Day 143 : Let’s do it like they do on the Discovery Channel

Boys like big stuff. Men love big stuff. Fact. The great ship Les Mans Express, though not the biggest ship on the sea is still massive.

Some quick fire stats for you : 168 metres long and 10 decks high. Top speed of 19 knots. Her diesel engine has over 15,000 horse power. She carries over 4,000 vehicles from Japan to Australia, NZ, Mexico then USA. To buy her would set you back $50,000,000

Today was a good day, it would have been a great day if it wasn’t for the fact that both Amy and I were proper green from sea sickness. After a little more than an hour of being up for the day Amy was sick, was it a record on this ship?

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We met with the Superintendent of the boat who kindly gave us a tour. Not your Mickey Mouse tour but your Discovery Channel Tour. Through the engine rooms, below deck, in the control room and up on the bridge. Incredible stuff. If I didn’t feel so sick I would have lapped up some more stats as each component of this ship is huge. My favourite part, of course, was the engine room. The pistons were bigger than me! Love it. Manned by five chaps it is like a whole other world and because we were four decks below water, it felt more like a nuclear sub.

So we saw the engine room, 10  decks (4 of which are under sea level), the galley, mess room, control room and the rec room. Let’s stop messing around, take me to your CAPTAIN!!  Up to the bridge we went. The business end. One giant computer game with screen after screen of everything a Captain needs to navigate his way across the high seas. I warned the Captain and 2nd Officer to expect frequent and pointless questions throughout the journey.

Does it get any better ?? About 8pm we got a call from the Superintendent that the Captain and Chief Engineer would like to see us.  Why of course. Off to the Chief’s room we went for a cheeky bottle of red or two and tales of the Pacific Ocean and Pirates. There was much of talk of who was the tiger and who was the tiger’s trainer, much to Amy’s amusement. I on the other hand was just trying  to concentrate on not throwing up over everyone. It was a horrible situation to be placed in. One of those dream moments in life, a cheeky bottle with the captain, but eventually I had to excuse myself with dizzy spells coming on. These old sea dogs have 35 years at sea and understood that junior seamen Moore and Harpin may take some time get to their sea legs.

Seasick Steve

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