Time to Off-Load
Early in the morning I get a call from Scott who tells be
that he was just informed that Lady Jane/Telita would be offloaded first this morning and we are to make our way to
the Coast Hotel docks to meet the RIB that would take us out to Lady Jane.
Since we were all rather bored with having wasted a day yesterday, all four of us decide to go off-load Lady Jane.
Tom, Scott and Bob standing around in the wind and rain waiting at the docks.
The rain had stopped but the wind was still up. We stood around at the docks as the Captain of the RIB keep checking with YachtPath to see if they were ready for us.
Is it time yet?
Finally, the word came that it was time to offload Lady Jane. We all boarded the RIB and made our way out to the commercial docks. The waves were three feet in the harbor and the ride in the RIB was a white knuckle, bone-jarring trip.
As we approached the Palembang, we could see Lady Jane hanging in the lifting straps just a couple of feet above the water. They did not want to launch her as they would normally would because the waves were so high. The fear was that Lady Jane would be slammed up against Palembang with the resultant damage.
Lady Jane hovering above the waves.
Big boat, little boat.
Having a motor-yacht configuration, there are not a lot of ways to board her from the water. Add to that the high waves, and it took four attempts until we could find a relatively safe way to transfer to Lady Jane. The RIB was more like a human launching pad. We each timed the waves so we would be deposited aboard Lady Jane on the crest of a wave.
How are we going to get aboard?
Scott immediately went to the engine room to do his checks of the thru-hulls, engines and transmissions. The rest of us placed fenders over the starboard side and got ready to launch the boat into the water. There would be a critical time between when we get lowered into the ocean and when we can clear the lifting straps. During that time, we need to be ready to fend off from the Palembang.
Once we were all ready, we gave the signal and the crane operator lowered us into the ocean. Scott got the engines started and we helped walk the straps from under Lady Jane. As soon as the straps were clear, Scott took control and maneuvered Lady Jane clear of Palembang without an issue. Scott again earned his reputation as an excellent boat handler.
A view of the Palembang and the large yacht on the starboard side. She unloads in the Far East.
The wind continued to blow and the waves in the harbor continued to build. Lady Jane, weighing 30 tons, was a much more pleasant ride than the RIB. I looked back at Palembang once we were around the corner and could see the large Feadship still on the starboard side.
Scott dropped me off at the Coast Hotel docks so I could retrieve the rental car and then we both proceeded to the inner harbor docks to await word when we would off-load OceanFlyer.
We continued to explore Victoria, finding more pubs to try. Around lunchtime we got a call that they had stopped off-loading operations when the boat after Lady Jane sustained some damage during the process.
We were instructed to stay at the ready, since they would be resuming operations as soon as the conditions got better.
As I checked weather, I was doubtful we would see much improvement before very late in the evening.
At dinner, we were working under the assumption from YachtPath that we might be off loading OceanFlyer around 11pm. None of us were looking forward to that. The wind was less, but still up. And doing an off-load in the dark was not something we were looking forward to.
After we got back to the hotel I called the loadmaster from YachtPath and he confirmed that there would be no operations tonight. He "forgot to call me earlier.” He said we could expect to offload OceanFlyer tomorrow morning, but there was no specific time available.