October 8th, East China Sea (1 day till Busan)

The last day on the ship. At this point in the voyage, the days had long ago ceased to seem so long. The rhythm of the tip had really established itself, and over the past few days it seemed as if as soon as breakfast had passed it was time for lunch, then dinner, then bed. In anticipation of my arrival, and with a bit of melancholy over the fact that I was leaving, I walked around the ship and took some picture.

And... photo dump.

October 7th, The Japanese Coast (2 days till Busan) [Karaoke party]

Later that night, we had a second Karaoke party. This one was Stevan and Jane's idea, though I contributed a case of beer to the cause. It was meant to thank the crew for their hospitality. It was also Chris' birthday so we had the mess bring out a cake, and we gave him some 'gifts' we picked up in Japan. It was dark and smoky in the room, so the pictures did not come out terribly well.

Ben, the first officer.

Stevan and the second engineer.

Chris getting his birthday cake.

More food.

Chris going over his photos.

Stevan.

Jane.

This guy could sing. No really.

Group shot

Second Engineer, hiding behind some beer.

This guy was also really good

Stephan, second in charge.

I don't remember.

Bursar.

Singing.

Stephan was really against my taking a picture of him. I
managed a few somehow.

Stevan and Jane.

More singing

The second engineer, who gave us the tour. I figured the nudie
poster in the background was a nice touch. Engine room was
full of them.

Woke up, breakfast, went up to the deck to look at the charts, back into my room for a bit of reading (River Town). Being this close to the end of the trip, at lunch the engineer finally agreed to give us a tour of the engine room.  You’ll go deaf if you go in there without ear protection, so a lot of his explanations were drowned out by the noise of the engine. I did however take loads of pictures. And some video footage.

A thing. It was in the engine room.

The engine

More engine.

.

A large chamber where the drive shaft can be worked on.

More engine stuff.

A piston.

The drive shaft, in all its glory.

The engine. The massive engine.

Wrenches!

Something or the other. The guy in the picture
 is Stevan.

More engine room.