With a predicted wind of 25 knots from the North West on my mind we sailed towards the Tampa Sea buoy. That would have meant about 10 to 15 knots at the dock and thus an easy docking. Coming closer and closer to the sea buoy we observed ever increasing winds until it was gusting up to 50 knots; that is heavy storm. Entering the narrow fairway with so much wind fully on the beam is very unpleasant so I opted to go north of the channel; make lee for the pilot outside the buoys and while he was boarding drift on the wind into the channel. Continue reading

The cold weather front coming from prairie country was in slow mode and we had a beautiful sunny day at sea. The edge of the frontal system passed over the ship around 3 pm. and then the (cold) wind started to pick up but it was only in the mid evening when the wind had whipped up the waves enough that the guests were starting to notice the changing weather. In the end it was a much nastier cold front than the weather men had predicted but more about that tomorrow. Continue reading

It is always nice to be the only ship in port. You do not have to arrive too early to fit in the schedule or to try to get the best berth and when you are the only ship you can pick which berth you prefer. Thus so it was today and with a low easterly swell and south easterly wind I could dock at my favorite dock, berth nbr. 3, nose out. Keeping the nose in the wind and the swell on the bow makes the ship sit much more quietly than when the swell is on the beam. As a result the gangway moves less due to a riding ship and there is also a much smaller chance of breaking mooring ropes due to the ships movement. Continue reading

By 4 am we passed the sea buoy and 5 minutes later the pilot stepped on board for the sailing through the fairway to the dock. This is one straight course of 187o but sometimes we have to steer 188 or 186 to counteract a small current or a little wind. With a cruise ship coming in, playing pilot here is a piece of cake as our ships steer extremely well. Still the pilot has to earn his money so for the next 20 minutes he kept himself occupied with keeping the ship on a course of 187o. By the time we came to the turning basin in front of the pier, it was time to take over and park the ship on its designated spot. By 05.15 we had the gangway out and just before 6 am. the first tours left to the airport for a trip to the Maya ruins of Tikal and Copan. They returned just before the ship was sailing. Continue reading

Our Barn owl had been active during the night, which is I suppose normal for an owl and was reported flying around the ship. Occasionally he/she settled on the mast on the bow which is the best look out place of the whole ship. By 5 am. he/she had found a place on the staircase balcony behind the portside bridge wing and was watching the approach to Belize with great interest. The moment the sun rose the owl took off for land and was not seen again. It all worked out in this case for the bird and hopefully he will find the Belizean mice as tasty as those in Cuba. Continue reading

With a moderate breeze blowing with us we sailed towards the Caribbean Sea. The ship was making about 17 knots and with a wind strength of about the same, it was almost wind still on deck but due to the cold front of yesterday it was not too warm. Thus it was a perfect day to relax and enjoy shipboard life on board the ms Veendam. The weather forecast for the coming next days predict little change. That means that we should have a very nice cruise and not too warm as long as the North Easterly breeze keeps blowing and keeps feeding a bit of cold air from the North. Continue reading

The weather guru’s had it wrong, completely wrong. The predicted winds of 15 knots, turned out to be closer to 40 knots (that is gale force) when we started the approach to the Key West pilot station. It did not look good at all. Plus the fact that the wind was from the North did not help either as it would push the ship directly onto the dock with a wind force that was going above the Veendam thruster capacity to counteract. While looking out of the bridge window I had already started to formulate my cancellation speech for the guests. Continue reading

At 01.29 in the morning, we passed the Tampa sea buoy, one minute ahead of schedule and then lined up in the leading lights of the Tampa bay outer fairway. With a fresh breeze of about 20 knots blowing from the north we sailed through the buoys. The fairway is covered by leading lights to keep the ship in the middle of the channel as the channel is not that wide, especially when the wind is blowing on the side, or on the beam of the ship, the ship will be pushed to the lee side of the channel. With the wind blowing from the north the Veendam was pushed “set” as we call in the nautical language to the South. In order to stay in the channel, you have to steer for ‘drift” and then the leading lights are really handy. As long as those two strong green lights are in line, the ship is in the middle. Continue reading

For a change the weather system passed over us at the time that we calculated that it should have done. So while it was nasty out there with gale force winds and heavy rains at times, the guests were happily tucked away inside the Veendam and nobody was the worse for it. By the time the sun rose, it was a beautiful day again with the sun brightly shining and Veendam nicely on schedule heading for Tampa. Continue reading

This morning, the weather forecast announced that Tropical storm Paloma had been upgraded to a Hurricane class one with the expectation for a further upgrade to class 2 or class 3 as the system kept intensifying. However as it kept nicely on track heading North into the Caribbean Sea while we were heading North West, there was nothing to worry about. The people in Grand Cayman are not very happy of course as Paloma will pass over the island and later on Eastern Cuba will receive a visit as well. From there it is supposed to travel over the Bahamas’. Continue reading