The ship departed for the next port, and I was stationed on the bridge when a young AB walked in with my father. The young AB had slim build and short, neatly shaved dark brown. His eyes were warm brown. He had a strong, chiseled face that appeared uninterested or sleepy.
My father said, “Hi, son. Keep an eye on him, he’s been acting strange lately.”
I said, “Sure.”
The young AB walked to the corner and leaned on the bridge window.
My father said, “He usually works on the deck in the morning and keeps watch with the Second Mate in the afternoon, but now there isn’t much work, and he is all dozy.”
I said, “Ok, old man. I’ll keep an eye on him.”
My father nodded and left. I looked at the Chief Engineer as he climbed barefoot on a ship mast to change a bulb. The wind was strong and cold, but it didn’t bother him as he wore only a T-shirt and some jeans.
I said, “I don’t understand how this is possible. He is barefoot with only a T-shirt. I would freeze to death up there.”
The young AB was silent. I monitored him my entire watch, and he didn’t move or talk. He looked like he slept with his eyes open.
I eventually walked to him and said, “You okay?”
Young AB moved his head slowly to me like a turtle and barely mumbled, “Yeah, man.”
I said, “You look like a zombie. You didn’t get good sleep or?”
Young AB mumbled, “Nah, man. I took the pill. So cool.”
I said, “What pill?”
Young AB mumbled, “It makes time fly. Take one and puff, four hours pass like it was ten minutes.”
I said, “Where did you get these pills? You know there is a policy of no drugs on board.”
Young AB mumbled, “Chill, man. It’s all legit. Second Mate gave them to me. He’s smart. He has access to ship medicals. All legit, man.”
I said, “I didn’t know we had pills that do this.”
Young AB mumbled, “Yeah, man. He’s the duty medic and read the book for side effects. He’s smart, man.”
I said, “I’m not sure about that.”
Young AB mumbled, “Sure, man. You want some? I’ll set you up.”
I said, “No thanks. I’d rather be alert on marine traffic. Is he using these pills too?”
Young AB mumbled, “Sure thing, man. Time flies, he’d go crazy without it.”
Second Officer walked in and stretched like he just woke up.
I pointed out our last position on the chart and said, “This was our last position. Everything is fine, and we are on schedule. No ships in the vicinity.”
I looked into his eyes to see if his pupils were dilated, and they were. For me, this was just a confirmation that he used some drugs.
Second Officer yawned and said, “Ok.”
I left the bridge and walked down to the messroom.
On the way, I saw my father locking the door to his cabin.
I said, “Second Officer and that AB are using pills from the medical locker to get high.”
My father looked at me and said, “I heard from the crew that last night the door vent from the Second Officer started to leak smoke. And the smell filled out the entire corridor. Apparently, it was smoke from marijuana. Chief Officer banged on their door and warned them.”
I said, “He didn’t report this?”
My father said, “No. He sometimes joins them.”
I said, “The Captain didn’t find out?”
My father said, “No. He opened the door and asked what the hell was going on. They lied and staged it, claiming a cigar had fallen on the carpet.”
I said, “But he didn’t distinguish the smell from marijuana?”
My father said, “I guess not. There is a crew change in the next port, so maybe he ignored it because they are going home anyway.”
I said, “Could be. Who is going home?”
My father said, “As far as I know, Chief, second, AB, Third Engineer.”
I said, “Nice. At least no more drug problems.”
My father said, “I've learned over the years that when one problem leaves, another one always comes on board. Sometimes, the new problem is worse than the one before.”
I asked, “You think the next crew will be worse?”
My father said, “I guess we’ll see. Come on, let’s go eat.”
I followed my father to the messroom. We sat down, and from the other side of the table, an older AB was seated. He had a round head with thick, black hair that was slightly tousled. His hazel eyes were striking and full of depth, standing out against his fair complexion. He had an unshaved face, with a rugged stubble.
My father said, “This guy uses half the salt and pepper because the food isn’t spiced enough.”
The older AB smiled and said, “I hope they are stocked with salt and pepper for nine more months.”
I said, “I thought the contracts here are four months on board and two home.”
The older AB said, “They are, but I got a two-year probation, just nine months left.”
I said, “Probation? For what?”
The older AB said, “Well, I was with my family on the second floor of my house having dinner when I heard some commotion on the balcony. I checked, and there was my neighbor, spying on us or something. He had walked onto my property and climbed onto my balcony with a ladder. Naturally, I popped him with a fist to the head and kicked him out. Later, he sued me for attacking him, claiming he was hiding from the wind on my balcony.”
I said, “Wait, wait, wait. Don’t tell me he won in court.”
The cook brought us some soup. The older AB shook salt on his plate and said, “Of course. Where do you think we live, in la la land? Then I had to leave because I would probably bury him in my garden if I saw him again.”
Captain Stormbeard walked in and let out a loud burst of gas. My father leaned his forehead on his right hand.
The older AB looked at the pepper and whispered, “Maybe not pepper today. Too much tear gas in the air anyway.”
I covered my mouth and silently smiled.
The older AB whispered, “They say silent farts are deadly; they never met our Captain.”
Some of the crew left due to the smell. I ate quickly and left to get some fresh air.
The next day during the morning watch, the ship approached a canal, and a pilot boarded. I was on the bridge with two pilots and Captain Stormbeard, who made coffee for himself.
Captain Stormbeard said, “Making coffee sure brings back some memories.” He looked at me and continued, “My wife used to have her friends over all the time. Almost every day, they would yap and giggle. After a while, it became hard to listen to, no matter where you were in the house. Even in the garage, you could always hear them. One day, I made coffee for them, but I boiled the water with a wine cork in it. I removed the cork and finished the coffee. The result was epic. After a while, they all started to fart.”
Captain Stormbeard laughed and said, “I can still see their faces as they farted.” He laughed hard, coughed, and let out a burst of gas.
The pilots first looked at the Captain, then at me. Soon they started to choke and become pale as a white cloth, their eyes looked like they chopped onions.
I placed a finger under my nose and pretended to scratch it. I said, “Never heard that before.”
Captain Stormbeard said, “I heard this from some local. He used to do this all the time to tease his wife.”
One of the pilots opened the door on the bridge and took deep breaths of fresh air.
Captain Stormbeard walked near him and said, “A small navy vessel. Jack, when I say go, you run as fast as you can and lower our flag to half-mast.”
I looked at the navy vessel that was headed in the opposite direction of the canal and asked, “Why, Captain?”
Captain Stormbeard said, “It is a salute. They will have to respond to it. No one does it anymore, but we will catch them off guard.”
I nodded.
As we were almost bridge to bridge, Captain Stormbeard shouted, “Now, Jack, GO.”
In a few seconds, I ran to the side of the bridge and lowered the flag to half-mast. On the military vessel, they shouted, and a few of them ran around until someone managed to lower their flag to half-mast, then threw his hat on the floor. Captain laughed and spilled coffee on his belly, letting out a burst of gas. The pilot looked at me in disbelief. I raised the flag back up. Captain coughed and left the bridge.
The pilot tried to breathe some fresh air and said, “Could we maybe turn on some local radio?”
I said, “Of course.”
I turned on the radio on the ship and said, “Here you can pick your favorite radio station.”
The other pilot on the steering wheel with a napkin on his nose said, “Thank you.”
I smiled at him and said, “Nice napkin.”
The pilot waved his napkin and said, “Next time, we won't come without gas masks.” The first pilot chuckled.
I said, “Lucky you. The rest of us are stuck here every day, fending for our lives.”
They both laughed. The rest of the watch passed quickly, and I was relieved by the 2nd Officer.
In a few days, we arrived at the next port. I monitored the cargo loading operations with my father. Someone honked, and I looked at the ramp to see a taxi with four people near the trunk. My father was standing near them. He used his portable VHF radio and said, “Crew change is on board.”
Chief Officer Robert on the portable VHF radio, “Ok. I’ll come in a second.”
My father waved at the new crew and walked to me. My father came close to me and said, “We are in trouble now.”
I said, “Why?”
My father said, “Mop came as the Chief Officer.”
I said, “His name is Mop?! Like a mop for cleaning floors?”
My father said, “It’s a nickname the crew gave him. He’s related to someone in the boarding agency. That man is just a humanoid with a pigeon brain. He even tilted a ship during loading, causing the bridge to lean on the shore loading crane. The damage was enormous, and yet, he’s still working for this agency.”
I said, “Probably due to the relative. Isn’t that a bad reputation for them?”
My father said, “They work with a lot of companies, and it’s usually swept under the rug. I think eventually these things will catch up with them.”
I said, “Strange nickname. The Mop.”
My father said, “He got the nickname on one ship where he took all the money from lashing and divided it among the officers while the crew did all the work and got nothing. Someone said he mops up all the money, and I guess it stuck with him.”
I said, “Chief Officer has a huge salary. I don’t understand some of these people—the more money they have, the more money they want.”
Someone with a squeaky voice said on the portable VHF radio, “New Chief Officer to all crew. From now on, helmets must always be worn.”
My father said, “And let the games begin.”
My father left me to oversee the right side of cargo loading.
Later that day, a thin tall man in Chief Officer overalls approached me. He had an elongated, angular face with a narrow jawline. His eyes were deep-set and slightly sunken. His nose long and prominent, tapping slightly at the lip. Short grayish hair sat on his high forehead. He said with a squeaky voice, “Third, where is your helmet?”
I looked at the new Chief Officer Mop and said, “In my hand.”
Chief Officer Mop said with a squeaky voice, “It should be on your head.”
I placed the helmet on my head and said, “Yes, sir.”
Chief Officer Mop nodded and said with a squeaky voice, “Good. I came here to tell you we will be making some changes in lashing. It will be divided by rank.”
I said, “And the crew?”
Chief Officer Mop said with a squeaky voice, “They will get something like 20 euros each. The rest will be divided between officers.”
I said, “I must decline this as it goes against my moral compass.”
Chief Officer Mop chuckled and said with a squeaky voice, “Fine. It will be more for me and the Second Mate.”
I tightened my jaw as this triggered all the fuses in my head and said, “Excuse me, Chief, but I have cargo loading in progress.”
I left his presence and walked to the other side of the hull, where a new overweight person in AB clothes was sweeping the floor. His short black hair was neatly trimmed, contrasting with his artistic short beard. His round face and full cheeks gave him a jolly appearance, yet there was an air of tiredness about him. His eyes were dark and somewhat distant. He had a warm, approachable demeanor.
I looked at the overweight AB and said, “Hi there. I’m Third Officer Jack.”
The overweight AB stopped, leaned on his broom, and said, “I can’t breathe. This is so tiresome.”
I looked at the floor, and it seemed all this time he just swept one meter around him.
The overweight AB took a cigarette out of his pocket and said, “Do you have a light? I’m Ted, by the way.”
I said, “No. I don’t smoke.”
AB Ted found the lighter, lit the cigar, took a puff, and said, “Umm, yeah, now it’s better.”
I looked at him over my nose and said, “Wait, you are telling me that you couldn’t breathe without a cigarette?”
AB Ted scratched his head as he held the cigar and said, “It seems you are right.” He laughed and said, “I do need a smoke to breathe.”
I said, “Chief is over there. Not sure if you should be smoking in front of him.”
Ted said, “Just let him come. I’ll introduce him to my fist, right between his eyes.”
I said, “Well, good luck with that.” I walked away to monitor the cargo loading operations.
The next day, the old crew was gone, and our cargo operations were halted due to a worker protest on shore. I was at the loading ramp and saw a ship agent climbing down from the superstructure. He was an average height, with light brown hair and green eyes. Dressed in a business suit, he looked professional and composed. I waited for him below the steps.
I asked the ship's agent, “What is the protest about?”
The ship agent replied, “They want more money. They just protest all the time. Do you see the cars? All imported V8s. That one over there is a V12.”
I looked at the parking lot near the ship and saw an array of muscle cars and pickups. The cars were mostly expensive, gleaming under the sunlight. Among them, a worker was burning tires on his muscle car, the powerful engine roaring as smoke filled the air.
The ship agent said, “Do you think it is normal that an ordinary worker can drive a car like that?”
I said, “Definitely not, but seeing this, maybe I should apply for a job here.”
The ship agent said, “I heard the owner is fed up with their demands, and he will probably move the factory to another country.”
I said, “Seeing this, I guess it makes sense.”
The ship agent asked, “Did you visit our town?”
I replied, “No.”
The ship agent said, “You should. Beautiful town.”
I said, “I think with all this protest, I could. Maybe later today.”
The ship agent said, “Great. I must hurry to another ship. Nice talking to you. Goodbye.”
I waved goodbye to the ship agent.
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