Sunday, 22 January 2017
At Sea — North Pacific Ocean
Stats @ Ship’s Time 9:00p (PST) … UTC 5:00a (23 January)
Temp: 60F (15.6C)
Position: 28.34.07N / 122.52.91W
The suspension of life that occurs onboard ship is addictive.
At sea you are always in transit, in transition.
Nothing is fixed.
Everything is imminent.
A storm could come.
A whale could break the surface.
The future could hold anything.
~ James Gorman ~
Captain B was right when he said last night that there would be considerable motion overnight. We rocked and rolled the night away — and the day as well. No matter — we have been in worse.
The only downside of this motion of the ocean for us is that it has curtailed our morning exercise routine. It’s not that we could not walk if we wanted to, it’s just smarter not to take the risk. Leslie Jon, the Cruise Director, came on the P/A several times today with cautionary announcements about walking around the ship in these conditions. No rhyme or reason to the timing of those announcements, so I have a feeling they happen after someone takes a tumble or risky activities are observed. That said, from the number of people continuing to go about the business of being at sea, it’s obvious that most of the passengers on the ship are old hands at cruising, and are taking the conditions in stride.
Our wake spotlighted by the sun … when it peeks out of the clouds for a few minutes.
Overall it was a very quiet day for us. We ran into Sonia and Boris at breakfast and joined them for a leisurely meal at the Terrace Café. Aside from that bit of socializing, though, we pretty much kept to ourselves … partly because I was busy catching up on the blog and partly because there seems to be a respiratory crud affecting some of our shipmates and staying in was a means of trying to keep ourselves healthy. We — or rather, Mui — also used the time to solidify some of our travel plans for late summer/fall. So a productive day in general.
In his noon announcement, Captain B said we are taking a more southwesterly course than usual for this crossing to circle around some storms in the Pacific. We were told to expect more of the same as today for the next 48 hours — winds reaching 40 knots; waves in the 15-20 foot range … described on the NavChannel as “very rough sea state.” The temperature at the time was 63F (17C); it has gone down to around 60F (16C) at almost 9:00p as I write this.
A few stats from the NavChannel … I catch the Bridge Report every so often: Distance from Miami … 5,116 NM; Distance from San Diego … 387 NM; Distance to Hilo … 1,839 NM; traveling at a speed of 18 knots … not bad considering the sea conditions.
Tonight we gain another hour, putting us in Alaska Standard Time when we wake up tomorrow morning.
© 2015-2017 — All rights reserved by Erin Erkun.
Stay low and enjoy the quiet time, albeit rocking and rolling. Just curious if after enough cruises and long enough out there I would adjust...it is a wish.
ReplyDeleteI think we've acquired our sea legs after so many cruises, Sue Malone. The motion is not affecting us ... except for the outside decks being closed, so no real walking. Treadmills make me queasy for some reason, so I'm making do with walking inside ... but on a small ship, there aren't that many places to go to. Still, I'll take this size ship anytime.
ReplyDeleteI bet as you cruise further into the south pacific, the seas will hold still, don't you think? As always, people have to be careful where they put their feet, especially if the floor is MOVING! Be safe!
ReplyDeleteKeeping fingers crossed ... a friend recently commented that one of the Celebrity captains told them things start calming down in February.
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