I was thinking this morning while on watch of the things I miss while onboard STARSHIP, and other things I will miss equally as much when I leave. So as it is quiet and we are on passage I decided to make a bit of a list. Usually in the journal I try to describe what we are seeing and doing in the different places we visit, but today for a change I will try to lead you to appreciate both some of the ‘day to day’ routine things that are ‘special’ living onboard a boat as well as some of the everyday things we miss from normal life.

Things I miss : Having enough room to sit up in bed without banging my head and a quiet night’s sleep in a bunk that doesn’t have a generator at one end and an air-conditioning fan at the other! Not having to get up at all hours of the night for watches, taking my dog to the beach in the mornings and then having breakfast down at the beachfront café with my girlfriend. My home country of New Zealand with its mountains and spectacular scenery, seeing parents and friends, and Crayfish barbeques after a Saturday afternoon dive. ‘Quiet’…not having the constant background noise of an engine or generator all day, ‘land noises’ like the sound of wind rushing in trees and the running of a river. Being able to walk more than 75ft in a straight line! Going for a swim in fresh water, cold weather and snow…a reason to wear warm clothes!

Things I will miss : Having the sea right outside my porthole, waking up each morning to palm tree clad islands, the jokes and closeness shared with the rest of the crew, early morning coffee watching the sunrise on the aft deck, tropical diving with its warm waters and huge diversity of life, filming weird and wonderful marine creatures, regularly experiencing new countries and cultures and meeting interesting people in ‘out of the way places’, sitting at the helm of STARSHIP on passage heading west into another sunset, fresh pineapple in the mornings, living on the sea, the smell of salt air, and never feeling cold…either in the water or out!

As I have said before, being on passage gives you time for all sorts of reflections, and you get to thinking about the number of things that you take for granted, both in ‘day to day’ life and when involving yourself in new experiences. Making a list in your head from time to time of what you enjoy around you is a good reminder of what life is all about…and if you can't make a long list, its time for a change!

A banded seasnake.

Anyway back to today; mid morning we arrived at the channel leading into Kendari on the mid-eastern coast of Sulawesi where we will be picking up our guests tomorrow and dropped anchor at a quiet little spot in front of a small rocky island backed by high forested hills. After the obligatory wash-down of STARSHIP and some lunch, myself, James, Lou, Michael and DJ snorkeled across to the island and cruised above the shallow fringing-reef for a while admiring the abundant and colourful soft corals, as well as the wide variety of hard corals and plentiful fish life. James and I paused for a moment, heads down to look at a small banded sea snake winding his way through the coral searching for food, then flippered on through clouds of angelfish, butterfly fish, small wrasse, parrotfish and triggerfish. A less pleasant example of the diversity of life here were the huge numbers of small jellyfish clouding the water; each making its presence felt with a small sting to exposed flesh…as I only had a pair of shorts on, I decided not to push my luck by staying in too long!

Back onboard STARSHIP we were greeted by the delicious aroma of freshly baked bread, as Lasse had been busy in the galley again. After finishing the bread he made a start on some homemade ice-cream, ably assisted by Monika who fought with Trevor over who was going to lick the bowl. Trevor had been busy prior to their fracas too; one of the stabilizers (device to minimize the rolling motion of STARSHIP’s hull while underway in rough weather) had needed some attention, and a simple bit of maintenance had turned into a major headache and repair job…as they often do. Still, he was up to the challenge and fixed the problem in plenty of time to get upstairs and help lick the ice-cream bowl!

Dusk is falling outside now as the sun sets; bang on 6pm as usual. High cloud is obscuring the stars, but will hopefully blow away during the night to give us another fine day tomorrow. After picking up our guests we will be back on passage southward to Wakatobi which I will tell you about tomorrow…until then,

Seeya,

Diver Dave