And that’s all – all for Europe. I’ve been here now 4 1/2 months and its unfortunately time to go. We have already started to make our way out to sea for the 5 seas it will take to reach St. Maarten in the Caribbean. I will be in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, United States of America on the 29th of November. A little over a month after that, I will be home properly, at which point I’ll have to stop using British terminology, like “properly.”
Not too long ago, the only way to immigrate from Europe to the States was by boar. Those immigrants didn’t usually take the route that we are – from north-west Africa tot eh Caribbean – and they didn’t travel in as much style and comfort certainly – but I like to think that they were traveling the same water that we are now. Back then, on the new steam-powered ocean liners, it took 21 days to get from Europe to New York. As I said, it will only take us 5 days to traverse an even greater distance than that.
Sea days weigh heavily on the crew. We are not, after all, real sailors. We took these jobs to see foreign lands, and being cooped up on the ship for an extent of time can make the best of us a little kooky after awhile. We are braced for the five sea days now, though, and I think they will go along in quiet monotony.
David J. Hahn
David J. Hahn is a Broadway conductor and keyboard player. He co-founded MusicianWages.com with Cameron Mizell in 2008. Visit his new project, Songwriter.fm and sign up for his songwriting newsletter.
