Sleep was impossible. Not only would my head roll back and forth but my whole body would shift from side to side in the bunk. I couldn’t stuff enough stuff between me and the walls to stop the movement. Finally I got up, went down to the common room, and joined the other crewmen who couldn’t sleep either. And the room was full!!.
The ship was still headed directly into the waves (the shortest way to Vancouver!!). When the bow went into a wave it would submerge then come back up. We could feel it in the common room. The floor would tilt forward and you could feel distinct bumps as the bow tried to recover. The bumps became more powerful as the ship attempted to get through the waves. Down…bump, bump, BUMP!. The wait for the bow to come up again seemed eternal. “Jesus Christ” yelled the Frenchman. What was most bothersome was that the old seasoned guys were looking very worried.
This was crazy! We were in the middle of the Pacific ocean heading directly into a Typhoon! Finally the captain relented and we headed north to skirt the storm.
The ship was still rolling (perhaps a little more) but it wasn’t bending anymore and taking the waves on the side. Still we couldn’t sleep and weren’t able to do our work We hung out in our rooms or in the cook’s domain (where the clashing of pans was a testament) or in the commons room.
Lots of sitting around and cursing. As we neared the BC coast the going got easier and we were able to return to normal. Now we could get the local radio and regularly went to the commons room after work to tune into what was happening and what had happened after we had left…

to be continued…