Black and blue

A couple of things have struck me as we're sailing along: just how BLACK it is at night at sea, with no lights from a port or neighbouring ships, or even our own spotlights (which is quite scary - I suffer from a mild form of nyctophobia). And just how indescribably BLUE the sea is by day, away from land and pollution and garbage and dust. Simply beautiful. Olly

Day 1 at sea

17.55: A beautiful day: clear skies, calm blue seas and a cooling wind despite the heat. We've just sailed close to a water spout (pictured) and within ten minutes of that saw a school of dolphins, and within five minutes of that saw whales! (And no, dolphins and whales can't push our ship over, Libby!). Olly

Day 1 at sea

What a pleasant sail so far! Very smooth, with clear skies and deep blue sea. No sea-life yet so far though. Olly

Land Rover disposals

For all ex-crew interested in the shape of the Africa Mercy's fleet of vehicles: this year I sold #743 (a 1993 Land Rover 5-seater pick-up) and #557 (a 1995 Land Rover 10-seater). The fleet is now made up of 20 Land Rover Defenders (yes, still including #077, #376, #333 and #482), and 7 Nissan Patrols. We are sailing to Tenerife with 5 Nissans and 10 Land Rovers, and the remainder are waiting our return to West Africa in Togo. Fascinating stuff, eh? Olly

Stinking rotten fish

There has been a strong smell of fish on Deck 8 for a couple of days, which I mistook it to be the smell of cooking fish from the Crew Galley. Today, however, my colleague from Sierra Leone sheepishly admitted he had tried to dry fish in the back of a Land Rover (such is his passion), but they had started to rot instead. We opened the Land Rover (#998)...and it was CRAWLING with maggots happily feeding on stinking rotten fish. He is still up there now, repeatedly washing out 9#98 whilst the maggots are all fleeing across the scorching hot deck. Tonight I look forward to smelling freshly deck-roasted maggot instead of rotting fish. Olly

Bye bye Benin

Tuesday 8th December, 11.40am: The Pilot came onboard surprisingly early, and the gangway was lifted by 10.30. We are already in the open sea, and rolling ever so slightly. Leaving the port sent a shiver down my spine - the dock contained many cheering well-wishers, some of whom we didn't even know, but also including the Togo Advance Team, the Togo Mercy Team, and the Togo Water & Sanitation Field Coordinator - all of whom will now drive to Togo to prepare for the Africa Mercy's arrival in February (please pray for them - Brenda, Joan, Chris, Michaell, and Mark & Nari & their family). Thus begins day one at sea. Olly

 

False alarm

Last night we heard a rumour that we would have a surprise fire and lifeboat drill at 6.30am this morning...ever mindful of the drill we had at 6am in 2007, we were all up at 6am and dressed and well ready by 6.30...and now it's 7.15, and the alarm still hasn't sounded yet. The source of the rumour knew that the Captain wants to do another drill sometime before we sail, and put 2 and 2 together to get 6.30...Still, at least we'll be ready in time for school (although I wouldn't have minded another hour asleep). Olly

Why we had another black-out

On Monday 30th November I blogged that the black-out on Saturday 28th had been successful - it took a team of Engineers all day to rod-out the thousands of little tubes that make up the main coolers - click here to see the blog entry and photo. But engine tests on Thursday revealed that one of the the coolers was clogged again - and this is what it looked like when it was opened again on Friday afternoon (see photos above) - full of barnacles, bits of plastic and even a crab. Had someone not replaced the sea strainer properly? We'll never know. The cooler was cleaned again in record breaking time whilst the ship once again lay dark & silent. All OK now though, and ready to sail! Olly

Fish & Chips

Sunday 6th December, 4.50pm, Cotonou, Benin: Tonight we're having fish & chips for dinner. We can smell them cooking in our cabin, which is only a few feet away from the galley. Yum. Olly

Gifts from West Africa

Every year, as we pack the ship in preparation for our departure from our host country, our local staff and friends ashore bombard us with gifts (which must cost them one or even two days wages!). This year I have been given two full African outfits (suits of clothes in African fabrics); two beautiful carvings (that will remind us of Benin forever), a drum, two tambourines, a couple of papaya fruits and coconuts, and a framed picture of the Dove of Peace. The generosity of the gifters are humbling! Olly

Congratulations Keith!

Congratulations to Mercy Ships' very own Dr Keith Chapman, who came second in the 1st Annual Surf Liberia Contest. He also came first in the BodyBoarding division. For full article on the contest, click here. There he is, on the right of the photo. Olly

Brown-haired Sally

Remember blond-haired Sally? Well, she's now brown-haired Sally. Great eh? Olly

This Blog...

Mercy Ships have redesigned their website, and it now includes a contents index on the front page which includes THIS BLOG! Wow - I'm humbled! Click here today to see our (tiny) smiling faces, before they are replaced by someone else's. Olly

Swimmer Watch update

Tonight is my last night on Swimmer Watch. I've been on duty from 10pm to midnight for a whole week, and am looking forward to an early night tomorrow already. God bless the guys who man the watch throughout the wee small hours - they make way more of a sacrifice than I do! Olly

Engineering (and black-out) update

Today our Engineers ran some pre-sail engine tests, only to find out that they were STILL overheating, despite the coolers being cleaned last Saturday. So guess what...yes, this coming Saturday we'll have ANOTHER black-out, as all the generators are turned off and those poor guys spend the day rodding out the coolers yet again. Please pray for them - for their strength and their patience. It's the time of year when the ship's engines are awakened from their ten-month slumber and weaknesses and breakdowns are found. Plus we're aware that our time in Benin has been a great success by all accounts and our enemy doesn't like that - I'm sure his followers are praying for our failure (like last time we left Benin on the Anastasis, when we had not one but TWO engine fires on the sail). Olly

Loading update

With only a few days left in Cotonou before we sail, loading is well underway. My workshop and trailer are now on Deck 8, along with 9 Land Rovers. The remaining Land Rovers and Nissans will be loaded tomorrow. The Deckies are really working hard, in tremendous heat - please spare a minute to pray for them. Olly

Togo convoy - update

The drivers returned from Togo at 11.15pm - over thirteen hours since they left Cotonou. The journey should have only taken 6 hours max, but they lost an hour changing a wheel bearing, and another hour at the border, and could only drive slowly because of the size of the convoy and the age of the vehicles. I met the drivers on the dock as they climbed out of the two vehicles that had brought them back, and each one of them said they'd had a great time and they'd do it again! Bless 'em all! Olly

Convoy to Togo

Several weeks ago I was asked to coordinate a convoy to take our oldest Land Rovers from Cotonou (Benin), to Lome (Togo), where our next Field Service will be...and today the convoy left the ship at 10am. In theory the journey should only take 3 hours, but it actually took our 8 oldest vehicles NINE HOURS! As I write (8.15pm) the drivers are probably still in Lome, and even at top speed in two new vehicles they won't be back on the Africa Mercy until gone 11pm. Those poor guys! They had two breakdowns on the way there, plus a lengthy border crossing. What an absolute disaster. Photo of me and the convoy just before they left the dock this morning. Olly

My colleagues

Here's a photo of the guys who work with me: Moses (from Sierra Leone - the guy kneeling on the right with the hammer) is a crew member and Head Mechanic. Mathieu (from Togo - sitting on the tyre) is also a mechanic; Luke (from Benin, standing on the left of the photo) and Adrien (also from Benin, standing on the right) are both car-cleaners. Together they have done a great job in keeping the fleet of 28 vehicles presentable and on the roads of Benin over the past ten months. Mathieu will serve again with us in Togo next year, whilst Luke and Adrien will remain in Benin. Olly

 

 

 

Vultures feast on Liberia!

The Vultures have struck again! Their latest prey: Liberia, a country that ranks in the bottom 15 for basic living standards. With life expectancy at a shocking average of 45 years, the country's democratic government has been making concerted efforts to address the legacy of the civil war and crushing poverty. This morally reprehensible news is even more shocking in the context of Liberia’s recent victory in April, when the country reached an agreement canceling $1.2 billion of its commercial debt.  This past weekend, while Americans enjoyed their turkey and mashed potatoes, Liberia had little to be thankful for when news hit that two Vulture Funds were awarded $20 million from a 30 year old loan and that was originally only worth $6 million.  The UK Court’s settlement of $20 million represents all of Liberia’s 2008/2009 education budget and 150% of the funds allocated for health expenditures.  In total, 25% of Liberia’s poverty reduction spending will go to two Vultures located in tax havens.

To read more on Blog The Debt click here. Olly