Refueling the Mercy

Sunday July 11th


This morning a fuel tanker, supply boat – The Richard E. Bird, run by the sea mariners came along side of us to refuel and to re-supply the Mercy. We watched this ship come toward us and then right up along side of us. When it got along side of us they matched our speed perfectly so if you just looked at the 2 ships it looked like they were not moving. The seas were pretty rough today and this maneuver was not easy. It took about 3 hours to receive our fuel. To get the fuel hoses we shot a line over to the deck of the fuel ship. It took 4 tries to get a hold then they fed the fuel hose along the line to reach our ship. As we were taking on fuel the helicopters started up to first drop off our garbage and then to pick up supplies. It was the coolest thing I have ever seen. I was outside for hours watching those helicopters fly. When they picked up the supplies from the Richard E. Bird they flew over and the their flight deck and the supplies were bundled in cargo nets with a rope, and a long pole with a loop on the end of it. The helicopter would hover above the supplies and then a man underneath the helo would hook this long pole with the loop unto a hook on the underside of the helicopter. That would be a crazy job! He did it well. The whole experience was amazing to watch!