December is all set to enter, yet the winter is nowhere. You still need to put on the a.c. before you get to sleep. Warm clothes are stories of the past. Since the last four years, I had been used to quite severe winters...I have always loved those snowy winters.
Last year, this time, I was sailing in the freezing North Sea. It is always an experience...if you sail North Sea in the winters. North Sea is never kind...and takes immense satisfaction to be in its most ruthless form in the winter months. Rolling can easily touch the 35 degree mark when the vessel is in ballast voyage and when mixed with pitching can make life really uncomfortable. Even the most seasoned of sailors find it tough in the North Sea in winters.
It was such a memorable trip...travelled from S.Korea to Mumbai...from Mumbai to Madrid.....from Madrid to La Corona, moved from La Corona (after the dry docking of vessel R).....travelled to Vlissingen, Netherlands to board vessel L (I had seen vessel L built from scrap before my eyes...and the attachment was deepened by the fact that she carried a very sweet name). From Vlissingen, we sailed to the north and then returned back to Antwerp...travelled to Brussels to finally catch the flight to Mumbai...a one week stay in Mumbai and then again flew to S.Korea for the newbuildings.
The complete span of this trip was more than two months, but what made it so different was the 21 days I spent in North Sea...Weather was mostly chilly, but one day sun was out and the sea was not as rough. I decided to move to the bridge wings....and I wonder if I can ever forget the panaromic view in front of my eyes...the rays of the sun playing with the shimmering waves...some rare species of sea fish jumping high into the air....huge colorful sea birds flying not very far from our ship....and the colorful horizon that provided one of the most enigmatic views, I had ever come across....a rare chance to appreciate the beauty of God's creation.
That trip was tough...but in hindsight it makes such wonderful memories....more so because it was my last long trip before I joined ISB. I wonder if life can be as interesting after MBA.
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