Today we left the Mexican coast behind and started crossing the Gulf of California. This is the body of water that forms the entrance to the Sea of Cortez located between the Californian Peninsula and the Mexican mainland. At noon time we had the Bahia de Banderas (entrance bay to Puerto Vallarta) on our starboard side and from then onwards we will not see any land anymore until we make our land fall at Cabo San Lucas around 0600 tomorrow morning. The weather continues to be the same, partly cloudy skies and hardly any wind. For tomorrow the weather forecast has changed a little bit, predicting a bit more wind from the NW, which will be good as it will keep the ship nicely behind the anchor and away from the beach. On our starboard side, although it is too far away to see, is an island group called the Tres Maria’s. They belong to Mexico and are far enough from the shore to be called remote. As a result the Mexican government has established a penal colony on the largest island and has issued a notice to shipping, advising all ships to stay away. Now it is never a good idea to get close to prisons in the first place but with a warning like that in the chart there is good reason to stay even further way. So definitely no sightseeing there. Continue reading

 Today we had our first of two sea days which, based on the current weather forecast, should be two very nice days. Apart from the seasonal hurricanes this area of the Pacific Ocean can be very “pacified”. It is located right in between the area’s where the major weather systems are blowing and there are no cold and hot water currents meeting that could make things more interesting. When the sailors of old were talking about the various regions of the oceans, they would give the area’s generic names, based on the latitudes and the winds. Thus they spoke of the “roaring” forties and the “screaming” fifties. For the area’s where there was less or no wind, there was also a specific description. They called it the “Doldrums” and the sailing masters of the past hated it. A ship could be becalmed for weeks on end, if the wind failed to pick up. With the modest supplies and provisions that the ships had on board in those days and the lack of general comfort it must not have been a pleasant situation to be in. Knowledge of  how to avoid the areas was much sought after and of great interest to any maritime nation. Continue reading

The Tehuantepec wind was indeed blowing but we were prepared. We had all the ballast tanks on the starboard side ready and when we entered the windy area, we could pump sufficient water into those tanks to keep the ship completely upright. It is part of the human psyche that people only realize that there is something going on, if their normal living environment changes. It is the same on the ship. It can be wind force 10 blowing outside (severe storm) but if the ship does not list or rock, guests on board will not realize that there is a grave storm out there.  However as soon as the ship moves, even if there is no wind at all but only swell from somewhere else, then people start talking about bad weather. So number one item on our checklist is, keep the ship upright. Number two; keep everybody inside for this windy period to avoid accidents.  Thus in the early morning, when we went through the area, all was prepared for. The wind breezed up to a max. of 45 knots but as there is no swell to go with it; nobody was bothered by it in the slightest. The most amazing thing is always when you come to the edge of this funnel wind. Then within 30 minutes the wind goes down from 40 knots to complete zero and then returns to what is normal for the area. We have this wind normally each time we come through the area during this time of the year and it never fails to amaze me that this wind picks up and dies down as if somebody up there turns over a switch. Continue reading

As the distance between Puerto Caldera and Hualtalco measures 786 miles, we have a sea day in between to make the schedule. Our course is one straight line and as the coast is curved in this area we are sailing for most of the day over 100 miles from the shore. On the starboard side, in the far distance, are the borders of Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala and by the end of the evening we will pass the Mexican border. Then, until we reach San Diego, we will be sailing along the Mexican coast.  The coast that curves away here creates a sort of bay or gulf and that area is called the Gulfo de Tehuantepec. It is quite notorious for windy weather. We observed that during our Eastbound cruise 14 days ago and I am expecting another “significant breeze” in the early hours of tomorrow morning.  Today the sea was calm, although when in the Pacific Ocean you can never say that it is as flat as a mirror, as there is always some sort of swell running but today it was minimal. With one stabilizer in operation, the ship was as steady as a rock. Continue reading

 The Chief Officer and I left Atlanta yesterday afternoon to fly to San Jose Costa Rica. The Chief Engineer had an earlier flight and we caught up with him at the hotel. Hotelmanager and S.E.H officer are joining later in the cruise as they had some additional training to do. The normal procedure is if you join in Puerto Caldera is to fly in to the capital San Jose and then drive down to the port the next morning. San Jose is located high up in the mountains and the drive to the port is mainly downhill. Living up the mountains makes for cooler temperatures but as the capital is surrounded by mountains, they have their issues with smog and also with heavy rains. About 10 years ago I drove to the port and as reported before it was an interesting experience. Going downhill on a small road with a driver who thinks he is training for the Grand Prix of Monaco, makes one pay attention. Great was our surprise this time that the road had been upgraded to a Toll way and has 3 or four lanes in certain areas. This cuts the journey down from 3 to 2 hours but our driver managed to do it in 1h and 15 minutes. Although the road is now very nice, it has still its challenges as it has been cut straight to the mountains. With very steep cuts and very little has been done to stop avalanches which continuously happen especially in the rainy season. We passed two of those fresh mud and rock slides and the rocks were quite a bit bigger then our minivan. Maybe this is the logic of these fast cab drivers, if you go faster than there might be less of a chance to get hit by one of those boulders. Continue reading

Today we finished our three day Senior Management Conference or SMC and we are now all returning to the ships so that the 2^nd group can attend next week. That means that I will be flying from Atlanta to San Jose in Costa Rica tomorrow morning. There I will say overnight and then the next morning will be transported to Puerto Caldera where the ship is. The ships staff on board will then go the other way for their meeting. That ride between San Jose and Puerto Caldera is always of great interest and as it is mainly downhill, steeply downhill and some bus drivers have the most peculiar ideas about what a safe speed is to go down the mountain, and when or not to overtake. I have made that ride twice before and in both cases the cab driver considered the brake a nuisance and oncoming traffic of only minor concern. Their concern, not his. So that will be an interesting experience again. Continue reading

Our run from Half Moon Cay to Ft. Lauderdale takes us north of Nassau and south of Freeport through the North West Providence Channel. There used to be a time, when the only ships that you saw were cruise ships on Saturday and Sunday, coming and going from Miami and Fort Lauderdale. Then the development of Freeport started and they now have the (Carnival) shipyard and a large container port and that has increased the traffic enormously. On top of that the oil terminal has gained more prominence in the last decade and that means that this stretch of water can be quite busy. There are always a few containerships and tankers floating around waiting for a berth to become available and because of that there is also regular traffic in and out of the port.  Those drifting ships are normally not a problem for us as such, as they are well lit and stopped in the water. As we know why they are there we can deal with them without any problem.  The only issue is that most of the time they are right in the way. As is understandable, each captain wants to drift as far away from any obstacle possible and that is then of course right in the middle of North West Providence channel. There where our course line runs. Continue reading

With the day dawning we approached West Bay our anchorage area for Half Moon Cay.  It was nearly wind still and the sky nearly cloudless, so we knew that it was going to be a very good day. And good weather you need here. Although it is a wonderful destination for the guests we are totally reliant on the weather. The island is low and offers no shelter whatsoever; so with a strong wind from the East you blow from your anchorage. If there is too much wind from the West, you get blown onto the beach.  Squalls, with wind gusts are frequent and thus you have to be very much aware of the situation of the day. Most of us captains are very ambivalent towards the area, torn between our enthusiasm for a great destination and the apprehension about the unpredictable weather that can happen here. Still today my worries were more positive. I dropped the hook just before 7 am and by keeping one engine slightly astern all day to counter act the insetting current, the ship stayed nicely in position. At 07.30 the Zuiderdam was at anchor and all was well in the world. Continue reading

Early this morning we left the Caribbean Sea behind and sailed through the Windward Passage into the North Atlantic. The area we call the Old Bahama Channel. Using the Windward Passage is the shortest route to go from Cartagena to the Bahamas. When you leave the Caribbean Sea proper, you sail between Jamaica to the West and Haiti to the East. This is called the Jamaica Passage. From there, keeping Haiti on the starboard side, you proceed straight north towards the Windward Passage which is located between Haiti and Cuba. Together with the Mona Passage (further to the East) the Windward is one of the most used passages to get in and out of the Caribbean Sea. Mona is mostly for ships to and from Europe and the Windward for ships coming from the East Coast of the USA and going to Panama. Ships from the Gulf of Mexico of course use the Yucatan channel situated of the West point of Cuba. Continue reading

The great thing of this cruise is the number of sea days that form part of it. We have one or two ports and then we have a sea day again; and now in this case there are two sea days in a row. It makes the whole cruise so much more relaxed. Also a cruise is much more than just visiting port after port. Going to a lot of ports in a cruise is very interesting of course but then your cruise ship becomes a sort of overnight ferry-vehicle that transports you there. All programs and activities that HAL offers on board have to take a step into the background as it is port after port after port. Shipside has on those cruises the problem of getting our “fixed” items in, such as parties and meetings, especially the Mariners parties. For those you need a sea day and if there is only one in the cruise, that is the day it has to be. That day is then crammed with all the other activities, including the disembarkation speech and crew farewell. Most of the time that is the last day of the cruise and then the guests need to pack during that day as well. So there is much to say for having a few sea days in a cruise and on this one we have the luxury of having quite a few and everybody is enjoying them to the fullest. Continue reading