RTW ’23: The People We Meet

Throughout the duration of RTW ’23, I’ve met a lot of new people along the way. While some of these chance encounters only lasted momentarily, others have turned into friendships that have carried on. Every connection I’ve made, however, has made a lasting imprint on my heart. I truly feel as though my heart strings are connected all over the globe– and that is something very special to me. During my time on MV Blue Master II, I was able to connect with many of the crew members. I heard some of their stories, had valuable conversations, and experienced really marvelous moments with many of them while at sea. Along with fostering new relationships, I was able to rekindle one of the most valuable relationships I have: the one with myself. There’s a peace that I experience at sea, one that deeply grounds me and allows me to connect with myself. From taking time to focus on my body through exercise and movement, to spending time in reflection and journaling, to exhaling deeply while sitting on the deck of the ship connecting with the vast universe around me, it was an absolute pleasure to meet the most current version of myself: the one where I thrive, free.

One of the first meaningful conversations I had aboard the ship was with Andrii, the 3rd officer on the ship. I’m still in awe when I hear people’s stories! You can have a simple conversation with someone and not know their life story– and this was certainly the case, here. I usually open conversations with others by asking, “where is home?”. For Andrii, home is about an hour outside of Warsaw, Poland. WHen he finishes his three month tour on this ship, he’ll take a bus back to Poland where his wife and infant son are waiting for him. He mentioned that though he resides in Poland, he’s originally from Ukraine. He was fortunate to have been a seafarer during the time the Ukraine War started, which allowed him to leave the country and not be required to fight in the war. He said that women can travel freely, but not men. If a man survives his duty at war, when he returns and transitions out of the military, he needs to show proof of military service when applying for any future job prospects. Even then, it may not be easy to get a job. But, because of his career choice, he was able to leave the country to perform his job and take his wife with him. He shared with me that in March of 2022, his wife birthed their child, via c-section, in a hospital basement, underground. It is amazing to me how women all over the world bring their children into the world wherever they are, in any situation, and make the best of it. While Andrii is on board the Blue Master II, his mother in law is with his wife, helping with whatever may need to be done, there. Once his time at sea is over, he has no desire to return to Ukraine, even though his mother and grandmother are still living in Ukraine. They have both managed to stay safe, but his grandmother is too elderly to travel, so his mother stayed behind to care for her. Though his heart will always remain connected to Ukraine, Poland is where he will plant new roots. He says his home town in Ukraine is not near the front line, has infrastructure, and he can speak to his family regularly on the phone, so he feels better about them being there. Andrii originally started university in the field of engineering, but when he didn’t like it, Andrii’s father, who was also a seafarer, encouraged him to go to Maritime school and pursue that career path. Before I started talking to Andrii, I (wrongly) assumed that all of the officers were Polish. It just goes to show you that there’s more to a person’s story than you may initially realize when simply looking at the surface.

When I first met the Captain of MV Blue Master II, I didn’t know his name. Everyone on the ship simply referred to him as “Captain”, so I followed suit. Early on, he told me that he has three children: a 10 year old boy, and 9 year old twins, a boy and a girl. One morning, early in the trip, we were walking the deck together. During our chat, he mentioned that one of his sons had encountered someone at school who was as a “flat earther”. His son asked the Captain to help him prove how this concept was false– so the Captain shared a picture showing the curved horizon from the bow of the ship. I appreciated hearing that story; how a father and son worked together to educate someone else in a logical and practical manner. On the way back to the ship office, we saw a rainbow, partially hidden by clouds. He mentioned that they see full rainbows at sea when the sky is clear, so I remained hopeful throughout the trip that I would get to share in this phenomena. Towards the end of our walk, the Captain invited me to go ashore the following day to get pulpo (octopus) for an upcoming crew BBQ. I was a little surprised that he asked me to join, but I was thankful to begin a crew-ship with the Captain while I was aboard his vessel. During a dinner towards the end of my trip on January 27th, the Captain asked if I had heard the news about Texas– he mentioned something about a Civil War. Internally, I freaked out a little bit, screaming “WHAT?!” to my own brain. I knew that being at sea would shelter me from certain up-to-date news, and I knew that travelling the world posed the possibility that things could happen back home that I wouldn’t find out about until later. But, a Civil War? That was certainly not on my radar! Outwardly, I calmly replied “No; I’ve been saving my data allotment and not going online”. Obviously, he had been online, so I asked what news outlet he was reading. He didn’t answer my questions, but he went on to say that the conflict had something to do with the border, immigrants, and some other states supporting Texas, while Biden sent troops to the border. All of it was news to me, so I informed him that I would be going online and he may see a request from me for more data, given the circumstances. Everyone has to get authorization from the Captain for data usage, and I figured this was a worthy cause. Once I got to my cabin and got online, I searched the AP news wire site and found the article. I realized it was about the recent Supreme Court ruling regarding State vs. Federal authority at the border, nothing at all resembling a Civil War. It was so fascinating to me how different countries and people from other nations retell our news stories, and the fascination they have with the U.S. overall. I’ve been surprised just how much the Polish officers are aware of U.S. politics, the major players, and our upcoming election drama. It’s been really wonderful to be able to have conversations with the crewmembers that surpass simple greetings and passerby formalities.

Conversations with another crew member, 2nd Officer Ben, also presented themselves. During the early days of my voyage, a small boat presented itself in the ocean. Once they saw our ship turn towards them, they put lights on and off in an attempt to make them look like a legitimate fishing boat, but 2nd Officer Ben could see people on top of each other; the open wooden boat was heavily weighed down. It was clear to the crew that the boat was, in fact, a refugee boat. Local Maritime was informed and sent a rescue vessel to them while 2nd Officer Ben kept a close eye on the boat. Thankfully, no one went into the water– if they had, it would have meant a man-overboard for our ship, and duty to save the person. The local rescue boat arrived about an hour after notification, which was a relatively quick response given the vastness of the ocean. Once they arrived, they took command, and our ship was relieved of duty. We later found out from local rescue that there were 46 people, including 4 women and 4 children, aboard the small boat. The local authorities were aware of the boat, but not its current location. It had most likely left Tarafaya, Morocco, which was 42 nautical miles from Blue Master II at the time we spotted it. There were only approximately 15 nautical miles more to reach its desired location along the shore of Spain, but they were intercepted. 2nd Officer Ben said that, unfortunately, this happens a lot. Refugees plant the trip to arrive in Spain during the night, trying to remain undetected. I was in my cabin during the episode, but I could tell that we had stopped for about an hour while we still had a signal. I figured that the Captain was being generous, allowing the crew one more hour of cell signal. That’s what I was doing with my time, anyway. The entire scenario brought up so many thoughts and feelings to process. First off, I felt a little guilty that I was so self-absorbed that I had assumed that the stop was leisurely in nature– first world mentality, at its finest. Secondly, I commend the officers for fulfilling their duty and obligations. Yes, it’s a part of their job, and maritime law to inform authorities, but I’m sure some vessels either aren’t paying that much attention or are simply choosing to look the other way. This experience gave me added respect for the crew. Finally, my mind and heart thought of the refugees themselves. How desperate must you be to take the risk across over 50 nautical miles of ocean, at night, in an open and overcrowded boat, with children to reach a new land? If this is the better alternative, what were they leaving in Morocco? And how many refugees don’t make it at all and drown? The reality of having to choose between chancing death or living their normal lives makes me wonder just how bleak their situations must be, and that really pulled on my heart. 2nd Officer Ben said that he didn’t know if Spain would take the refugees in or send them back. My heart hopes that, no matter what the outcome, they are safe.

As we approached the equator during the third week of January, I could feel the heat! Before we approached the equator, I geeked out with 2nd Officer Ben about the Coriolis Effect– the direction that water turns in the Northern vs. Southern hemisphere– and postulated what would happen AT the equator. There was a sink in the bridge area with a mini kitchen to make coffee and tea. We tested the theory and were able to see the water drain counterclockwise: Northern Hemisphere check! It turns out that I had remembered it incorrectly, as I thought that the water drained clockwise at home. I decided to spend some data allotment to quickly look it up, and confirmed that the Northern Hemisphere is, in fact, counterclockwise. So, we planned our own experiment for the following days: checking the direction of the draining water. The effect is small, so the amount of water in the sink and shape of the drain may have been more of a factor than the effect, but we continued to check it and see! It was a lot of fun, and the definite highlight of that particular day. It was a nice reminder that I am forever curious and will always like science and discovery. For those of you who are wondering, at the equator, the water drains straight down!

At the beginning of my 4th week at sea, 2nd Officer Ben gave me a tour of the hospital room. It had all of the necessary equipment to perform first aid and critical medical care for injuries and illness, including oxygen, a hospital bed and a stretcher. All of the medicine was locked up, and some vaccines and medications were refrigerated. The controlled substances were under lock and key, which the Captain kept. 2nd Officer Ben informed me that an outside medical company comes on board periodically to inspect everything, and a certificate allows the 2nd Officer who is the chief medic on board (in this case, Ben) to take the mobile kit and go directly to where someone has been injured, similar to a paramedic. He gave me two points of reference where he had to jump into action– once when someone fell off of a ladder, and another where someone cut their leg on a grinder blade. He performed immediate care and monitored each person until they had follow ups with a doctor at the next port. It amazed me just how many hats 2nd Officer Ben wore, and how knowledgeable he was in so many different arenas on board.

On the same day that I toured the hospital room, I was also given the opportunity to tour another essential area of the ship– the engine room. Kristoph, a crewmember, took two hours out of his day to dedicate to this tour, and I was thankful! Before entering the engine room, we went to the break room to have a coffee with three motor men from Georgia and a cadet from Ukraine. There I learned that Kristoph is a third generation ship engineer! His father took him on a ship for the first time when he was 4 years old, and from that point on, he yearned for the sea. When we got to the engine room, I was absolutely amazed! There were at least a thousand pieces of equipment, coupled with hundreds of systems with piping. Kristoph knew every single piece of equipment, what it did, and the critical system parameters without looking at the nameplate or piping nomenclature. Looking at all of the equipment, it was clear to me that the ship was, in fact, a floating independent city. I saw a garbage incinerator, water system with a pressurized tank (much like a town water tower), freon and nitrogen gas, potable water converted from sea water, a sewage system, HVAC, a fire fighting system, and even a power plant with redundant systems in case of failure. One of the most astonishing realizations was just how large their fuel tanks are– roughly the size of a Manhattan apartment! It was impressive and shocking, and I was so thankful that Kristoph took the time to show me around, and that I was able to learn a little bit about his story, including how he ended up working on this massive ship!

By the end of my time on the ship, I felt very comfortable on board. My conversations with the crew became casual and less formal than in the beginning of my voyage, and I was accustomed to referring to the officers by their titles, not their names, just like everyone else on board. I felt very privileged to have spent time with the crew, connecting with them, and learning, at least in part, some of their stories and what brought them to the sea. The ship certainly started to feel like home– I could open the hatches with ease and navigate my way around the ship without needing assistance. Thanks to the support of the crewmembers, my time on the ship was fruitful!

On Monday, February 5th, I officially departed MV Blue Master II and set my feet, firmly, in Cape Town, South Africa! It was surreal leaving the ship after so much time on board, knowing that I was saying goodbye to her and the crewmembers for good. Though I was excited to begin a new leg of my travels, I had become accustomed to the sea, and being back on solid ground was an adjustment. I dropped my bags at my new hostel before I was able to check-in and asked the staff if they had any recommendations on a place where I could get something to eat. They directed me towards The Strangers Club, a restaurant two blocks away. Once I got there, I sat at a long table with a few other diners, including another solo woman, Olga. We struck up a conversation after I recognized her U.S. accent, chatting about our meals and the “usual” topics when meeting someone new– where we were from and what brought us to Cape Town. Olga is originally from Ukraine, but has lived in Canada and New York City prior to settling into Cape Town with her husband (from Texas) and 11 month old daughter. I told her my story and reason for traveling, and mentioned that this was my first meal ashore after being on a cargo ship. Through conversation, she told me that she has a platform called WOW Woman (for more information, visit www.wowwoman.com), which is all about empowering women! We certainly had a lot in common! She asked if I would be interested in being interviewed, which included a photoshoot. Of course, I said yes, that I would be honored to be a part of it! She even insisted on paying for my lunch as a welcome to Africa token. I was so touched and felt like it was a good sign of things to come during my time in Africa. It was ironic, really, that I walked into The Strangers Club restaurant, shared a meal with a stranger, and left with a friend.

The following evening, I had dinner with Olga and her husband, Keith. They picked me up at my hostel and we drove out of the city along the coast, stopping at scenic places along the way to take photos. It was the perfect time of day for photos, so Olga took some pictures of me to use for her WOW Woman interview. On top of running a women empowerment platform, she is also a phenomenal photographer with an eye for the perfect backdrop. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking, and I was so thankful that she invited me for an adventure! It was such an unexpected gift to have new friends, almost immediately after arrival in a new place. We chatted on the drive and then talked more during dinner at a cool restaurant called Toad in the Village. They have traveled extensively themselves, so we shared a lot of stories and discovered many things in common. Keith is from Texas and worked in finances, much like my son Mike’s recent time in Dallas. Olga and I are both passionate about women’s issues, and enjoy a travelers spirit. It was a blessing to be able to have dinner out with friends and feel so comfortable with one another almost instantly!

Chance encounters, like meeting all of these amazing people, is one of my favorite things about travel! Plugging in to the community around me makes my travel experience so much more immersive, thoughtful, and enjoyable. Learning about the people that I meet– where they came from, what their interests are, what stories they choose to share with me– deeply connects me with others and the places that I am able to travel through. This is what truly nourishes my soul, and for that, I am thankful! Until next time, dear friends: stay safe, stay healthy, and always remember to make space for what brings you joy.

Please be a traveler, not a tourist.
Try new things, meet new people,
and look beyond what’s right in front of you.
Those are the keys
to understanding this amazing world we live in.
-Andrew Zimmerman