Sailor's Family On Board

My father is a sailor. He has been working as a Captain in Merchant Navy for the last 20 years. He sails for around 6 months offshore and enjoys the rest of the year onshore.

We being a sailor's family have been enjoying this privilege of traveling across the oceans all over the world.

I would like to give a brief account of our routine on board. Our day used to begin at 6 in the morning with the sight of beautiful sunrise touching the horizon. Unfortunately, this picture of natural beauty is not seen in the bustling crowd of cities. Then we get to freshen up and move for the breakfast to the officer's mess room instead of finding one in the kitchen. We get to do so in the galley where we find our chef standing from right 7 in the morning till 7 in the evening. Yet he is assisted by a steward who too has no less potential. By the time its 9 am we visit the wheelhouse and enjoy the cool breeze standing in the bridge wing. Spent our time by reading books, novels, magazines, pamphlets, or simply solving sudoku and writing biographies or etc...

This is the time when we find the Captain (my dad) conducting his regular meetings with all the officers and engineers and other crew members followed by safely drills in order to prevent accidents during emergencies. Then it is lunchtime when everyone gets a break to spice up their boredom. After lunch, we go out in the open-air decks at the front and back of the ship commonly known as forward and aft or foc'sle and maintain to enjoy the cool breeze and watch the mesmerizing beauty of dolphins whales and sharks all around. This crystal clear blue flow is not polluted by men..... but when we reach the ports, we find the water to be muddy dirty polluted and unhygienic.

We normally talk with other ships over VHF (Very High Frequency). The radar monitors in the wheelhouse help us in understanding about us and other ship's locations along with the routes. During the evenings it's dark with twinkling stars all over the night sky. A feel of scare and loneliness is all around. During a voyage or sailing, all the officers are meant to keep a strong watch of 2 hours to make sure that the ship's systems are operating properly.

Once in a month, we have small parties get-togethers arranged on board with fun-filled games, various kinds of delicacies in order to change the mood of the crew members and give them a special feeling away from home. We are lucky to have the opportunity of visiting several countries for enriching our knowledge about their heritage, culture, people, and manners.

After a certain voyage whenever we reach towards ports, the workload increases since officers have the responsibility of dealing with the commercial business of ship which includes custom officers, immigration officers, local police and coast guards, harbor master, cargo manager, agents, port officers, and other men. All these summed up to provide a beautiful heart touching experience.