The wind ensured that the rain stayed away and the guests had a sunny day at sea. We had following winds which made the relative wind on deck just pleasant with 12 knots. The ship is running at 18 knots which means that the true wind is at least 30+ knots. When I had a good look at the waves at lunch time it looked like it was blowing at least 35 knots and sometimes more. That is a nice gale. Those winds create waves and if they have been there for a while there is also swell and we have that swell three quarters on the stern. This is the most unpleasant angle to have swell at. You can get that nasty cork screw motion. But with our speed, we are “surfing” most of it away and we only have occasionally a little roll or indication that we are in open waters. The swell angle is just enough towards the beam for the stabilizers to still get a good grip on the waves. At least most of the time.
The route takes us exactly in the opposite direction as from the beginning of the cruise. Late last evening was sailed past San Juan and just before lunch time we came abeam of Grand Turk Island, but not close enough to see much. Then late this evening we will come in the vicinity of the Grand Bahama Bank and we will dive in between the islands to approach Half Moon Cay from the South as it is located on the West side of San Salvador Island.
Thus today is a full sea day and the ship provides all of the Holland America line cruise activities. On a seven day cruise we do not have much time to entertain the guests as most of the time they are ashore and today being the last sea day we have to make up for it. If a guest wants to follow and partake in the complete program today, then he/she might need another cruise to catch their breath again.
This is part of the staff of the Main Kitchen, which stretches on the Westerdam over two decks.
I relieved the Training Officer from a number of trainings today, which are all related to initial actions in case something happens. First Response Training it is called. 95% of all emergencies on board are solved by the quick and correct action of a crewmember. Be it extinguishing a small fire, or helping a choking guest with the Heimlich maneuver; whatever it is a small quick response prevents something from being a small challenge to becoming a big problem. The most dangerous area on board, apart from the Engine Room is the kitchen. To have a fire you need Oxygen, Material/fuel and Heat. All three are present in abundance in any cooking area. And we have some very large cooking areas.
This is part of the main kitchen, the soup kitchen. To the left is one of the fat fryers we always worry about.
Because the equipment varies from ship to ship and the cooks also rotate through the various kitchen areas, it is important that we refresh their knowledge on a regular basis. All Cooks know what to do in an emergency at least the basic principles. Try to extinguish the fire if it is not too big; phone the bridge, evacuate the area and close as many doors as you can. But we have a lot of equipment available to counter a fire and to ensure that everything available is used properly, you need training.
The biggest danger is a Deep Fat Fryer. The hot oil is almost at a temperature were it can ignite itself and if that happens the flames flare up and can spread very quickly. Certainly if you have a moving ship.
The training goes as follows for such a fire:
Small fire basic instructions: use fire blanket, use CO2 extinguisher, use powder extinguisher, and do not use water. When the fire is out, call the bridge to report. What is a small fire? Such a size that you are comfortable with to extinguish yourself. And then we simulate using the equipment to do it.
What is a big fire: you are not comfortable to do it yourself. What we do then I will explain tomorrow.
Thus tomorrow we arrive at Half Moon Cay and we will be the only ship. Which means there will be plenty of space for everybody. The weather forecast (at least for the inhabited island next door) calls for partly cloudy skies with a gentle breeze and temperatures of 27oC or 81o F. It should be a beautiful day to end the cruise with.
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