou udrzet dyl a doplachtit dal. Treba nam na palubu. Zajimalo by me, jak ostatni ryby koukaj na ty, co skoncili u nas na palube a pak je vlna splachla zpet. Myslim, ze jim neveri, ze tam nahore nad hladinou neco je.

Par detailu letaci ryby.

Kuchar. Vcera odjel domu. Ozral se takovym zpusobem, ze ho nechteli pustit ani do auta na letiste. 

Jak moc jsme se vsichni nechali ukonejsit klidnym oceanem a zapomenout na to, ze jsme vlastne na lodi jsme zjistili par dni pred dojezdem do Kanady. Pri vyjezdu z golfskyho proudu sme se v noci prohnali bourkou. Pekne nam to zase umylo palubu, odneslo co nebylo privazany a rano jsme se vzbudili do poradnyho mrazu. Kolem nas pomalu zacal led, ktery houstl, silil az jsme se zacali prorezavat jeho  souvislou vrstvou. Zpomaloval nas tak dlouho az jsme se v nem zasekli. Hrusostrasny skripani a pukani ledu ustalo a najedou ticho. Naprosto dokonaly. Po pul hodine, kdy motor rval na plny zpetny otacky jsme se pomalu zacali vyhrabavat zpet. Couvli jsme si asi kilometr a na plnej chod vpred jsme to nakonec prorazili. Po obede jsem sel na mustek a ten vyhled mi vyrazil dech. Kam oko dohledlo jen souvisla vrstva ledu. Vsude dokola. Jen za nama se pomalu zavirala voda, ktera je ted uz davno zase zamrzla. Kapitan starostlive klouzal ocima po tyhle ledovy pustine  a jen zahlasil, ze toto nevyzera dobre. Kormidelnikovi daval povely, ktery nas vedou skrz mista, ktery vypadaji jako, ze byly driv popraskany a znovu zamrznuty. Nikam to vsak nevede a za chvili stojime uviznuti v ledu zase. Tentokrat poradne na fest. Skripnuty mezi dvema obrima deskama musi nase lod z velky vysky vyadat fakt srandovne. Aneta je konstruovana na plavbu ledem. Mame sroub i kormidlo hodne hluboko pod hladinou aby ho velky kusy zmrzy vody nemohli poskodit. Zaroven i zesilenou obsivku a motor dimenzovanej na o hodne vetsi lod.

 Keptn vyklada kormidlo naplno na levou a na druhou stranu a za plnyho chodu motoru se snazi led za nama co nejvic rozlamat. K mymu udivu zustava naproto v klidu, i kdyz mi druhej den rekl, ze na tenhle den asi nikdy nezapomene. S neuveritelnou rozhodnosti dava Vencovi za kormidlem povely a po chvili se zacneme neskutecne pomalu z ledu pozadu soukat. Vaclav se uz tesi domu. Ted tady stoji bezradne za kormidlem s vyrazem ridice skodovky co ten den trikrat zapadl do zaveje.  Znova poradnej rozjezd a led uz pred nama zase praska a lame se. Trhliny se pred pridi klikati stovky metru daleko a led pod nama uz zase hlasite praska. Priletelo letadlo kanadsky pobrezni straze a dela nad nama dva dlouhy prulety. Pul dne cesty za nama pomaha ledoborec jine lodi a me jen napada, jaky mame stesti. Situace do ktery jsme se dostali driv lamala lode vejpul... Ten den jsme se jeste dvakrat zasekli, couvli a vyhrabali z ledoveho sevreni. V pripade, ze bychom nadobro uvizli, by nam prej na pomoc prijel ten ledoborec, kterej celej den vyprostoval tu lod za nama. 

Kapitan je neskutecnej pohodar a zaroven asi hodne zkusenej a zodpovednej namornik. Prakticky kazdej tejden mame poplachy, kdy trenujeme ruzny nouzovy situace. Vetsina lidi na to nadava, ale chtel bych ty pitomce videt v akci, az se neco stane. Pri kazdym takovymhle treninku mi beha mraz po zadech pri predstave realny situace. V zachranym clunu, kterej visi dvacet metru nad hladinou je po peti minutach nedychatelno a ti z nas kteri jsou jeste vetsi a silnejsi nez ja maj co delat aby se nasoukali do sedacky a zapli si pas. Je to fakt masakr. A to trenujeme za pekyho pocasi. 
Stal se ze me jeden ze dvou lodnich hasicu. Doufam, ze nezacne horet, protoze v hasicky vyzbroji, ktera je evidentne urcena na fakt husty pozary se neda prakticky hnout. Clovek jen vidi, jak mu v dejchacim pristroji ubejva vzduch a pres poskrabany plexisklo jen tusi kde jsou asi dvere, kudy pred ohnem utect. Uz chapu, proc je sklad barev a redidel uplne na pridi. Kterej genius si vsak usmyslel, ze hektolitry prumyslovejch odmastovadel, oleju, ziravin a jinejch horlavin prvni tridy bude uskladneno primo pod nasema kajutama nevim.  
Obcas to je to tady dlouhy. Neni kam utect. Neni kdy si odpocinout. Projit se. Venku videt jinou barvu nez modrou. Citit jiny vune nez ty smrady v masine. Venku to zdanlive nijak nevoni. Stejne jako treba na ledovci vysoko v horach.  Pobavila me zprava, ktera prisla jednomu namornikovi tady od nejaky zensky. Psala, ze by taky chtela k mori. Jsme ta nejpodivnejsi banda siroko daleko. Ze zeme, ktera nema more. Neco jako jamajsti bobisti. 

brazilskej brouk. Mel jsem dva mrtvy. Odnesl je vsak vitr. Snad jeste nejaky najdu

Za chvili opoustime zamrzlou Kanadu. Dva dny jsme menili pist v hlavni masine a misto vychazky ven jsme si udelali vychazku do motoru. V zalivu sv.Vavrince je prej zamrznuto trinact lodi, tak muzeme zorganizovat turnaj a do jara hrat curling. 
Mejte se krasne