Chief Engineer
Chief Engineer "Big Kev" Kowalski
Gdańsk via Liverpool
Strong feelings on lubricant viscosity. Calls the engine 'my girl'.
Six foot four, three identical grey boiler suits, and one loud Hawaiian shirt reserved for sea days on which nothing is on fire. Learned English from the crew of a Liverpool tug in 1994 and has not updated the vocabulary since. If you compliment the engine, he will nod once. If you compliment it twice, he will assume you want something.
Portrait is a comic book invention. Under the conditions of my passage, no likeness of the working crew may appear here, names have been changed and faces drawn from memory.
Thursday, 15 October 2026A Detour for a Sailing Boat
A distress call, a change of course, a bridge full of quiet professionals, and the strange relief of being beaten to it.
Monday, 12 October 2026Engines We Will Never Fit
Tiny and I resume the imaginary engine swaps, with Big Kev providing engineering criticism nobody had requested.
Saturday, 10 October 2026Birthdays on the Back Deck
Elena takes the world menu outdoors, two birthdays are celebrated, and my policy on desserts undergoes public scrutiny again.
Tuesday, 6 October 2026The Garage in the Control Room
Tiny and I begin assembling a dream garage in a room full of machinery that makes all our engines look decorative.
Monday, 5 October 2026Korea for Dinner, the Ocean for Afterward
Elena continues the journey around the world one dinner at a time, with Korea receiving a thoroughly convincing second visit.
Thursday, 24 September 2026Australia from the Galley
Meat pies appear off the Chinese coast and Big Kev claims expert status.
Thursday, 17 September 2026The Cat Makes Rounds
Container now follows me everywhere and has developed opinions about the engine control room.
Sunday, 6 September 2026Thailand on the Horizon
A green line appears to port and the menu travels to Japan.
Tuesday, 25 August 2026Mexico by Way of the Galley
Enchiladas arrive in the Arabian Sea, followed by a firm ruling on portions.
14 August 2026The Engine Room at Full Noise
Two hours below with Big Kev, ear defenders that did not entirely work, and a machine so large it stops being a machine and becomes weather.
12 August 2026The Floating Container
A rusted box in the water off the port bow, a very short period of genuine alarm, and a lesson in how routinely the sea eats cargo.
26 July 2026Gulls, Diesel and a Peach Cobbler: 22 to 26 July
Tiny fished off the stern, Kev finally opened the engine room, the sky went a ridiculous blue, and Elena produced a peach cobbler that has rearranged my priorities.
21 July 2026The Laundry, the Engine Room, and a Pie I Did Not Share
I found the laundry, lost the argument about outdoor drying, missed driving, and told Big Kev about my turbocharged Miata. He was unimpressed.