From the Tower…Mostly Matson

Matsonia stuck at Pier 10 (better that than out at sea)…poor girl. I went to have a look at her.

It’s rare to see a Matson stack towering over Pier 10 these days.

There was quite a bit of traffic while I was up on Aloha Tower.

Mokihana leaving a little late:

Pi‘ilani:

Passing JRS Canis with Maui waiting off shore:

Mikioi:

Honolulu:

Maui with Mokihana in the distance:

Nice to see the Coast Guard cutter Morgenthau again (back from shipyard in the Bay Area):

USCGC Sherman with Jag Laxmi in the distance:

Kokua with Mauna Loa:

Mikiala II:

Going to assist Moana Holo with Maka‘ala:

Last…the dorms are close to becoming a reality.

Crazy.

(shakes head and walks away)

Still Catching Up – Friday Off (September 12)

Spent the day off from work down at the harbor looking at ships.

It was nice seeing a female ‘iwa soaring around:

First ship of the day was Eagle Express:

Mamo at the bow:

I had some time to kill before the next ship arrived, so I decided to go up to the observation deck of Aloha Tower.

The HPU dorm project continues. Workers re-roofing the buildings:

One of the Superferry barges has disappeared:

Miss Benedetta anchored offshore:

Honolulu Harbor channel with Nord Steady in the distance:

Nord Steady:

Mamo again:

Bow close ups are always fun:

Noke and Namahoe (looked like a photo shoot):

Noke:

Moving a catamaran out of the dry dock:

Last ship of the day, BBC Bulgaria:

Harbor rock with a face:

Kind of reminds me of the kodama in Princess Mononoke…

Cheerful

The day started off with a cheerful song from a male house finch:

Asian Jasper from the pier:

It was business as usual on the ship…nothing interesting to report.

Before I left the harbor, I stopped to watch Manoa arriving.

Bow shots are always fun:

With Aloha Tower Marketplace deserted, the birds have taken the opportunity to nest. Here are more house finches (male and two babies):

There was a trench near the Pier 10 area:

I was intrigued by the red bricks that seemed to have come from the trench:

Historic?

Light, Shade, and Ghosts

After the horizon gazing of yesterday, I spent time today looking inward.

As part of my regular inspection routine, I usually check the aft- and forepeak areas and the pump room. Confession time…I’ve been lazy and have neglected the forepeak and pump room for a while. Bad, really, as they should be checked every week for any changes. There’s no excuse for not doing it, as it just involves opening the forward hatch cover or connecting an extension cord from the outlet in the boiler room to the string of lights in the area above the pump room to provide light.

The string of lights illuminates the tween deck level and forepeak, but not the pump room. The hatch provides general illumination on the tween deck level and down into the pump room, but the forepeak is usually pitch black and requires a flashlight to see anything.

I chose the hatch option today and got a surprise when I went below.

Normally hidden and unnoticed in the dark, the upper bow ports were lit by the sunlight that was streaming down through the hatch and was being reflected forward by the bulkhead separating the upper pump room area from the boiler room. It was a Newgrange moment!

Here is a shot of the entire area taken later on in the day for comparison:

The bow ports are back in shadow again.

More details.

Deck (needs sweeping):

I can’t remember if I’ve posted about this before, but these marks are something Brush noticed during the last survey:

So far, they’ve only been found on plates along one particular strake on the starboard side. No idea what they mean, if anything.

I figure I should mention the ghost(s). Oooooooo. Some time ago, I was talking to someone who had volunteered on board in the past and he told me of spooky things (voices, touch) he and someone else had experienced while working in this area at night.

At one point, some people scouting locations for a ghost hunter program visited the ship. Oddly enough, from what I understand, they said they picked up voices in the same area. Oooooooo.

I also heard that ice used to be kept in the forepeak during the ship’s sailing days and sometimes bodies would be stored there. Now, I’m not so sure about that. I guess a body could be kept, if it was someone really important. Otherwise, why not just a burial at sea?

I have had a couple of strange experiences, but they are things I can explain away. The ship has a very light and benign air…at least during the day. I’m a chicken when it comes to the dark, so I don’t think I’ll be spending any time here alone at night.

Leaving the pump room area, a valve handle on the boiler room side of the bulkhead:

I hadn’t noticed the black mark above the handle before. Caused by steam escaping a long time ago?

I made up a new ullage form, which I think works quite well:

Oops, I wrote down the wrong date.

Some life at Aloha Tower Marketplace!

It turns out that it was the people who had participated in the Challenge Nation urban scavenger race. Looks like fun!

Humid = Unproductive

Can we have the trades back again?

Swept the fo’c’sle and picked up random bits of stuff off the weather deck.

Dead gecko:

I also found a bird head on the pier. Ick. What is it with all the dead stuff, as of late?

Location of the hole (bottom of the two) from the hull sampling. Ship vampire.

Masts! Rigging! Nice to see the Robert C. Seamans at Pier 9:

Two spiffy, blue boats belonging to Naviera Integral arrived in the morning.

Don J Ragland:

Don Luis:

Puff!

Pi‘ilani and Mamo for Manoa arrival:

More cars! Jupiter Spirit:

Manoa from Aloha Tower:

Go Mamo!

Mikiala II and Mikioi all pau with Jupiter Spirit:

Sad to see Aloha Tower Marketplace all boarded up:

Sunday Checkup

I went down to the harbor again on Sunday to have a look at the aft peak to make sure things were okay. As far as I could tell, there was no change.

Some general sights…

Vava II back in the harbor, this time at Pier 9:

Work at Aloha Tower Marketplace is beginning. A lot of the area is boarded up:

Hooters, the Star of Honolulu office, and Gordon Biersch are still open along the side facing Pier 8:

Everything else looks sad and empty.

Pump Progress

More progress on the pump system this week.

On Tuesday, I got out of work early. I travelled into town, ate lunch, and then went down to the harbor to check on the ship.

I found two ladies looking at the ship from the gate area. I had a nice chat with them and gave them a quick tour.

Paul was on board working to get more of the PVC set up for the emergency discharge line (which, hopefully, will never be used). After the ladies left, I did what I could to help him. Trying to do stuff like this in office attire is no fun.

Yesterday (Saturday), we did more work on the emergency discharge line. It involved going down into one of the tanks. Shhhhhh! Fortunately, the set-up drill was a familiar one, having been into the tanks myself.

The newest member of the FOC Tank Club:

Work on the weather deck:

Out through a scupper:

(Yes, the deck needs a good cleaning. It’s on my list.)

View from the pier:

After we were done for the day, I did my usual stroll around Aloha Tower.

Nippon Maru’s masts visible in the distance:

I went to the Aloha Tower sundry store to get something to drink. Most of the remaining shops are being pushed out by the HPU dorm project. I asked the lady behind the counter about their status. Unfortunately, she said that they had to leave too. That makes me unhappy.

She did say that there are plans for a merchant area, so they may be back. I hope so.

Pacific Venus rat guards:

Pacific Venus at Pier 10:

Marine creature sticker art:

Pirate Toby jug in a window downtown:

Something New

I spent most of Saturday at the harbor.

The day started with my usual inspection of the ship.

One of the rain buckets I placed in the tool room last week was full of mucky water that had dripped down from the deck above:

I did some tidying up around the ship in anticipation of a photo shoot that would be taking place on the ship later on in the day.

I took some time out to do a bit of ship spotting.

Mihama arriving at Pier 8:

There was a brown booby fishing in the harbor:

Not the best photo, but it shows the booby trying to get airborne after catching a good-sized fish.

Pilot boat Honolulu:

Thanks to Captain Ed Enos and Paul, I had a nice mid-day break.

Off Pier 9:

Yes, it was a lovely day!

Captain Enos was taking Mokihana out after a slight delay:

Mikioi at the stern:

Mamo heading in:

Captain Enos climbing down the pilot ladder:

Goodbye Mokihana:

It was back to the ship for me to await the arrival of the photographers.

Although it may be rather odd to think of the combination of fashion photography and old rusty ship, it was nice to see the ship alive with activity. I enjoyed working with everyone and had a good time.

It was dark by the time I secured the ship. I took a short walk around Aloha Tower Marketplace before leaving the harbor.

Grand Princess at Pier 10:

Due to the lack of normal foot traffic, these shops only open when there are cruise ships in port:

Pump Repair – Part 2

Time to replace the impeller on the other pump.

Having worked on its twin last Sunday, we thought that this one wouldn’t take so long. Not so. The old impeller was stuck…really stuck…on the shaft to the motor.

Maybe some heat will help?

The wood block method to knock it loose suggested by the manufacturer did not work. Or maybe we were just interpreting the vague instructions incorrectly?

Anyway…try again using old caulking tool?

Success!

It’s a relief to have both high volume pumps set up and working again:

Many, many thanks to Paul for his time!

One of our submersibles needs tending to. I guess I’ll tackle that myself next time.

Kagawa Maru chafing gear:

Long way from home:

The sign of things to come:

Fireworks

I spent a nice evening on the ship. Fortunately, the only fireworks were the official ones. I had fun and managed to avoid drama on the pier.

People started arriving at Aloha Tower Marketplace in the late afternoon to stake out places on the pier. It’s great to not have to worry about that and fighting the crowd.

View of Pier 8 from the ship at sunset:

Horizon Reliance arriving (with blast of horn!):

Happy 4th of July!