It was still a windy morning, courtesy of dissipating Patty but by noon time the wind started to abate. For the coming days we should have nearly wind still weather, even in Aruba. This is caused by a new tropical storm called Rafael, churning away in the sea area above Puerto Rico. Without going into too much technical weather details, in a simple way, a tropical storm or hurricane sucks all the wind away from an area like a vacuum cleaner. As a result a wide area around it is nearly wind still. That is in our case the greater Caribbean Sea and that is where we are sailing. So I am all for it. So while Patty is keeping Rafael company on the other side of the Bahama Bank, the Statendam will slip into the Caribbean Sea for a few days of smooth weather. Continue reading

 It was indeed very breezy when we arrived; there was so much wind that I had ordered a tugboat just for the case of. Then at the pilot station the wind went into another gear, now blowing 23 to 35 knots so after the Master – Pilot Conference we went for a 2nd tugboat. Part of the reason was that we had to dock “in the hole” of berth 4. All other cruise docks are under refurbishment for the coming season. The governing authority is investing $75 million in the terminal buildings to improve flow, handling and general facilities. As the Statendam was the only cruise ship in today we had to go to Pier 4 as that one had been spruced up during the last season. When there is no wind, it is not a problem, but with a lot of wind, plus the necessity to go stern in, it becomes an issue of intense focus. So two tugboats was our plan B and all went well. With another 6000 HP available for the stern and another 3500 HP for the bow, we had time to line up perfectly without the fear of not being able to control the drift in the basin. Then slowly but steadily we inched back into the basin of berth 4 & 5  with the pilot controlling the tugs and me the ship. By 06.30 we had half our job done. Continue reading

The frontal system laying over the Bahamas is intensifying and will continue to slowly gather in strength over the weekend.  Not really stormy weather but very strong winds; strong enough to be called a tropical storm now, one with the nice name of Patty . That has caused an instant change in the surface current running through the Straits of Florida. The axis of the Gulf Stream has been pushed further to the West, e.g. closer to the Florida coast and that means that the counter current which normally flows south along the rim of the Great Bahama Bank has more room. More room gives more push and so the current managed to get into Old Bahama channel, and that is not really nice for us. Normally we have about a 0.75 of a knot of current with us but now it was the other way around. We had nearly 1.5 knots against us. The wind did not help either, due to the weather front it was not from the East pushing the ship forward; now it was from the NNE, pushing full on the Starboard bow. In the end it meant that I had to put an extra engine on line to ensure that we kept our average speed to arrive on time in Fort Lauderdale. Continue reading

 Today we crossed the middle part of the Caribbean Sea on our way to Florida. The stretch of water north of Aruba and south of Haiti. Although we are thus in the middle of open waters it was amazing to see how much traffic there was still out there. This area is a sort of cross roads for traffic to and from the Gulf of Mexico and destinations in south America ; ships going SE or NW. Secondly there is a stream of ships coming into the Caribbean Sea through the opening between the islands such as the Windward and the Mona Passage. Thus we saw ships everywhere today and although there is plenty of room here for everybody, we even had to change course to avoid some of them. In a way amazing as the sea is so large; in a way understandable as each ship sails the most economical courses possible and then you end up on each other’s track line.  At least it keeps the navigators from getting bored. Continue reading

 It was blowing hard when we approached the island of Aruba from the West but not as hard as the weather forecast had indicated. By the time we were 12 miles away it blew 25-30 knots and that meant that by the time we would enter the port, it would be 15 to 25 knots. The obstructions on the island always break the wind somewhat. Still enough wind to make sure that I had a plan B up my sleeve and that was a tugboat. If the wind would breeze up about 26 knots, which is the max I can handle with the thrusters and rudders, then the only option would have been to sail out of the port again, wait for tugboats and try again. That would have meant delays for the guests and I am not so keen on that. So a tugboat on standby to keep the stern in while docking (that area catches the most wind due to the funnel) and I knew we would stand a better chance to come alongside if the wind would suddenly gain strength. Continue reading

Since leaving the Panama Canal we have sailed on a North Easterly course, roughly following the coastline of Panama and Colombia. Most of the day we spent crossing the Columbia basin; that curve in the land near the cities of Cartagena and Barranquilla. As all the ships keep roughly the same distance from land, we had a lot of opposing traffic today, meeting ship after ship going to the Panama Canal and coming from areas on the North side of South America. Ships going to Europe and North America follow other routes, as they have to get out of the Caribbean Sea by sailing somehow around Cuba. There are various “gaps” to use for that and we will be using the Windward Passage later on, located between Cuba and the Westside of Haiti. First we will visit the port of Oranjestad on Aruba. Continue reading

At 04.30 we started to approach the Canal area and the weather looked good. Overcast but no thick dark clouds in the area. That meant that at least until the Continental Divide there would be no rain. Not bad for the rainy season. Instead of waiting at the sea buoy, we were directed into the anchorage area for the clearance procedures. Always interesting for the guests to see all the cargo ships at the anchorage, all lit up like Christmas trees and waiting for clearance and or bunkers. So I zigzagged slowly between them towards an empty spot, designated by Flamenco Station, which is the Control tower that regulates all the traffic in the area and lines the ships up for getting into the convoy. Below me on B deck at the pilot break, the whole circus of clearance was in progress; agent, boarding officer, fumigator (who was very disappointed, no rats or cockroaches insight) shops supplies coming on board (we had a special Panama Sale while going through) Canal technician (to see all navigation equipment was working), Canal Narrator) and finally the first pilot.
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 Although it is the rainy season, we had thus far only sunny days since we passed Cabo San Lucas. This morning we found out why. Mother Nature had decided to make it one delivery and drop all that missed rain on us in one hour. We sailed into one wide curtain of rain and for one hour we had torrential rains. Visibility was less than a mile and a deluge of rain swirled around the ship. I had to close all the exits to the outside decks as it was simply dangerous to be out in the open. Continue reading

During our last call in may northbound, I had discussed with the pilot what was the best times would be for the ship to arrive and to depart. Although we were scheduled from 0800 to 1400 hrs the cruise brochure times seldom take the operational windows into consideration. As they are a cargo port and mainly visited by low powered cargo ships, the pilots are very concerned about the current going in and out of the port. With a 10 knot max. speed and a 2 knot current, you lose 20% capability and that is considerable. For a cruise ship it is of lesser concern but I had the option to arrive at 05.30 when it was high slack water and thus I did so. The swell had died down overnight and thus we had a very quiet ride towards the berth. It is a short but complicated approach as the current does not follow the channel and swirls around various islands so it takes careful conning to get around the corners of the fairway. With the pilot telling me where the shoaling was taking place (“captain not too close to this buoy and a bit closer to that buoy”) we were happily docked by 07.00 at the container dock. After making sure that we did not hit the container crane we could happily settle down for the day.

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Tonight we enjoyed an hour back as Guatemala is on a different time zone. They normally do not do summer or winter time and are thus an hour off with Puerto Chiapas in Mexico just over the border. We approached the pilot station at 04.00 and the pilot hopped on board, right on time. Going in, through the breakwaters is a very interesting affair, as you have to make a 90 degree turn into the basin and then a 180 turn to get the ship lined up and go sternway to the berth. I wanted to go portside alongside so I could get out fast on departure. In the afternoon a land wind normally picks up which makes swinging around in the basin more difficult. On arrival it is normally wind still and so why do things difficult if we can do it the easy way. By 05.00 we were happily docked and the early tours could leave while the sun was just getting above the horizon. Continue reading