So What's it like to Sail on a Mercy Ship?

So what is it like to sail on the Africa Mercy I hear you ask? For those of you who have been on cruise, well it's absolutely nothing like that at all! We still have to go to work, the kids still go to school (on some sails) and everything needs to be secured before we leave. As our esteemed captain likes to tell us at our pre-sail briefing, "Think of your house tilting violently at a 20 degree angle". Unlike cruise ships and other larger vessels, the Africa Mercy is not equipped with stabilizers and can pick up quite a roll(side to side) and when you add in pitch (up and down) it become a bit of a vomit machine. But the very worst sensation is corkscrewing (side to side and up and down and round and round and every which way there is).

There is always an air of excited anticipation just before we sail. It is almost palpable. Either we are sailing towards our shipyard destination which means down time and holidays, for most of the crew, or towards our next host country. Both events highlights, each for different reasons. There is a certain sense of community and bonding between those of us on the sail. We are united with nowhere to go and nowhere to be. There is plenty of time for lazy conversation and getting to know one another better. There are also plenty of wonderful sailing traditions such as sock golf, Sail Olympics and worship on the bow that are quite unique to Mercy Ships. It is also a bit of fun to pick out a suitable movie to watch such as "A Perfect Storm" or Poseidon" for the journey!

We have been on very short sails and very loooonnggg sails but there is not much better way to feel close to the heart of God than standing on the bow watching a magnificent sunset, while dolphins leap alongside the bow, the air balmy with a hint of a breeze, staring out at the vastness of the ocean.

The bridge is the major hub of the sail where all the navigation and of course, steering the ship, takes place. Crew are able to tour the bridge during the sail to experience what it is like from the heights of the ship, overlooking the bow and the waves crashing beneath.

Life goes on, even at sea! This 'aint no cruise. Above, some of the Academy kids in class.

Drills, drills, drills. This is the time when we have all kinds of drills- man over board drills, at sea drills, pirate drills, lifeboat drills etc., etc.. Pictured above is one of the 150 man lifeboats being tested, shortly after we pulled out of the Port of Conakry. These are the life boats that have been on the starboard side of the ship which, when are in port, is generally against the dock, so they remain unused for ten months.

You never know what you might see when you look out your cabin window. Above, a lifeboat goes past our cabin!

When the hospital closes and things slow down, many crew take the opportunity to work in other departments. Jess spent a week working in the galley and she worked hard! The galley staff start at around 8:00am and work until about 7:30pm, except on Sundays when the ship has a hot breakfast and the galley start at 5:30am. They work two days on and two days off but on the sail the schedule changed to one day on, one day off. Jess is dressed in her galley attire, all wet from doing mountains of dishes, and sporting a potato around her neck-someone's idea of a joke remedy for seasickness!

Ask most of the crew and they will pretty much be in agreement that the best thing about the sail is going out on the bow and watching the sunset and the sea life. It doesn't get much better! Andrew and Jess on the bow above.

 

Who needs SeaWorld? These dolphins are wild and free and perform the most spectacular shows for us over and over during our recent sails. They are beautiful animals and even the most seasoned sailor is awed by their majesty!

 

Flying fish-another frequent addition to our sea life viewing.

These past few sails we were blessed with many whale sighting and a few clever and/or quick photographers captured them on film. Orcas (killer whales) were also sighted.

This about sums it up! A picture says a thousand words.

Almost every night we sail, God paints the sky in a myriad of stunning colours as the sun sets and rises each day.

 

 

 

The shadow of a lifeboat under the waning sunset.

Now I talked earlier about that rock and roll...here you can see a little hint of an angle to the portside. This is just a small glimpse of the "gentle" roll of the Africa Mercy!

During on of our recent sails we had a drone fly overhead to take photos of the ship at sea. The result was some pretty awesome stills and video, captured from a perspective that the crew will never get to see.

The Africa Mercy in all her glory headed for a week in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain for one last week of fun before the epic two week sail she took to the Congo.

When long term crew think about sailing on the Africa Mercy, they think about Ghurkha cooking! Our security team is largely staffed by Nepalese Ghurkhas and they are fabulous cooks! As they have a bit of down time when we sail (there normal post is at the gangway) they cook a meal for us each sail......fried, curry chicken, curry eggs, naan bread and dahl. Yum! Another foodie traditional on the AFM is a hot breakfast the morning of the sail. This is to give all the deckies and engineers a nice, hearty breakfast before the long day of hard work ahead!

What about all our rubbish (trash, garbage)? Well the only stuff that we are legally allowed to throw overboard these days (this has changed while we have been on board) is food scraps! Every night the dining room staff go up onto the bridge deck and toss the scraps overboard. It is an interesting sight if you happen to be standing next to a window. The rest of the rubbish gets stored on board in our cabins, in the galley and on deck. Man you should have seen how much rubbish we had after 13 days at sea! The poor Congolese garbage men didn't quite know what to do!

 A few more awesome, aerial pics of the bow, from the bridge, taken during worship on the bow, a very special sailing event.

 

 A bit too much of a close up photo of me during one of the worship on the bow sessions.

Love the djembes and the way our West African crew play them with such skill. It is amazing to watch!

God can hear our worship even in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean! Worship on the bow is one of my favourite parts of the sails. Expect a close encounter with God!



I cannot go without mentioning one of the highlights of our sail to the Congo and perhaps the most highly anticipated sailing event, thus far, our crossing of the Prime Meridian and the Equator at the SAME TIME! Yes! Following old navy traditions, once you cross the equator by sea you move from the lowly title of "Pollywog" to "Shellback", a status we achieved on our very first sail from Durban, South Africa to Freetown, Sierra Leone. But crossing the Prime Meridian and the Equator together earns you an even more coveted and elite title of "Royal Diamond Shellback"! Woot. Above the crew celebrated the day before "crossing the line" with some line games on the bow, like tug-o-war and the limbo. Jess pulls hard for her team of "already shellback" kids.

Proof from the bridge that we have earned our "Royal Diamond Shellback" status!

 

Here we are out on deck "crossing the line"! Beforehand we celebrated with and Open Mic night and kissing of the fish ceremony. We also got certificates to commemorate this illustrious occasion.
 
And that is just a few of the things that happen on a Mercy Ships sail. Unforgettable, indescribable, sometime downright miserable but definitely not to be missed!