My new adventure commences.
I am sitting in the lounge in Sydney airport having flown from Christchurch. My next flight is QF 11 to Los Angeles and on to Miami on American Airlines. I have 3 hours to wait here and 2 hours in LA.
I am hoping 2 hours is enough as I have to go through US immigration there on a C1/D visa. That is a seafarer in transit visa. I may as well stick a large red flashing light on my head for in the past in LAX I have had various waits from an hour to nearly three on one occasion to get through. I have no idea why a seafarer warrants that. But so be it. If I miss the connection there will be others. I am not concerned.
I am heading to Miami for a few days to meet the staff in the offices of my new company and I am really looking forward to it. I have met a few already and they have treated me so well. On the 21st November I will join the ship also in Miami for a period of familiarisation with my opposite number before taking the reigns myself sometime in early December.
I am to be Master on a ship called The World. It is a residential ship where the people onboard own apartments on the ship. It is truly unique and although she is a passenger ship in the eyes of the regulatory authorities, to the people that live on board she is their home.
There will be many similarities to ships I have sailed on already. The World is a similar size to Seabourn Odyssey/Encore. But there will be much for me to learn. I relish that opportunity. Coupled with the fact that the ships itinerary is beyond imagination. From the Arctic to the Antarctic and all points east and west there is nowhere that I can see that she actually does not go. Couple that with the fact that she spends multiple days in port….well you get the picture.
This is all new to me. I hope to carry on posting on my experiences.
As always, any comments and suggestions are very welcome. I do read all the emails I get. My apologies if I dont reply to them all.