From Hamburg to Lagos, by cargo. For the crew, cities are just landmarks on a map, to be reached and left again as soon as possible. Travelling means going back and forth along a repetitive route for months on end.
Hamburg, Tilbury, Antwerp, Dakar, Abidjan, Cotonou, Lagos, Tema. Northern Europe and Western Africa. The English Channel and the Gulf of Guinea. Below zero temperatures and extreme heat.
For a cargo’s crew, however, they are just landmarks on a map during a cyclical and regular route, to be reached and left again as soon as possible.
Sailing is a sleepless night on the bridge, the repetitive maintenance, the noisy engine room. Sailing is an endless shift.
It’s the mate uniform, an ordinary seaman wearing dirty blue overalls. It’s the military mentality, the strict hierarchy. It means charging and discharging, every port like any other. Going round the world and see nothing. It’s like working in a factory.
Sailing is not what you imagine.