Depart Le Havre

Just for scale, 3 passengers are standing by th gangplank!


THE BIG ADVENTURE!
Kit and Liz Thompson

Sunday 9th October 2005

Last minute packing and phone calls were completed. The final vestiges of warm UK weather enabled us to have a last glass of wine with our friend Noel in the garden before departure.

We left the flat at 3.45pm to get the 4.15 train to Portsmouth via Southampton Central. The bags are undoubtedly BIG! Also poor Kit had to contend with the small case full of books. We did, however, manage to get to the station on foot without resort to taking a taxi.

The train was packed, seemingly with football fans, mainly women, who were met at Basingstoke station by doting husbands and children. Trains in the UK are not really geared up for travellers with luggage – not enough room. Changed trains at Southampton for Portsmouth and chatted with young French hairdresser on her way home to Caen. All the people we speak to are envious of our freighter adventure.

Taxi from the station to LD lines departure point at the port. Distinct absence of LD Lines staff at the port. However, our picnic of delicious sandwiches and a bottle of wine kept us occupied until the LD ferry got in at 9.30pm. We eventually got on the ferry and went straight to the cabin to try to sleep as much as possible on the crossing. The beds were, of course, tiny and hard. Both of us had backache in the morning.

Monday 10th October 2005

Arrival at Le Havre fine at 7.30am, except for the long flight of stairs at the terminal building. A young man jumped in to carry my bag up the stairs, but not so for Kit who had two heavy bags to carry. Took a bit of time to recover! Then taxi to the Hotel Mercure where we had a super view of the ferry from our seventh floor window.
The hotel kindly let us have the room as soon as we arrived so we were able to have a bit of a rest. Also we checked with CMA CGM the expected arrival time of the Utrillo – about 5pm Tuesday. We need to call again tomorrow to check what time we can embark.

A gentle walk around Le Havre – a luscious croissant, a cup of creamy coffee, and then a visit to the Tourist Information Office. Le Havre was mostly flattened during the war and much of the centre has been re-built, though much more attractively than some of the developments in Oxford! The girl in tourist information suggested a day bus ticket – a snip at 3.2€ each for journeys over a very wide area.

As we walked around we spotted the Hotel de Ville with a magnificent tall new tower. We went in to the building and asked if it was possible to go up to the top. Not normally! However the head of security said his colleague would take us up ‘pour faire le tour’. A charming young security guard took us up to the 18th floor balcony and we were able to take some lovely photos There was some mist so we didn’t get a good view of the Quai de l’Europe where we’ll pick up the Utrillo. Then of on the bus to Harfleur a small town five kilometres inland. Some lovely half-timbered houses and a pleasant semi-pedestrianised centre. We sat in glorious sunshine having a Ricard in a local bar, then we had a typical ‘menu’ at the Restaurant Victor Hugo in the centre of the town.
By this time we were both very tired. We decided to get a bus right to the other side of the Le Havre area, but as we were both nodding off on the bus got off in the centre and went back to the hotel for a kip!

As we were recommended to the hotel because of its restaurant - that’s where we decided to eat. The food was very good, the wine also, but rather expensive. The big problem with the hotel is the temperature. Everywhere is boiling! I had langoustines followed by veal in cream sauce. Kit had ‘artichauds pressés’ a rather delicious confection of cooked artichokes followed by sole cooked in butter – by far the most expensive thing on the menu! We both enjoyed our food very much, but had to move out of the restaurant into the lounge to finish our wine in a slightly cooler place.

Both slept reasonably, though we had to have the window open because of the heat and it was very noisy.

Tuesday 11th October 2005

This was meant to be the big day – but not to be. I called the agent at 10am to discover that the Utrillo had been delayed and would be arriving during the middle of Tuesday night and so we would be able to embark some time on Wednesday morning. [We later discovered that another boat had not left its berth on schedule and the Utrillo was forced to spend the night at sea outside Le Havre] This posed a slight problem as the hotel receptionist thought the whole place was full for Tuesday night. After a slight hesitation she said we could keep our room for another night.

Went out at 10.15 for a walk and some breakfast. We looked at trains and longer distance buses to see if we could do a day out to Honfleur

or some other place, but timings meant we would be hard-pressed to find a restaurant for lunch before the magic hour of 1300! So, we decided to get another day ticket on the local bus. We went out to an area that was clearly just a dormitory town, and on the advice of the bus driver came back to the edge of Le Havre via the coastal route, where we went in search of a restaurant for lunch. There were several options, but we chose to wander down a rather uninspiring-looking passage which brought us out at a restaurant called ‘Les Trois Pics’ right on the edge of the beach. We were there just after twelve and not a soul was about. We decided to have a beer outside. The owner asked if we would like to reserve a table for lunch. We looked at the deserted restaurant and smiled but said yes, thinking he was joking. As we consumed our beer more and more people wandered along the esplanade, all going into the restaurant. By the time we were settled at our table, the place was full. We chose the menu du jour and were not disappointed. Good, fresh fish cooked well.

We watched a neighbouring table tackle a two layer seafood extravaganza of all manner of crustaceans and shellfish.

After lunch a walk along the seaside into town. It was very warm and we stopped in a café for a coffee and a calvados. A bit too hot, though!! Then a bus ride out to the port area to have a look. There are clearly a lot of people living out in the port area who work there. We were going out there just as the children were going home from school. Back to the hotel by 5.30 to check embarkation time for tomorrow, a glass of wine, then out for dinner. The hotel room still hot, but weather becoming a bit cloudier, so maybe a better night?

We went out for dinner to a local Turkish restaurant. Again it was completely empty when we arrived, but clean, and a small but OK menu. The owner was very welcoming and persuaded us without too much trouble to try what he called ‘Turkish pizza’ as a starter. It was a very thin crisp pastry, a bit like a puri covered in a spicy vegetable paste. It was good. The humous was not as good as mine! As we ate our starters the restaurant filled up, clearly with regulars, all greeted warmly. Our main courses of grilled meats were delicious, and not too much. I had a baklava for pudding, Kit a calvados. The owner persuaded me to have a Turkish liqueur, which tasted like rose petals – not really my thing.

Then back to the hotel. Still hot in the room, but with the window open it was bearable.

Wednesday 12th October 2005

Awake reasonably early. The weather was very different – torrential rain lashing down outside. Managed to almost use up the wireless internet access card we bought at the hotel. Kit went out for breakfast while I gathered our stuff together. We got a taxi out to the Quai de l’Europe where the Utrillo was docked. When we got to the dock check-point the official said there was no paperwork for us. This meant a visit to the Port Office to get clearance papers, which were then faxed to the checkpoint. After a short wait they let us through. We arrived at the ship at about 10.45.

I’ve never seen so many containers in one place! There must have been thousands lined up along the quay. Apparently Le Havre is the largest container port in France and the third largest in Europe. The taxi dropped us just by the gang-plank of the Utrillo where we waited for an officer to help us aboard.

As we waited we saw lots of fresh food being loaded for the voyage. Also the massive cranes and winches were loading containers. More of this later!

Our steward, Aurel, showed us our cabin – The Owner’s Cabin’

– very comfortable with plenty of room and enough space to put all of our stuff. Containers piled high in front of the cabin mean we only have a partial view of the sea, but a door just at the end of the corridor enables us to go outside and up three decks to the very top of the ship. It was raining, quite hard much of the time, but we had our waterproofs and so we kept dry enough.

Lunch was served at noon in the officers’ dining room. Carrot salad and cold meat to start, blanquette de veau, rice and salad for main course, then a cheese board, followed by a sticky dessert (only eaten by me – not Kit!). All this accompanied by wine ‘a volonté’.

Coffee was brought up to the passenger lounge for us after lunch. Clearly I’ll have to go easy on the food if my clothes are to fit when we arrive in Melbourne. We met one of our fellow passengers, Heide, who is travelling home to Sydney having spent some months in Germany with her family.

During the afternoon we wandered about, making sure to keep out of the way of the Captain and crew, all busy loading the ship for an expected departure of 8pm. The facilities on board are not like a cruise ship, but we have a small gym with exercise bike, rowing machine, and table tennis table. There is also a much larger library than we had been led to expect with books in several languages and a selection of DVDs. We needn’t have brought any books – there’s certainly a good enough selection for me. The library also includes, of course, many French books, and I found a copy of a book I read for ‘A’ level and have been looking for ever since. I must read it again while we’re on board. There’s also a laundry for use of anyone on board.

The passenger lounge is large and has two sofas, a TV/DVD, and a table – which is where I’m working now. Not luxurious, but certainly comfortable.

The main business of the day for the boat was the loading and unloading of containers. The containers are selected by a person in a long mobile crane and then grabbed by the sliding cranes alongside the ship and then lifted into position.

The work goes on very quickly and constantly. It must be a logistical nightmare to make sure the containers are on in the right order to take them off at the next stop. As we were watching the cranes loading containers I asked Kit what would happen if they dropped one! We found out just as we were about to go in for dinner. Maybe it was the end of the loading and the driver was tired, but one of the containers didn’t land squarely in its place. The side
was dented, and the thing jammed tight at an angle. It took at least two hours for it to be freed. This delayed our departure somewhat to the chagrin of the Commandant.

At dinner we met our other fellow passengers, Jeanine and Raymond, a retired French couple who are doing the whole trip around the world returning to Le Havre in three months. Dinner was a smaller meal than lunch, but still a lot:

Fresh mushroom soup (rather rich), herb omelette, chips and salad (I don’t know how the chef made the omelettes all so creamy in the middle and managed to serve them all at once!) followed by cheese board and fresh fruit. Went up to the passenger lounge to read and then Kit went up on deck. I had a bit of a sleep, but got up when I sensed that the ship was about to set sail. I went up at just before midnight and joined Kit on the bridge deck, outside the actual bridge. The departure from Le Havre is via a lock about 2.5 metres deep that can only be centimetres wider than the ship. It was a very precise exercise, and took at least an hour. We waited until we were out of the lock and then went to bed.

Both of us slept well. The thrumming of the engines is very soothing. The sea was also calm. I hope it stays that way!

Thursday 13th October 2005

We woke to our first full day at sea. The sea seemed to be calm, though walking about is quite a trick, especially on the outside stairways. There are naturally handrails and external rails everywhere, but all of the external safety rails are very low for someone as tall as Kit – below his centre of gravity.

Breakfast is a buffet, with toast, yoghurts and fruit. I expect we could have eggs if we asked, but given the amount of food at other meals I don’t think we need a big breakfast. After breakfast we explored the ship. All of the ship except the engine rooms is open to passengers whilst at sea, unless there is a difficult manoeuvre going on. Also, passengers are advised not to go onto the outer decks when the weather is bad.

The main accommodation area is towards the rear of the ship and is eight floors high. There is a lift, but we decided that we would always take the stairs – the only exception being when we carry our bags down at Melbourne! We are on the third floor down where there are the three passenger cabins, some officer accommodation and the passenger lounge (E deck). The Commandant, Christian Claquin, and senior officers have cabins on F deck and the bridge – la passerelle – is on G deck. There is a further outside deck above the bridge – the view is magnificent, but when at sea doing 23 knots the wind makes me feel a little nervous and is blowing what little remains of Kit’s hair clean away!

Lunch was very pleasant, if rather large. We eat with the officers and Commandant in a small dining room right next to the kitchen. We had a large mixed sea-food starter which included crab, prawns, whelks and some other small shell-fish. This was followed by perfectly cooked magret de canard with artichoke and potatoes. And, as usual, cheese followed by dessert and fruit.

More time to read and explore the ship in the afternoon. I started my tapestry. This is the first time I’ve done any sewing since I left school. I seem to be getting the hang of it. Then, before dinner I decided to have a go at the gym. It is a very peculiar sensation using a rower and an exercise bike when the ship is rolling a bit. I kept feeling as if I was falling off the bike!
Before dinner we were invited to aperitifs with the Commandant and officers. Aurel, our steward was serving. He gave me one of the largest whiskies I’ve ever had. It’s very reassuring to have a captain who is mature. He instils confidence. He, the first mechanic and some of the officers speak some English, but we converse in a mixture of English and French. I think our French will improve a lot during the voyage. The good thing about being on a freighter as opposed to a cruise ship is that dress is casual. No need to get out the tiaras!

Dinner was again superb with excellent moules marinière to start. The problem is the vast amount of food! Towards the end of the evening the sea was becoming a bit more lively. There was a bit more banging about of the containers. Although they are locked onto some kind of fastening and some are held within a frame, there is still some movement of the columns of containers that are stacked about six high.

Friday 14th October 2005  During the day the wind strengthened. By evening it was what the crew called strong. We certainlythought it was strong. I didn’t attempt to use the gym, but still managed

OK getting round the boat.During the afternoon we went up to the bridge.
Standing outside was magnificent. The sea lashing the front of the ship, with clouds of spray cascading over the containers in front of us. It’s a bit difficult to walk between handrails in some parts of the ship, and surprisingly tiring to be constantly changing posture to allow for the ship’s movement.


We all managed to eat a hearty lunch, but by evening we were all still feeling full and tried hard to get the chef to give us smaller portions. With the starter this was impossible – the most enormous and delicious globe artichoke each. Kit couldn’t quite finish his. We then asked for small plates of the veal, but the chef didn’t really understand that it was because we all felt full from lunch. He assumed we were all seasick. Jeanine had taken to her bed – not sure if she was seasick, but the rest of us actually felt fine. I am astonished that I’ve not felt queasy at all so far. I haven’t taken any of the (three packets!!) of Stugeron I brought with me.

As soon as dinner was over Kit and I went back to the cabin to read. It was very stormy, and the noise was sometimes startling. We went to sleep early, but both had a very turbulent night. There were times when I was holding on to the side of the mattress to make sure I didn’t fall off the bed. By morning it was still quite stormy, but the forecast is better.

Saturday 15th October 2005

It is very peculiar that it really doesn’t matter what day it is on board. However, what does matter is getting the time right. We have had to put our watches back one hour each night for the last three nights. Luckily the ships clocks all change automatically. Mealtimes are very precise and it would be shame to miss one!

Spent some time up on the bridge in the morning. It was still quite stormy. We were just south of the Azores and I think on the edge of a much bigger storm. We had been told that the route we would take would be more southerly than usual because the weather was poor on the more northern route. We tried to take some pictures of the ship crashing back into the sea and causing foam and spray to cascade over the bow, but this only happens when you haven’t got the camera pointing at it!

We spent lots of time reading, doing tapestry and playing Scrabble. The other passengers are also beginning to use the lounge and we’re finding it good to speak in French to Jeanine and Raymond who speak only a little English. Heide doesn’t speak very much French and so we translate a bit for her. We brought a lot of DVDs with us, but haven’t really wanted to watch any yet.

Most of the day the sea was quite rough so I didn’t go to the gym. It’ll have to be a lot smoother for us to attempt a game of table tennis! The meals were again very good, and the chef seems to have got the message about portion sizes. Aurel also got us some olives to eat with our pre-dinner drinks in the lounge, and a plate of little cakes (I don’t think we really need them, but they are nice).

The constant concentration on keeping balance, even when sitting down is really tiring and we went to bed early after dinner, both of us only managing to read for half an hour or so. The sea was very rough in the night, and things fell off the table, the deckchairs fell over and we were constantly woken by loud crashes.

Sunday 16th October 2005

It’s only a week since we began our big adventure and yet it feels as if we’ve been travelling forever. It’s easy to get into the rhythm of ship’s life, especially when you don’t have to do any of the work. We are now about halfway across the Atlantic and are due to arrive in New York in the early hours of Thursday 20th October. Our fellow passengers tell us that we’ll find the Pacific, as its name suggests, much calmer.

Sunday morning was marked by the provision of copious numbers of pains au chocolat for breakfast – and who can resist those? The Commandant came in and had his breakfast alone, but looked to be in a thunderous temper – wonder what has been going on?

The day was mostly quite calm and sunny and we spent a lot of time sitting reading on an outside deck. We’ve got two old-fashioned deck-chairs to use. Caught a bit of sun – very enjoyable. Food very good again.

We had a chat to the Commandant after dinner. He said he would set up an email account for us in the morning. Also he was keen to ensure that everything was OK and that we’re happy with the voyage so far.

Another rather choppy night on the boat. I think, however, that I’m getting used to it, and I slept much better.

Monday 17th October 2005

We opened our email account but haven’t sent any yet. I did some washing. We filled in the various customs forms for entry to the United States. We are expecting to arrive in New York on Thursday morning at about 5am. Apparently in most countries the ship’s administrative people deal with the police and customs. In the USA we are all expected to get up and be seen whatever the time of arrival!

As we’re arriving so early we should get a full day to spend in New York. We dock fairly close to the centre so we’ll share a taxi with our fellow passengers.

Tuesday 18th October 2005

Another quite stormy day at sea. However, we did spend some time sitting outside on the deck in the sunshine. We need to b e careful not to get burnt as the wind makes it feel very cool.

The tapestry is progressing well and we started a big (and very difficult) jigsaw.

The food is excellent, but we decided to speak to the chef to ask him to give us smaller portions and more vegetables than meat. Time will tell if he takes this on board. The standard is what we would expect in a medium size French hotel for their ‘€25 menu’ but the portions are suitable for young men doing hard physical work, not idle tourists. And they come twice every day.

Watched a couple of episodes of Blackadder in the evening after dinner. Still early to bed, though. We’ve had to turn our watches back one hour each night for the last five nights. This somewhat disrupts our perception of what time it is. Also, the constant movement of the ship is very tiring. Although some of the day it was reasonably calm and we sat on deck – Kit gave me a pedicure – by late afternoon the storm was back and we had some torrential rain. At dinner we had to keep hold of our glasses so they didn’t escape from the table.

Wednesday 19th October 2005

Woke up early-ish today. The first part of the night was quite calm, but by about 3am the wind was up again and the ride was very bumpy. Got down to breakfast to discover that the Queen Mary II was about 10 kilometres south of us, also heading for New York. The QMII is bigger than the Utrillo by about a third – 250 meters long - and travels several knots faster at 25 knots. It also holds 3,000 people compared with about 30 on the Utrillo. Presumably lots of chefs as well!! Took some pics but it was just too far away to get a decent one.

We were talking to the second officer during breakfast and he was telling us that the Utrillo carries up to 2,500 containers (currently about 1,500). The organisation of the containers is done in head office Marseilles, but he’s responsible for the loading and unloading in the ports. He gets a detailed schedule of the containers due on and off at each port, but it sounds as though the jig-saw is done at the office. Marseilles instructs the local agents who arrange for the containers to be stacked on the dockside in the order they will need to be loaded, and are delivered to the ship as each of the two huge cranes alongside needs to place them. The crane drivers place the containers on board to an accuracy of millimetres at high speed. Impressive.


The second officer is responsible for making sure that the containers [or boxes as he refers to them] are loaded so that the ship balances – both side-to-side and front to back. The office in Marseilles has ensured that the containers are delivered in the correct order so that the ones needed for New York are on the top when we get there, and that the ones we take on in New York will be stacked away if they are not wanted until Sydney to allow those needed for Auckland to be reached first.

The containers on deck [there are some in the holds below decks] are stacked up to five high, and only the bottom two are braced. The top three are just loose on top of each other. They do however weigh up to 40 tons each and have little spigots placed in each corner by dock workers to locate them accurately, so they won’t move easily. As the weather has been a little rough, the container stacks move backwards and forwards and sometimes emit the most alarming bangs and groans. Gossip tells us that ships like this one regularly lose a container overboard, and our yachting friends tell us that loose containers floating in the sea are a real hazard for small boats.

I don’t know what the value of the contents of the containers is, but it was going to costs £1000 to ship our old car to Australia as a part container load [we decided it wasn’t worth it] so each container must have contents that are at least double or treble that. As we are carrying about 1500 containers, the back of my envelope tells me that this load must have a value of at least £4,500,000 and possibly more. The crew either don’t know what’s in the containers, or its bad form to talk about the contents. We know that some of it is dangerous as when we walk around the ship [500meters around for exercise] we can see tanks of chemicals with hazard warning signs contained within a container frame for handling etc. A load of this value makes me think about pirates. Our companion Heidi told us that she thought that tales of piracy were only to scare solo women travellers but the danger is real. There is little chance of piracy on the Westabout route, but it is rife around the Straits of Malacca on the Eastabout route. The ‘useful’ notes in our cabins advise us – in the event of an attack by pirates - to get back to our cabins as fast as possible and stay behind locked doors. Also if pirates come, offer no resistance. I guess that that pirates are not really after the containers [unless they know something we don’t know] but I imagine that taking all the cash and personal valuables from the passengers and also the contents of the ship’s safe would be worth a spot of violence.

The Chief Engineer told us that the Utrillo burns around 80 tons of fuel a day. If a ton of fuel has the same density as water, that’s 1000 litres per ton, or 80,000 litres per day! Even with duty-free fuel, that’s a sizeable cost. Our Gyro compass has broken down. Instead of the bridge [passerelle] being staffed by one officer who is just watching the machines, we now have at least two personnel, one of whom is a dedicated helmsman who uses a periscope to look up at the old fashioned [but still operational!] compass on the topmost bridge. Sadly the human doesn’t do as good a job as the machines as each deviation from course is usually slightly over-corrected leading to a very slight weave as we progress. This can be irritating as the continuous side to side motion when allied to the motion of the sea, can make it a bit difficult moving, eating and drinking etc. Liz made a cup of tea early one morning, carried it successfully from the lounge to the cabin and was just sitting down when the boat lurched and she ended up wearing it.

The broken Gyro compass might be a problem for harbour entry, but the crew think that the New York harbour authorities will let us in during daylight with an extra tug in front. Because the bad weather has caused us to slow down, we are now likely to arrive in New York at 1300 on the 20th. Better for the view as we are told we will be berthing opposite Manhattan island and entering past the statue of Liberty and Brooklyn bridge in daylight. Looking forward to it. One downside is that we are now unlikely to be able to disembark in Norfolk as we will not arrive until 1800 and will leave at 0600 the next day. Quick tour of the docks perhaps!

The Utrillo’s crew is a mixture of French and Romanian nationalities. The Master, First and Second officers and Chef are French. Our steward, Aurel, tells us that over 2 million Romanians have left his country to work abroad. Its good for the country’s economy he says as they all send money back, but its harder for those Romanians who have stayed at home as they can’t compete with the money that the expatriate workers send home. Aurel is married and has two children – 23 and 21. The older boy is going to sea like Aurel, but will be on a line around South America. Aurel has learned English and French for his work, and has encouraged his son to learn Spanish and English. Each round the world voyage of the Utrillo takes approximately three months, and when the boat returns to Dunquerque the complete crew changes. So three months hard work [and Aurel like the other crew members works at least 12 hours a day, seven days a week] and then three months paid leave.

SUDDEN SILENCE! We have got used to the throbbing of the engines 24 hours a day. The noise and vibration permeates everything, drinks have mini-wavelets on the surface, and handwriting looks more spidery than normal. The engines have stopped and we are drifting in the middle of the Atlantic. We drop what we are doing and rush upstairs to the passerelle and see the Captain in the command post, helmsman on duty, navigation officers present. It looks serious, but we are swiftly reassured that the New York harbour authorities require vessels to conduct several tests before entering the harbour. One of them is to stop engines, and re-start them from the engine room. We also have to conduct some steering gear and navigation aid tests. No cause for concern. Rather the reverse it seems.