Time Zones, Containers and Three Square Meals a Day

Out on the worlds’ oceans hundreds of tiny little communities are transporting goods between continents on ships, some large, some small. These little communities are the crews of the ships and their world is an ever-changing one of new ports and cities, different weather patterns and wildlife. It is also a rather monotonous world as the work can be boring and the faces on board are mostly the same. Some crew might be lucky enough that their ships, besides cargo, also have some passengers who might give some welcome distractions.

In rare cases it might happen that a shipping company decides to let someone on board who works for them as she writes a guidebook for the passengers – someone who is not really a crewmember, but also not really a passenger.

I was lucky to be that guidebook writer, working for six months on two different ships. In Time Zones, Containers and Three Square Meals a Day I tells about my time on one of those ships, the MV Serenity River, and relate about my live on board, the people I met, the ports we visited, how we adjusted to the ever-changing ships time and what happened when one of the crew members went crazy.

Time Zones, Containers and Three Square Meals a Day will be published in Sept-Oct 2010. For a sneak preview, Chapter One can be read here. For more interesting background information about the book turn to the Frequently Asked Questions.