Chapter 10: Ill Omens

“Well, Captain! Your humility is a great shock. To discover you on your hands and knees scrubbing the decks with a rag, I shouldn’t believe it if someone reported it to me, but my own eyes are witnessing it! So far I’ve not been disappointed in you yet. You are full of unexpected surprises.”

“Good evening to you, too, Mr Tynsall. Come to personally wish us bon voyage and farewell?”

“Actually, I need you to come with me immediately. We need to get you on the last flight tonight to New Orleans, and time is short. No time to waste, I’ll explain in the car.”

The explanation is a bit complicated but here it is. When a US flag vessel departs the dock on an international voyage, she is treated as a foreign vessel until after she clears back in again. She is required to use pilots even if the master personally has pilot endorsements for the port of departure channels. Just as foreign vessels are required. He has to use pilots upon returning also. Once cleared in, he can pilot himself again, in US waters. Other nations have similar regulations.

The vessel’s clearance papers are from immigration, and the Coast Guard Captain of the Port, but most importantly, from US Customs. Consider them like a receipt that all fees, taxes, and duties have been paid allowing the vessel to legally depart. The departure date is a twenty four hour period. If the vessel doesn’t leave within twenty four hours, the clearance is voided, the fees and duties forfeited.

For a new clearance, paperwork is started afresh and the monies must be paid again. Once a vessel has departed, there is an allowance for a deviation from the voyage. Perhaps for injury or illness necessitates landing a crew member, or the vessel need a repair, or just needs fuel. The deviation must be completed and the vessel at sea again within twenty four hours of entering. If the vessel overstays, the voyage is broken, the vessel must formally clear in. To resume the voyage, the vessel must clear out on a new voyage, with the paperwork and monies exactly as the original clearance required.

Okay, that part of the explanation is just background. Here is the actual situation. Tiger cleared out three days ago for Africa, with the liftboat, but deviated from his voyage in New Orleans. The purpose of deviating is to pick up the spud barge. To avoid pilot fees, he entered a side channel small boat channel called Baptiste Collette Bayou that joins the Mississippi River at the head of passes. Tiger didn’t go near the river, but tagged bottom with his legs at the mouth of Batiste Collette, outside in Breton Sound. He called for the barge to be brought to him, as we had prearranged.

The glitch. Tiger can’t inspect and accept the loading of the cargo on the barge. He is not the master of the towing vessel. I am. For the insurance to initiate and be in effect, I personally must inspect and sign off on the load on the barge, that it’s tied down correctly, the barge trimmed correctly, all the hatches and manholes secured. I can’t delegate it.

Tiger arrived at Baptiste Collette Bayoua couple of hours ago and his recent hours were spent trying for a solution himself. No joy, so he called Mr. Tynsall and now I’m flying to New Orleans on the last flight, so I can personally sign off on the barge late tonight.

In the morning, I’ll catch the redeye back to Houston and get Speedy underway. After I’ve signed off on the barge, it will be towed down river and out Batiste Collette Bayou and delivered to Tiger aboard “Appeal to Heaven”, the lift boat’s name. I just learned that. Tiger will wait for me and Speedy in Breton Sound.

No rest for the weary.

Another glitch that occurred at the last minute, a truck load of spare parts and supplies that should have arrived days ago, was inexplicably delayed and will arrive early in the morning. The crew will have to hustle it aboard without checking the bill of lading inventory against the purchase orders and will have to stow it and inventory it while we are underway. If anything is missing or part of the order not delivered, it’s too late to remedy the shortage. Who is at fault? This company, this office, the executives in this office, have an unwritten policy of waiting to the last minute for everything. That is my observation. My opinion. Phillip is behind it I’m sure.

No rest for the weary, but I nap on the plane, took a nap in the hotel after clearing the barge papers and napped on the redeye flight. I arrived at Speedy just as the last of the truck freight was being stacked on deck, and just in time to greet the pilot who arrived minutes after me.

I’m grateful to Chief Warren. The Skeeter push-tug is lashed in it’s notch, the engines are running and already warmed up.

“Take in all lines!”

Easing away from the dock, we turn for the channel. Francine arrives on the bridge with a breakfast tray for the pilot and me. French toast fingers sprinkled with cinnamon, crispy bacon, cantaloupe crescents, and hardboiled eggs. The bridge coffee pot is already half empty, I made coffee as soon as I stepped on the bridge.

“Francine? You and your breakfast are like a shining dawn after a night’s drizzle of despair. Thank you!”

The pilot thanked her too, and got off in Galveston. We are free to navigate!

We should be in Breton Sound in a little less than two days. We are speeding across the Gulf with the Texas current helping push us. This Texas current is called the Gulf Stream after it passes through the Florida Straights. Near the Mississippi River mouth, by South West Pass, the current changes direction slightly and heads for Tampa, Florida. So will we, after we leave Breton Sound with all our tows. The shortest distance on paper is to head directly for the straights but the faster voyage is riding the current to the straights.