Rough seas part of a day's work

Driving rain, 70-knot winds and six-metre high waves may seem like pretty horrendous sailing conditions.

But it’s all in a day’s work for the crew of the Oleander as they make their weekly trip between New Jersey and Bermuda and back again.

This week the ship felt the full force of a passing cold front after leaving the Eastern Seaport.

But she was still running on schedule when she took on the  pilot near Five Fathom Hole on Monday at 6:45am.

It’s easy to take for granted the 1,500 miles the ship must travel every week and the four-and-a-bit days the crew spend at sea in order to bring vital foods and supplies to the island.

But it is no mean feat.

Captain Jacek Jurszo told the Bermuda Sun that weather and sea conditions caused the Oleander to roll heavily on its latest trip to the island.

Veer

It was a journey not for the faint hearted.

He said: “The trip was generally good and the weather conditions were comfortable most of the voyage.

“The weather started to turn over on Sunday starting from afternoon.

“At noon wind was from SSE — force 7 — sea state 6.

“Then since noon the wind started to veer to the South, the South Southwest and finally the West.

“Between 20:00 and 24:00 the wind was gusting up to 60-70 knots as we were passing the cold front. This brought also a lot of rain.

“The sea was building and became five to six metres high. The wind and sea condition remained unchanged until our arrival Bermuda on Monday at the pilot station at 0645lt.

“The direction of the sea and high of the weaves during the Sunday night caused vessel rolling heavily.”

The Oleander left for New Jersey again yesterday and will be back on Monday morning.

Elsewhere the bad weather as well as mechanical difficulties put a dent in the Somers Isles timetable.

She was due in last Friday but eventually came into Hamilton on Monday.

She is due to leave today and be replaced by the Bermuda Islander tomorrow.