12 November 2011; At Sea.

 We indeed had a wobbly evening with the ship taking a little lurch every time a wave caught itself under the square stern.  So by 11 pm we were out of the Gulf Stream and from then on we had normal waves with a regular amplitude and thus the ships stabilizers could ensure a regular ride. The cold front that is creating all this wind is slowly moving towards the Mexican mainland, pushed downwards by the tropical storm area called Sean and this morning we could see it coming over our ship. Sometimes frontal systems are vaguely defined and lay over an extended area, sometimes they are sharply defined and more intense. This time we could almost see the edge of it. A sharp line of rows of clouds that moved in a South Westerly direction. As this is the month of change, going from the summer to the winter pattern, the whole area is unstable and at the moment it is horrible weather in Panama, as they have the first monsoon trough of the season. That brings a lot of wind and rain and it makes for very unpleasant weather. The good thing is looking at the weather cycle it should be gone by the time we get there. 

Two days ago we sailed North West bound and thus we hugged the right side of the north lane of the Vessel Traffic Separation Scheme. Now we are South East bound and that means we are hugging the right side of the other lane. That brings us a lot closer to Cuba and twice we will just be 4 miles away from the mainland. So guests will see light at the horizon, where they might expect darkness. Not an unusual expectation as there are not that many towns and villages along the Northern shore. The coast line is deeply indented with creeks, swamps, reefs, cays and islands, so civilization is located deeper inland. Also most of the DEEP water ports are on the south side, except Havana. But Guantanamo bay and Santiago de Cuba are both located at the south side. One day, when Cuba opens up to the cruise ships, these ports will become common knowledge very quickly; in the same way as we now talk about Grand Cayman and Montego Bay.

So for the day we happily trundled along our course line, while a very strong wind, gale force wind, was blowing from the North East. 3o knots from the wind, 18 knots from the ship. The few guests who dared to go forward on the Verandah deck, experienced near hurricane force winds in relative wind due to the combined ships speed and wind. Not that I am encouraging them to do so and we keep the access doors closed as much as possible. But because they are emergency exits so we cannot lock them, unless things get really bad, and thus people can venture up there. Most of the time after having made one try, they quickly give up. Over 50 knots of wind is very unpleasant, you can literally let yourself fall forward and the wind will catch you and you are either pushed back, or kept hanging at an angle. An interesting but not necessarily pleasant experience.

Most guests were however quite happy to remain inside and made it a late morning anyway. I gave an hour forward during the night to get that issue out of the way. When you are at sea, you can do the time changes anytime you want as there is no chance of confusion. Ships time is what you live by. Doing the time change straight away, affects the ships operation the least, as the guests are going to bed early anyway, due to the tired boarding day and will get up later as well. By tonight, formal night, everybody will be adjusted and ready to enjoy shipboard life and then one hour forward would spoil the whole game. Many guests would feel obliged to retire because it suddenly says 11 pm. Instead of 10 pm. while their body is not ready for it yet to go to sleep. So better the first night, as at least everybody will sleep.

An issue that needs much attention now is that the period of NLV or norovirus is upon us again. The seasons change and at once NLV is back and becomes a factor of great concern. The Statendam has thus far been saved from NLV issues and we are staying focused to keep it that way. So the guests are being advised again and again to be vigilant. We do not allow self service in the self service restaurants for the first two days, (guests using the same tongs could hand it over to each other that way) and I am singing “happy birthday again”. I found out by coincidence that a singing captain on the P.A system has much more effect than a letter in the cabin or an announcement by the Cruise Director at the end of the show. It is that way, because nobody expects a singing captain. Thus when I make my daily announcement I encourage people to wash their hands often with water and soap for at least 20 seconds, for as long as it takes to sing “happy birthday” and then I sing the first line. I am not a very good singer but that might even enhance the message………. although it certainly does not enchance the song itself.