Global-Mariner

                                                 THE WAVE - AFTERMATH

"Stolt Surf" survived the storm and the big waves - and so did all we sailors onboard.

She continued to do her duty as a chemical tanker around the World until year 2000, when the old "work horse" finally got scrapped in Alang - India - after 30 years service on all oceans - -

I have been a sailor for almost 40 years and have served on lots of ships and ship types. Some of those many ships just vanish again in the mist of time and in my memory as “not important”, but a few remains very strong – and one of them is “Stolt Surf”, because several things happened here which had everlasting impact on my life.

First of all she was the first ship on which I signed on as Chief Engineer – 31 years old – and I stayed a long time onboard – far exceeding my regular service period – and actually I enjoyed it! “Stolt Surf” was a fun ship with fun loving sailors and a great Captain, - and the ship itself was actually very nice and with a main engine – a B&W - I was very familiar with from the ships I served on with the East Asiatic Company - - - Piece of cake!

But shortly after leaving the port in which I signed on, we had a scavenge air fire. Well – those things might happen sometimes, but after leaving Panama on a 3 week journey over the Pacific it happened again!!!! That was certainly NOT normal and although I had sailed with several ships with the same type engine, I had NEVER before experienced scavenge air fires in any of them - - - never! So, - something was wrong, and I had to investigate what!

I would take a set of indicator cards – a strip of paper on which you can see how the compression, the ignition and firing process in the cylinder takes place - - - and I was chocked by the result!

First of all the indicator I found, was completely worn out - - - - Normally the cylinder and piston of the indicator should fit tight together, but with “Stolt Surf’s” indicator you could actually throw the piston through cylinder, - and that will NOT work! I loked desperately for spare parts for the indicator, and found a whole heap of cylinders and pistons, - but ALL used and worn out! Not even one new set was available! But if I had to check the engine, I had to have an indicator so that I could follow the work process in the various cylinders. What to do????

Well, - only thing I could do was to find the least worn piston and the least worn cylinder, - lubricate them well - and then see what I could get out of that - - - - And the result was chocking - - - The compression on the cylinder that had scavenge air fires was low, - VERY low – and so was another cylinder – far too low - - - Now at least we knew what was wrong: Worn out liners or worn out pistons/piston rings, that caused the blow-by that caused the scavenge air fires - - -

Next step was to reduce the power on those two bad cylinders, - and then distribute the lost power to the best performing cylinders with good compression, - but would that cause imbalance in the engine????? Well, - it already had a really bad distribution of power in between the cylinders – and that went well, so maybe we could fire her up again and see what happened?

And it went well – fortunately enough – because you would rather NOT have a disaster in the middle of the Pacific, where no help can be obtained - - - And the scavenge air fires disappeared, - and off we went towards Japan! Then Captain Oddenes asked me: What have you done with the engine????? Nothing - I answered – only distributed the power a little different from before. But we are now running much faster - he explained - !!!! We can even hold the charter speed!!!! We NEVER was able to do that before – It’s great - answered a puzzled Captain Oddenes! No it was NOT great, and I explained, that two pistons and two liners had to come out in Japan, - so he might expect a delay - - - -

Now, - we did NOT get delayed in Japan, because when the Company heard what was wrong, they ordered a crew from one of the big shipyards in Japan to come and help! Very experienced and fast working people and when the "sick" liners came out, I got another chock! 11 mm wear!!!!! The second liner had “only” 9 mm wear, - but still way above the maximum allowed limit, - so NO wonder that the ship burned and did not perform well - - - But why was it not fixed for long time ago?????? Hmmmmmmm -

After that incident "Stolt Surf" behaved very well!  No more scavenge air fires, - no loss of power - - -  And a lot of fun!  A VERY "happy ship" - - -

The next event that changed my life relating to “Stolt Surf” was that I got married on that ship! Yes, - according to the Liberian Maritime law, a sea Captain really has the right to marry people!

Actually it was NOT what I wanted! I just wanted to invite my girlfriend onboard for a trip with the “Stolt Surf”, but according to company rules, that was NOT allowed! You HAD to be married first, then you could invite a girl with you. So what to do now????? Well – as mentioned it was possible for a Captain to marry people, - and I suggested to Captain Oddenes to marry us! I did not really see any danger with that - - -

He said that it was really true, that according to powers vested in him, he could marry people, - but he had never done so before!!!! Well, - then he had a chance to do it now, if he wanted. And since we were very good friends, he agreed to act as "priest" – for the first time in his career as Captain on a ship.

Today I realize, that this was a crazy project, because my girlfriend did not even belong to my target group – Japanese. Koreans or Chinese – but she had the looks, and she was intelligent, - so why not??? And who cares????? I knew that she also had a mental issue, but I largely ignored it, because obviously that would disappear when she got away from her environment and into orderly conditions, - a place she could call her own, - at a very beautiful and safe location, - and she had the potential to become a super-woman - - - No doubt about about it! Also I made her pregnant, so I was stuck with her, but did not really consider that to be a disaster - - - It will work out fine - - -

But I was terrible wrong! One time, - when I - as usual - called my father – , when we came back to Europe, he thought that I should know, that my wife actually shared her bed with another man, when I was away at sea - - - - That hit me hard. This was to go over the red line, - and I acted immediately! I did the worst thing that a man can do:  Threw out his wife - - -

At once I wrote a letter to the authorities at home as well as a letter to my wife, informing her that I knew what she was doing, - and that I therefore demanded a divorce! Also I asked her to leave our house, so that I did NOT find her at home, when I arrived for vacation!

I did not really know what to say and do if I found her home, but to my great relief she really was out of the house when I came home! GREAT! Apparently she understood, that I was serious, - so now I could dump into my best chair, and just enjoy the peace and quiet without any scandals or hysterical scenes with screaming and yelling.  Instead a wonderful peace came over me – and I could sleep happily and sound after my long journey home - - - And I was sure, that the divorce formalities would be quickly over.

But next morning disaster struck! I would go to the bank in order to withdraw some money and afterwards go shopping, but when I opened the garage door, - my car was gone!!!!! OK – I had to walk then – and also I had a fairly good idea of who had stolen it!

Coming to the bank the next disaster struck! I could NOT withdraw money, because my account was empty! Really completely empty – except for a few cents! Again I knew who the thief could be, because only one person in the world had access to my account besides myself - - - So this was going to be “fun” - - 

And it became more “fun” when the divorce system had to fix my divorce! It was an old women, who was assigned to fix this, and she backed up my ex-wife - 100% - in her claim, that I had to pay her ½ million as compensation for the divorce - - - That – of course was out of the question, because according to the law, she should pay me a large amount! When you divorce, you have to share everything you have together, - and YES, - we had a house, but it was a new house and built from borrowed money – and she had to pay half of that debt - - - and that was a lot! Also we had a new Volvo – all bought for money borrowed in the bank – and she had to pay half of that too - - -

But I demanded NOTHING from her! She just had to leave! But being backed up by the old woman from the “system” the case dragged on - and dragged on - and dragged on - - - At last she threatened me to take me to court if I did not pay, which of course I did NOT! So I ended in court, - and I was just on the brink to leave the country and find another place on Earth where I could live in peace and harmony and FREEDOM, without being harassed by the “system”- - - I wanted FREEDOM - - - But actually I did not have to worry! I knew of no cases in Denmark where the judge or court system was corrupt!  And now it was lawyers that ran the show, - and to my surprise – they listened to MY explanation and took my evidence serious, - and I clearly felt that the wind was changing in my favor - - - My ex. wife also sensed that, and fired her lawyer and got a new one – of course paid by the Government! She did NOT have to pay a cent, while I myself had to pay ALL my lawyer- and court expenses - -

And me???? I simply could not understand why the “system” treated me so badly, when I had done nothing wrong - - - Also my ex. wife tried the tricks she used with great success with the old woman from “the system”, who apparently swallowed every lie raw, regardless of how insane it was, but not so with the lawyers - - -

They knew that she was out on thin ice and did not just buy any story she came up with - - - Anyway, - as mentioned the lawyers listened to me and took my testimony and proofs serious instead of just ignoring me – and at the end, when the verdict came, - I could go again as a free man, - but my ex. wife had to pay me her half part of our debt - - - - But she had no money – so how could she pay? And she had my son, that surely would suffer if his mother was trapped with a big debt, she had to pay - - -

Therefore I took my lawyer outside where we could talk privately, and I told him, that I would NOT have that money she owed me - - - - She had my son, - and he would suffer - - - - I just want her to go away - - - "You are very generous young man" – the lawyer answered, but he fully understood my reasons and my VERY strong desire to finish this nightmare - - - - and he nodded and said, that it was a wise decision, I had taken. Going back to the court room again, the lawyers talked a little bit and included my wish NOT to claim the debt my ex. had to pay me - - - and I was FREE!

Eventually I also got my car back, but the money that was stolen from my bank account I just forgot about!  I do not care about money!  - - - - I just wanted peace and harmony - - - - NO more trouble, - and money I could always get - - - - and I wanted FREEDOM - - -

So that was how “Stolt Surf” indirectly gave me all those problems, but of course it was NOT “Stolt Surf’s” fault, - but my own – and I totally forgive “Stolt Surf” - - -

Immediately after I got my freedom back, I started my old life again. I climbed the mountains, - I dived to the bottom of the sea, - looked into the eyes of moray ells and sharks, - found out that Korea was just as beautiful under the water as it was above the surface, - and marveled at the coral reefs in Africa - - - A truly GREAT life!

But one thing I did NOT do! Before marriage I used to be a great ladies friend, and I was a good looking and well educated fellow, that often did not even struggle to get the attention of the girls! In many cases they came all by themselves - - - - But now I stayed away from girls – would not have anything to do with them - - - They were evil, - they lied and cheated - - They were bad - - -That might seem terrible, but it was not – absolutely not!

Instead of chasing women I discovered, that I had an enormous amount of energy! Quite strange actually - - - I could climb a mountain one day, - and the next day climb another mountain! Usually I never did that! After climbing a mountain, I would take it easy the next day – maybe at some beach – or studying a big temple – and sit for long time in meditation in front of the big Buddha - - - And I was extremely - and absolutely happy!

Then one day an incident took place on open street in Ulsan in Korea - - - It hit me like being kicked in the head by a horse, - and after getting out of the situation, I suddenly realized, that it was absolutely wrong to ignore women! They are half of the Worlds population, - and they have this strange “female wisdom”, that men actually need, - and they had half of the Worlds creativity and talent, so how could I be so stupid just to ignore all those benefits just by excluding myself from half of the Worlds population?????????

So after this strange incident I started to chase women again, - and it was fun – and it was good - - - But strangely enough all that energy I had before now disappeared – from one day to the next – as I started to chase women again - - - -

And the good result of that was Kit Yu - a talented artist and designer from China -, who eventually became my wife, - and she is still with me after all those years, - and I have absolutely NO intentions to kick her out!  NO NEED TO!

She is the wind in my sail!  She never lied to me, - never cheated me, - never stole anything from me, - and we share the same code by which we live:  LOVE, TRUTH and JOY - - -  and then it does not get any better!

So, - throwing out your wife is the worst thing you can do, - but eventually it is also the best thing you can do, if your standards are too different!  Believe me:    Love , Truth and Joy is much better than Hate, Greed and Anger - - -

The third impact that “M/T “Stolt Surf” did in my life, concerned photography -

I have been a photographer since my teenage years, when I also started as an artist, painting real oil paintings - - - - This is all very normal – I believe - , but after the “Wave” incident took place on “M/T “Stolt Surf” – it went crazy - - - -

When my company, - Stolt Parcel Tankers -, got to know, that I actually were there and witnessed and photographed the big storm, they were very interested to hear my account and see my pictures about what it was that damaged their nice ship - - -

So, - they borrowed my films and used them in their company magazine, - “STOLTEN” - and even used the big wave photo in a later anniversary edition of the magazine - - - After that, the US National Weather Service, kindly asked me, if they could use the photo of the big wave for their website, - and obviously I said yes, - of course – because this weather service was of great help to us sailors - - -

Then newspapers and magazines started to show interest in “The Wave”, - and then came filmmakers that wanted my account of the episode for making films and documentaries about ships and the ocean -, - and lots of private people like to have a copy too - - Even a priest once asked me if he could use the picture for his church services - - -

And then came the writers, that would like to have a copy of the picture in their book! I already mentioned Susan Casey and her book: “The Wave” The culmination came, when “National Geographic Magazine” called me one day, - and of course wanted permission to use the big wave picture! And I became stunned! WoW – “National Geographic”?????? The ultimate dream of any photographer is to get a picture in “National Geographic”, but it is really hard, unless you have something really special to offer. They have their own HIGHLY skilled and VERY adventurous reporters and photographers, - and now I was one of them?????? UNBELIEVEABLE! Wowwww - - So – the “Wave” put me on “National Geographic’s” supplier list, - and that is really something - - - -

And I could now refer to myself as photographer - - - Of course there were bad sides of it as well. If you spread your pictures around on the internet, it is VERY hard to avoid being abused - - - And my picture are now everywhere and for various purposes - - 

Here I have to mention, that it is absolutely NOT all that steals my “intellectual property”! A lot of people who has a purpose I can agree to and find good, have of course asked for permission to use my pics, - and that is no problem - - - But some don’t ask and use my pics without permission and use them commercially, - and this I do NOT like - - - -

A great example of abuse was one fine day I discovered a fellow that offered post cards with ship pictures for sale - - - - Great! Let me have a look! But instead of being happy, I noticed that ALL his postcards had pictures of ships – pictures taken by ME – and stolen from my website!!!!!

Another case was a travel story from a small Korean island, - a beautiful island where I also had explored and enjoyed life - - - The first picture in his story looked remarkable like a picture I too had taken - - - What a coincidence, - right? But more pictures came up, - and all looked like somewhere where I too had photographed? This is VERY unlikely, because I was alone – nobody was there with me – and at very unusual places, because unusual places is where I love to go - - - So, - what was this aboutto do?

Well, - I found my pictures from that Korean island, and saw to my great surprise, that ALL the pictures in his story were actually mine - - - - Same angle, same clouds, same shadows, - same vegetation, - same EVERYTHING – they were actually MY pictures that he used for “his” travel story - - -

He was of course stopped immediately, - but how much money had he managed to make from “his” travel stories – most likely made from his home sitting in his most comfortable chair, - and offered travel stories for sale with STOLEN pictures, - and maybe also stolen text????

Anyway, - that was the story of how “Stolt Surf” and “The Wave” changed my life in three different fields:

1) CHIEF ENGINEER

Well, - I had served as Chief Engineer before “Stolt Surf”, but only when there was an emergency, - like if the permanent Chief Engineer got sick and had to go to hospital – or if the company could not easily find a replacement for him when he had vacation! Then it was great, if the 1st. engineer had a Chief Engineers License and could take over, so that the ship was not delayed - - -

2) GOT MARRIED

Well, - that was not a success, but in our time the divorce rate is quite impressive, - so why should I go free????   But quite funny and interesting to think about ME being involved in a marriage that was performed by the Captain on a ship!

3) PHOTOGRAPHER

Well, - if “National Geographic” shows interested in your work, then you have the right to refer to yourself as: Photographer