Captain’s Daily Log: Tampa departure

Our voyage started as a real long voyage starts. Departure delayed due the large amount of stores and supplies that we had to take with us. Thus our departure time was delayed from 1700 hrs. to 1900 hrs. However it had the advantage that some lost luggage from guests could still make it to the ship.

Tomorrow the crew will be very busy with relocating all those supplies to their respective lockers and store rooms and to make the ship “shipshape” again below decks. The moment the last pallet (with paintings for the art auctioneer) was loaded onboard, the ms Veendam left the dock for our trans Atlantic voyage to Venice in Italy.

The departure/ undocking maneuver is always done by the captain. While the pilot is the man who knows “the land” in this case Tampa Bay, it is the captain who knows best how his ship handles. After the ship was swung around in the turning basin of Ybor harbor, I handed over the “conn” to the pilot and we sailed at various speeds through Tampa Bay. Handing over the “conn” means that the pilot is then having the conduct of the safe navigation of the ship. The ultimate responsibility of anything that might happen always remains with the Master.

Tampa Bay pilots use a numbering system to indicate their seniority in the pilot system. Thus Unit One, is the most senior pilot and if he retires, Unit Two becomes Unit One, etc. etc. There are 23 pilots in Tampa Bay and our pilot was Captain. McDonald who is Unit Three, so one of the most senior pilots in the bay. He got us safely to the pilot station by 22.30 after which the Veendam left the approach channel and set sail for the Dry Tortugas, which are the most Western part of the Florida Keys.

The weather for the first few days looks very good. Only a low swell is expected when we leave the shelter of the Bahamian islands later in the night. The North Atlantic weather can be very un-reliable during this time of the year when it is the period of change from regular winter storms to nice summer weather, thus it is difficult to predict more than three days in advance. But the first three days look good.

To be continued.