Around-the-World, Westbound Excerpts from Maris Magazine April '08  |
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From misty Northern European ports |
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| The Boularibank, Gazellebank, Mahinabank and Tikeibank |
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Type of Vessel: General Cargo Cargo capacity: 22,700 tons Passenger Capacity: 12 Length: 174 m Speed: 17.5 Knots Built: Finland, 1983 Owners: Bank Line, Hong Kong Managers: Andrew Weir, British Master & Purser: British. Other officers and crew are international, including the very popular Russian stewardesses. |
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The ships have been constructed to a very high standard and started their life as icebreaking freighters trading in the Arctic regions of Russia. When acquired, first by the Andrew Weir in 1995, they have been extensively refurbished and converted for service to the South Pacific. Each vessel offers four suites, consisting of a bedroom with twin beds, sitting room and private facilities with shower, and four single cabins with a sitting area and private facilities with shower. Each cabin has a TV/VCR set, as well as short waive radio, hair dryer, refrigerator and electric coffee/tea kettle. Roundtrip fares are $12,500 per person April through August, $14,000 September through March. For voyage segments, please check the following List of Fares. The fare includes International Health and Accident Insurance, but not the Interruption and Cancellation Insurance. There are no port fees. The age limit is 80. |
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Yucki and Michel sailed aboard the Arunbank (renamed Tikeibank) which took them around the world on 24 seas and oceans covering 30,084 nautical miles in 107 days. They went through both the Panama and Suez Canals, allowing Michel his first view of the Pacific, despite the fact he and Yucki have worked together (he as a writer, she as a photographer) in exotic locations the world over. Though both have traveled on the great liners of old, it is their first trip on a cargo ship. “This grand adventure,” writes Michel, will also “mark the beginning of a private celebration: forty years of the happiest of marriages”. |
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For Michel, the ship is “un village flottant”, in which, as in villages ashore, everyone wants to know everything that is going on, rumors spread in no time and gossip abounds. It is a hierarchical world, with each taking his or her role with reference to the Master, who, in this village, “sees everything, hears everything, and knows everything that goes on”. |
| The book Chemins d’Ecume has been featured in the German edition of National Geographic. A few paragraphs and photos, copied on these pages, have been extracted and freely translated by J. P. and Louise Luevano with permission from Michel and Yucki Goeldlin. | 
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“On this glorious morning, under a radiant sky, entire schools of flying fish deviated from our path. Seen under the surface of the waves, the hull of the Arunbank must have horrified them, the size of this mechanical whale; a monster whose howling and vibrations are propagated by water, sailing above them without deviating from its course, blinding, threatening, invincible, and ready to devour them, unless their instinct warns them against the approach of enormous propellers ready to engulf them. |
| They perforate the surface like missiles one or two feet in length and deploy their fins like true transparent iridescent wings. While passing very close to the peak of the waves, they manage to rebound, yet move up to two hundred meters away of the danger before returning to their natural environment ... |  |
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Each Friday after dinner, when we are not in port, passengers invited officers for an aperitif. There were many merry meetings, including a welcome reception given by the Captain, the occasion of crossing the channel under the motorway of Americas connecting Anchorage to Ushuaïa, then our entry into the Pacific Ocean, crossing the Equator, the old English diploma decreed by Neptune, etc ... |
| A good conversation often arises out of loneliness. A passenger or colleague is invited to the cabin, and the sailor, usually laconic and reserved, opens up his heart. A photo is taken out showing the family, wife or girlfriend, a landscape of the surroundings of Vladivostok, a day of bear hunting, a modest house in Newcastle ... nostalgia, loneliness ... like the monk in his cell of prayer, surrounded by solitude ... |  |
| With an imperceptible nuance in the color of the ocean, with the softness of the air, the sensuality of the more modest and dancing swell, with more opalescent wake, I feel that we are approaching a terrestrial paradise such as the ones discovered by former navigators of the unknown. |
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| But perhaps this impression is only in my head: thanks to the technology, I know that we are near; I read the charts, I take note at this moment, at the ninth hour in the morning, latitude 10° 07' and longitude 128° 38'. Hardly four days of the race remain to our first exotic stopover. On the caravels and galleons, one must have felt as a blind man going towards death or glory ... |
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Darkness approaches on a clear night announcing the beautiful sunset with shades of green rays, colors of happiness, colors of flames, encircled in an infinite coat of gold. Days fall so quickly in the Tropics ... The first star is already appearing on a background of the red, indigo, marine, royal, night. Venus of course, which shines without flickering, then a myriad of stars enlarged by the clear air that no terrestrial light, no smoke can veil. |
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In the southern hemisphere, south from where once the Big Dipper was, the Southern Cross shines, the constellation so dear to Saint Exupery and perhaps known to the ‘Little Prince’ himself.” The book can be obtained for €30, plus €10 for mail, direct from the publishers:
61 rue de Maubeuge 75009 Paris, France Tel/Fax: +331 4285-0558 Email: indoeditions@yahoo.fr. |
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In dry dock |
Passenger cabins and shared facilities, such as the dining room, lounges, exercise room and swimming pool are located on various decks. Passengers must be fully mobile and able to negotiate the stairs. Self service laundry facilities are available. The electrical current is 220/50 AC. A two-prong round adapter and converter are needed for North American appliances. A steward will clean the cabin every day. |
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A small onboard shop provides a limited selection of beverages and cigarettes at duty free prices. Onboard expenses may be paid for with cash in USD. Tipping is at the passenger’s discretion; $3-$5 per person per day is recommended. Telephone, fax and email connections are available through the Captain’s office. |
A refreshing drink after a sightseeing tour in the tropics
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Reservations can be made by completing a Registration Form and providing a 25% deposit. The balance of the fare is payable 65 days before departure. The fare may be paid for by check or wire (by exception only, credit cards may be accepted). Passports must be valid for at least 6 months beyond the anticipated return date, and a visa must be obtained for Papua New Guinea. A Medical Statement of Good Health and International Health and Accident Insurance is required as is vaccination against yellow fever and cholera (or exemption certificate). The age limit is 80. Cancellation fees are as follows: over 60 days, loss of deposit; 30-59 days, 50% of the fare. No refund will be made within 30 days of departure. To protect your investment, Cancellation and Interruption Insurance is highly recommended. Travelex Insurance packages, covering you from the moment you buy the policy - at no additional cost, are available to all our customers, worldwide, on our website page "Before You Sail". |
1958 - 2008
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From the Freighter Travel Club’s 50-year history
The following articles, which were published in our newsletter in the early ‘70s, still offer very useful information: |
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Cruise ships are very popular these days, and I suppose rightly so, especially for people with limited and fixed vacation times. For dedicated freighter travelers, however, a voyage of a week or ten days is just a teaser. For us, it takes a full week to unwind from the tensions of life on shore before we begin to enjoy the lovely sensation of being completely away from the problems at home and of the world. Most of us in the Club are retired, or nearly retired, so on the face of it you might not think there is any strain in everyday living, but no so. We are constantly bombarded by the bad news in the newspapers and on television and radio, and while most of it has no specific effect on our personal lives, we can’t help worrying about the state of the Nation and of the world. Further, as we get older the basic chores of our daily routine become more difficult. |
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It refreshes our minds and restores our soles to be away from it all, and to have no obligations except to be on time for meals. For us, this freedom is what freighter travel is all about. Personally, destinations do not matter much. We don’t care where a ship goes, just so we are on it and can stay on board for several weeks or months. Several years ago Rosie and I sailed around-the-world on a German freighter, a voyage that lasted five and a half months. The time went by in a flash, and at the end of the trip we had become so accustomed to life on the ship that we didn’t want to get off. On that voyage there were 11 passengers. We hear a lot of comments from people who say they couldn’t possibly stand being cooped up that long with so few people. For the record, when the trip ended we were all friends, and still are. Incidentally, five of the passengers were women traveling alone. They had no problems, except that one of them fell madly in love with the radio operator who did not return her affection, and that broke her hart, but I imagine she got over it with the last walk down the gangplank. |
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Question Inasmuch as we have never been away from home more than a month at a time will you please answer this: How does one arrange his affairs for prolonged absences? I refer to such ordinary things as banking, mortgage payments, deposits of income, etc. Do you shut off telephone and other services in the home? And many other possible complications of a long vacation? |
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Answer It is a bit of a problem to arrange your personal affairs for a long trip, however it isn’t really too difficult. We leave our telephone and lights connected and usually leave a light burning in the bathroom and one in the bedroom. We arrange with a neighbor to go into the house once in a while just to make sure everything is all right. We are careful to discontinue deliveries of milk, newspapers and so on and we always advise the police department so they can make a spot check as they go by. In our town we have a Merchants Police Service so we pay them $10 a month to make a nightly check on the property. You have to arrange to have your mail picked up and the important items forwarded to you overseas. In earlier years we had all our mail forwarded and then mailed back our income checks for deposit, however it is better to have someone at home do that for you. We take with us in traveler’s checks and small dollar bills whatever amount of money we think we’ll need, but as a precaution we leave a signed note with our banker so we can cable him for money if necessary. Some services such as electricity, telephone, and so on can be prepaid, however mortgage bills and commercial bills usually cannot, so we tell these people that some delay in receiving our checks might be expected. It is important to leave with your attorney, your banker, and a member of your family complete data on the location of your important papers, wills, fire and life insurance policies, stocks and bonds and so on. |
| We are most grateful for the support, including comments such as the following, which we have been receiving from our valued customers and club members as well as from the steamship lines and media over the years: |
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of Westport, CT
Freighter Travel Club Int'l (Since 1958)
1 800 99-Maris (-62747) & 1 203 222-1500 (-9191 fax)
www.freightercruises.com
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