Letters from the Gulf
We're on our Way Home!
Well it seems that I've been negligent in my email updates. We've been so busy this last month with boardings I haven't taken the time to keep you updated. Well let me try and rectify this situation.
My last big email was back in December just before Christmas. Basically we had an excellent Christmas day. We were fed a full Christmas dinner with reduced watches for everyone. People opened presents, a coffee and tea party was held for the junior members of my department where we swapped stories and Christmas treats that everyone had received from their families back home. It was a good restful day and then we were back into the grind on the next day.
We continued our patrol and entered into Dubai just before New Years. We were alongside Dubai until the 7th of January. During that period we were able to have the ship painted and a lot of maintenance was caught up on. We did get around fours days off in port so that we could take a hotel room, or visit the city and such. The CF brought out a few entertainers and put on a a little show for us at the local seaman's club. It was a good way to celebrate the New Year and it was enjoyable giving us a well deserved break. Since I have been to Dubai couple of times now, I figured I would be bored. Well I was dead wrong. It's amazing how fast Dubai is building up. It's an excellent place to visit and has lots of stuff to offer.
I went to the new mall in Dubai called the Mall of the Emirates. It has the first indoor ski hill in the Middle East. While I myself don't ski, several of my shipmates enjoyed themselves doing the winter activity. I was amazed at the size of this mall. I spent most of a day there and still didn't see everything. Other than that, I stayed one night in a hotel. The Chelsea hotel in Bur Dubai was very closed to were we docked the ship and was very new and comfortable. I had booked the room the night before and when I arrived the next day they told me that they had no single rooms left so they were going to put me in an executive suite for the cost of a single room. Was that ever a surprise. Two rooms, two bathrooms, with full mini bar, full bath tub with water jets, two separate shower stalls, large size LCD TV on the wall with plug in high speed internet service. The place was just what I needed for a rest. I was also able to access the hotel's health club to use the sauna, steam room, hot tub, and pool.
Well Dubai went by quickly, and we were out again doing our third patrol. About a week and a half out on patrol and I somehow picked up the mumps, or a similar version of it any ways. The doc onboard gave me some antibiotics, and sent me over to HMS Campbeltown. The doc over there took good care of me and as soon as they got alongside Jeddah, Saudi Arabia I was taken to a civy doctor. Within 24 hours of taking the pills that the civy doctor gave me, my swelling was gone and I was good to go back to my ship. Unfortunately I would have to wait a few days to get back since my ship was out doing it's patrol.
The British ship was very interesting and I now know I will never join their navy. While they have an excellent crew, British navy regulations and living conditions are not up to the level that I'm use to in the Canadian navy. Looking at the amenities we have such as the good food, internet access, satellite phone service, and sleeping arrangements, I would never be able to go over to the British navy. It's not that they don't have access to these items, it's that they don't have near as much access as I'm use to having. I'm just too spoiled
Once back out to sea the Campbeltown flew me over to my ship onboard their Lynx helicopter. It was a lot easier to transfer back to my ship than the late night boat ride I took to get over to the Campbeltown in the first place, but it was exciting. After that ordeal was over, basically we continued on with our patrol of the Red Sea area, and completed our final part of our patrol in the Sea of Aden yesterday. We are on our way home and have several good ports to visit on the way there. We are right on schedule to be back home on or around the 17th of March. Well that's about it for now, I hope everything is going well back in Canada.
All the best,
Randy Esdon
Randy Esdon
