Trip to Thunder Bay and Crew Change

Sunday June 29th marks day 64 on the CSL Laurentien (Louis R) and the start of week 10. I was excited when this trip was posted. We were scheduled to be there for almost two days. They only load during the day, so we get an extended stay. I have great memories of Thunder Bay. I reached out to a friend that I hadn't seen in over 40 years. They live in Thunder Bay, and we sailed together on this ship when she was named the Louis R Desmarais. One of the things I enjoy about a trip to Thunder Bay is seeing the Sleeping Giant. I have many fond memories of Thunder Bay.

The famous Thunder Bay landmark, Sleeping Giant

We were in Thunder Bay loading canola for two days. The first day we had a view of the sleeping giant.

This photo was taken from my forward facing porthole. You can see the canola being loaded, it looks black.

I looked at the stairs and thought that was quite a climb

I chose the port of Thunder Bay when I wrote the children's book "The Stowaway Adventures of Mitchell Mouse." When I sailed in the 80s, and 90s, I first had the idea to write a story about a squirrel that boarded a cargo ship while it was loading grain in Thunder Bay and then riding through the seaway to unload in Quebec City, another favorite port. I always found sailing on a cargo ship fascinating and wanted to share the story. I tucked the idea of writing the story in the back of my mind for over 30 years. I finally had the opportunity to write and share the story; the only change was that the squirrel had been replaced with a mouse. In a discussion with our artist friend, she suggested we tell the story through a mouse, which is easier to animate. We were introduced to a fantastic illustrator, and she brought the mouse and story to life. It was fun to write the story, and this trip to Thunder Bay carries with it that memory. I used my photos from sailing to illustrate and tell the story.

It was fun to write the Children’s book. The Stowaway Adventures of Mitchell Mouse starts with Mitchell Mouse joining a ship in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

Saturday, I made my famous carrot ginger soup. It is always popular. When the Third Mate came down for lunch, he shared a story with me that made me laugh. He works 08h00 to 12h00 so he is one of my last crew members to serve so he is often the only person in line and we often have a few moments to chat. He looked at the menu board and asked for shrimp with garlic butter served over rice and green peas. I asked if he wanted some of my soup. He said, ok, I'll try it. He took the bowl and said, "This is the orange soup that fell off the stove and spilled all over the floor just before lunch on the Martin?" He and I sailed together on the RT Hon. Paul J Martin in 2020. I laughed and said yes. "It vibrated off the stove" He continued to say it was his fault. My memory of the soup falling off the stove was that it vibrated off the stove because we were in shallow water. He began to fill in the details of what happened five years ago. He was a cadet at the time and was on the wheel. He said it was only his second or third day of wheeling. We were upbound in the St Mary's River, and when the ship reached Johnson Point, he was instructed to wheel "hard over." It is a big turn, and he said it took him some adjustments to make the turn, which caused the ship to vibrate more than usual. He completed the turn successfully. A few minutes later, his watch was over, he handed off the wheel to the 12-4 wheelsman and headed down to the galley. He walked in on the scene of the second cook and me cleaning up the orange-colored soup, which was spilled all over the floor. As he was telling me the story, the 8-12 wheelsman who had just finished his lunch joined in on the conversation. He said "Yes, that is a big turn." and he explained that they make the turn when the wheelhouse of the ship is a beam of the house with the red roof. They laughed when they said they better not paint their roof a different color. I thought it was so funny to hear the other side of the spilled soup story. Since that day, I always make sure that the soup is not too close to the edge of the stove.

The Adventures of Mitchell Mouse started in Thunder Bay loading grain and unloaded in Quebec City. We have an amazing illustrator who took my photos and added her magic to bring them to life in the book.

One of the adventures shared in the story as Mitchell Mouse sails down the seaway is the story of the spilled carrot ginger soup. I thought it was so funny when the third mate came down for lunch and explained that five years ago he was the young cadet in his first few days of wheeling when the soup fell. He said is was him which caused the ship to vibrate a little more than usual, vibrating the pot of soup over the edge of the stove.

I made a short beef rib bowl or salad with the leftover short ribs that I made. My homemade pickled jalapenos are a huge hit. I covered the salad and the rice bowls with chipotle dressing. After I took this picture I ate it for my lunch. It was delicious.

Sunday is crew change and there will be six crew members leaving and six coming. One of the crew members leaving is the relief second cook. I hope to work with him again in the future. We got along really well. The regular second cook will come back later today. We already worked together the first month I was here so it will be easy to fall back into the routine we created. Yesterday, one crew member said, "I'm next after this crew change, only 35 more days. This is a great job and when I heard this I reminded myself to enjoy every minute because I will be a part of the next crew change too. I am already hoping to come back.

It was a lot of fun working with the relief second cook. I hope that we can work together again. He works on different ships like I do so hopefully our schedules will line up one day. He enjoyed making desserts.

It's been a week since we left Quebec City and Lorraine's visit. The peonies that she brought me are in full bloom and they smell so beautiful. I carry one vase of flowers to the galley every morning so that I can enjoy them while I am working. I carry them back to my room at the end of each day. It's such a treat to have them. In general, fresh-cut flowers are not something you see on a ship. Thursday morning, we stopped for fuel above lock 8. I had hoped to sit outside and drink my coffee but the weather did not support my plan. When I went out to the galley I saw two large boxes of Tim Horton's doughnuts. Someone from the office had come onboard through the night and brought doughnuts with them. Seeing store-bought doughnuts is something you see every once in a while, on the ships. It's always a treat. For me, seeing the box of Tim Hortons doughnuts brought the memory of the last time I saw a box of Tim Hortons doughnuts on this particular ship. It was 1994 and I was the chief cook and the ship was named the Louis R Desmarais. The familiar Tim Horton's doughnuts had been delivered to Iroquois Lock by my parents. They always brought three dozen doughnuts and even went so far as to make sure the crew of 30 each got their favorite doughnut. I was lost in thought for a moment, remembering the many years and the dozens of doughnuts my parents delivered to the ship as we passed through Iroquois Lock. I was brought back to the present when a crew member walked in and excitedly said "Doughnuts!" He reached into the box of doughnuts and while pulling out a doughnut exclaimed "My favorite, apple fritter." The apple fritter was my mom's favorite doughnut. It was a special moment. The person from the office also brought two cases of metal water bottles. The single-use water bottles that we used to order for the crew have been discontinued, and each crew member is given their own metal water bottle. I bring my own water bottle and my own coffee cup.

I carry the flowers back and forth between my room and the galley so that I can enjoy them all day.

The flowers are still beautiful after day 10

This photo was taken on the Algoma Hansa Christmas 2019. The crew are always happy to see the doughnuts come on board when someone visits. For me there is an extra moment to remember all the doughnuts my parents delivered to the ships in Iroquois Lock for the crew.

Crew change is always a busy day with crew members leaving and others returning. Usually on Sunday, I make a roast or something special, but I decided to make Spaghetti dinner. It is easy to serve and there will be enough if I am serving more than 24 people. I changed my supper menu Saturday from the usual steak night. I had wanted the second cook to show me how to make pork adobo before he left. I knew it was a rare opportunity to learn from an expert. He told me it is made with pork belly and I added it to my last grocery order, and put it in the freezer until we were ready to make it. I originally wanted to make it on Thursday but it took longer to defrost the pork belly so I decided to wait until it was fully thawed and make it Saturday night. It was the first time I was making it and took longer than I expected as I went step by step of the instructions we had talked about.

The pork adobo ready to be cooked.

I cooked it for 6 hours. I really liked the flavor and was happy that I ordered the pork belly. It was my first time cooking pork belly.

When I put the Pork Adobo in the oven, I looked at the clock. It was 10h30, only 50 minutes until lunch. I had planned on making fish tacos, shrimp tacos and a ham and cheese wrap with homemade nacho chips rice and a vegetable. I realized that I would not have enough time to complete lunch on time. I had already turned on the fryer. I switched my menu on the fly and went to the fridge to get butter for garlic butter to go with the shrimp. Put rice on, pasta on (I always have a pot of hot water on the stove, a trick I learned from cooking shows) and went to the freezer to get out a box of chicken fingers. Chicken fingers to the rescue. The crew always likes chicken fingers, and many ordered the combo plate of shrimp with garlic butter and chicken fingers on the side. The pork adobo smelled so good cooking over the afternoon. For those who didn't want the pork adobo, I cut thick slices of bologna and cooked them on the BBQ. The pork adobo was a hit and there was enough to serve the leftover on Sunday for lunch. I don't carry a meal over to the next day but made an exception. Some of the crew who were leaving on Sunday asked if they could have it again for lunch on Sunday. I had cooked the case of pork belly so agreed with the request. I made a note beside the recipe to only use 1/2 a case next time. The second cook said it will taste even better on the second day. I liked the dish and will definitely make it again. It was the first time I cooked pork belly. I cooked it in a combination of vinegar, soy sauce, lots of garlic, onions, lots of bay leaves, peppercorns if you have any and a little brown sugar.

I cut thick slices of the bologna and cooked them on the BBQ

It is my last cinnamon bun Sunday, the returning second cook likes to make them throughout the week. I made corned beef hash with an option of eggs. I also offered a spinach salad. Throughout the day crew members came to relieve those going on vacation. I spoke with one crew member and he said "We sailed together on the Martin" It took a moment and then I remembered. It was fun to see the departing crew come in their street clothes, most of them sporting new haircuts. The relief second cook is a very skilled barber and often after working in the galley all day would give haircuts in his free time. He is very talented. I hope to work with him again. Following are photos from the week, June 22nd to June 29th. Have a great week

Cinnamon Bun Sunday is one of my favorite things to make.

We have large ovens and I filled the rack. Top right I made cinnamon buns with no cinnamon for a crew member who doesn’t like cinnamon. I also made a loaf of bread. I usually make other desserts with the leftover cinnamon buns or extra cinnamon bun dough but knew that I wouldn’t have an opportunity to make them so I made a loaf of bread.

I made garlic knots with my Sunday night spaghetti dinner. When I make these, they always bring the memory of the garlic buns at Giovani’s in Pompano Beach Florida.

One of the crew asked if we would have hamburgers one more time before they left on vacation. I thanked them for the suggestion and said “yes”

I think Burgers always taste better on homemade buns. I also made curly fries.

I had some leftover hamburger patties and decided to serve them for lunch the following day. I wrapped them in a tortilla with cheese. They went really well.

I thought this little piece of ginger looked like a bunny.

during the hot summer weather, I try to offer salad plates. This one had deli ham and turkey, cheese, boiled eggs, fresh beets, corn, tomatoes and bacon on a bed of lettuce.

I enjoy to sit outside when the weather is nice. I took this photo of the red winged blackbird. I thought they might be looking for grain to nibble on, but all we had was iron ore.

Montreal in the distance. I live a little over an hour north of Montreal so I waved to the distance and Lorraine. She lives one km from my place in Tremblant.

A beautiful morning as we entered the Lake

We stopped for a few hours above Lock 8. I had hoped to sit outside to enjoy my morning coffee but the weather did not support my plans. There were a few ships that came in to start their transit through the Welland Canal.

Another Algoma boat came in.

We picked up fish flies in Lake Erie. They were everywhere. I saw them on the windows when I went to get my coffee. It looked like a creepy movie as they covered each window. They were also inside the hallway where someone had not closed the door properly.

Fish fly….up close

There were so many fish flies and they crunched under my feet as I made my way to wave at the Blue Water Bridge webcam.

The fish flies are only around for a few days.

I made cabbage rolls. When I make them, I always think why don’t I make these more often.

I made pork chops or chicken breast with mushroom sauce, vegetable rice and yellow beans.

Sole with garlic butter and toasted almonds was my second choice to go with my spaghetti dinner.

Every morning I set myself up at the end of the counter. I like that I can look out the portholes and through the windows of the Captains dining room from that location. I enjoyed the flowers for over 10 days.