Thus we sailed from Dubai Westwards towards Sir Bani Yas Island. This is an island which looks as if it is a sort of knob that has broken off from a protruding piece of land sticking up into the lower part of the open sea. And that sea is in our case the Persian Gulf with Africa to the South and Saudi Arabia to the North. Bani Yas is part of the United Arab Emirates and shelters a number of important refineries. So this morning while the ship approached it was surround by fishing boats but also by tankers, going in, going out, or being at anchor. As mentioned yesterday there are a lot of shallow areas and the port authorities are putting a lot of effort in to ensure that nothing goes wrong with these tankers. A tanker running aground and spilling oil would be a catastrophe that no authority wants to deal with. Thus the routes through the reefs and shallows are dictated by the port authorities and the only thing the captain can do is follow the dotted line and ensure not to deviate from it. Deviation would mean a very hefty fine and some very upset people on the other side of the VHF. Continue reading
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There was a reason for me having been vague a week ago about my next ship, as the Seabourn Ships are hard to visit. First of all they are often off the beaten track and their embarkation ports often require Visas, either as guest or as crew, or for both. Applying for a Visa takes more than a few days and that brings a un-necessary complication to my activities so I try to avoid it. Secondly Seabourn is very successful and thus the ships are always sold out and often it needs a last minute cancellation to get a function like mine on board. As the ships are smaller, the chance of an empty cabin goes down, and there is also not the option to have a few “extra” cabins on board as there is simply no space. So I assume that my cabin availability is the result of a last minute cancellation although I hope that the underlying reason is not one of great tragedy or illness. But whatever happened it got me on board the ms Seabourn Ovation where I stepped this morning in Dubai. As with all developing cities in the Arabic peninsula, Dubai consists of a gaggle of skyscrapers sitting in a desert of yellow sand. At least that is what you see from the ship. I am not into sand, as I prefer the sea or woodlands so it does not mean much to me but if you are into modern architecture then it is THE place to be. Continue reading
Happy Bo’sun today. Yesterday I was afraid that the opposing wind would give the numerous seabirds in this area (Starlings and Brown Booby’s) the chance to use the ship as a resting place. This as the wind would be favorable for them to land. But the wind veered through much faster than expected and the opposing wind became a following wind and with a following wind the birds cannot land in a stable way. So clean decks and a happy Bo’sun. The gentle following wind was less than the ships speed and thus the ship created a little breeze over the decks and that made it a very nice day to sit outside. And that was what a lot of guests did. The rest were cooped up inside and received a crash course in Holland America Line History from yours truly. Our guests do enjoy lectures and something about their own company always generates a full house and that makes it very enjoyable for me to pass on some of the highlights of our history but also what we are up to for the future. (X-Dam coming in 2021) Continue reading
Good news all around, the weather gurus were off their track today and they only got it right as far as the outside temperatures was concerned. No rain and hardly any wind. The wind I could not predict as I did not look at the 500 MB charts lately, which show (under the influence of the Jet stream) how the larger weather patterns move. But I had it in my mind that there would be no rain. Panama is going through a severe dry spell at the moment and thus there is not enough moisture building up in the air to create rain clouds that will reach sufficient density to become over saturated and start releasing rain. We had a few overcast spells today with dark clouds building up but they were not dense /dark enough and the cloud bands not compact enough. Good for our guests, dry and partly overcast which reduces the chance of sun burn. Continue reading
Well the amount of wind amounted was less than the weather guru’s had predicted and the good ship Volendam arrived without any hassle at 05.30 at the pilot station. Some ships have a dedicated pilot break but on cruise ships there are always several breaks (that is what we call the shell doors in the hull side that can be used as they are on the lowest deck). For the Volendam that is A deck as B deck is below the water line and Main deck is passenger accommodation. There we have the Tender break, the Water break, the Bunker break, the Marshalling area (2 doors), the Provision break, and another Water break. So plenty of choice but we normally use the Marshalling area, there were we load the suitcases and store the spare parts coming on board, as this break has the most space. And it is exactly amidships, so it has a flat hull and no bow wave playing around it. Continue reading
With the sedate speed of 15 knots are we sailing through the Caribbean Sea. The weather is following the weather forecast and that is appreciated by everybody. We expect that the Trade Wind will start to re-establish itself this evening and through out the night and with it the swell. But by tomorrow morning 05.30 we will be slipping inside the entrance of Boca Chica, the large inland water area where at the far North East the port of Cartagena is located. As explained in previous blogs, it takes about 90 minutes from pilot to gangway out and thus the captain is aiming to have the pilot on board at 05.30 hrs. The ships average speed has been set up for this as arriving earlier has not much use. If we put the pedal to the metal we could be there my midnight but what then. Continue reading
This current wind is our friend. It came from the north and was thus a following wind and then fell away (shielded by) when we entered the Windward Passage with Cuba to the West and Haiti on Hispaniola to the East. Then it turned to the north but only with a low velocity blowing against us. All due to that large frontal system that came through in the last few days and as a sort of Vacuum cleaner emptied the whole area out of wind. Well not emptied out, it balanced out the difference in High pressure and Low pressure here. Now the Trade Wind system has to re-establish itself and then we will be back to normal. The normal will be Easterly winds four 4 to 5 beaufort but here we still have this near wind still weather (which also means less whipped up waves) and that is something to enjoy and cherish while it lasts. Continue reading
So we were hopeful that the whole weather system that had been raining over Ft. Lauderdale and whose tail creating wind in the Bahamas would be gone by the time we arrived. And indeed 90% was gone as the wind had died down and there was only an overcast sky left. Those clouds sometimes carry wind but today the skies looked quite benign and there was no cloud formation that indicated any menace. And it worked out quite nicely. It took all day for the “silence after the storm” to move over.
And a miserable day it was. It rained all day and it just looked like England. At least the English people perceived it to be. With one difference the rain was not very cold but still wet. We are having a frontal system coming over with rain and wind in the morning, then rain only, and then rain and wind in the late afternoon. But better today than tomorrow. Today the guests are traveling homewards or coming to the ship and that is a lost day anyway. And what comes over now is what we will not see in Half Moon Cay as that is the direction where all the wet stuff was coming from. Continue reading
While we were coming from the South, the Koningsdam was coming from the North and in between was a Princess ship which was going west to Princess Cays, about 5 miles away from Half Moon Cay. So in the early morning dawn Half Moon Cay saw the lights of three apartment buildings coming closer and closer until the Princess ship went the other way. We dropped the hook at 07.00 while the Koningsdam who made her approach about 30 minutes later remained on the engines. With Azipods and the latest electronic gadgetry it is as easy to float as to anchor. But the Volendam has conventional propellers, rudders and stern thrusters and then dropping the hook is still an easier option. Continue reading
Captain Albert
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