We left Hobart and sailed across the Tasman Sea for two days plus. The entire two days in the open seas was officially classifed as sailing in "severe weather" and gale force winds. The winds were blowing around 40 mph and up with gusts, but the most "adventurous" part of the trip were the rough seas. It is difficult to tell from the photo at right but the waves were 15 to 20 feet high. The ship was definitedly very much a rocking vessel; more so than any other ship I've ever been on. Poor Kim did not handle the first day of motion well - she was fine laying in bed, but any effort to sit or stand simply left her feeling sea sick. Around 4 pm though, she was feeling "ok" and she took a hot shower, then we headed out for "Formal Night." She wasn't 100%, but she was good all evening. So happy she could enjoy the evening and all the photo ops....... One of the most interesting experiences I had while we were at sea was what was called "Captain's Corner." So many people ask about touring the bridge, and various parts of the ship; but since 9/11 that just isn't possible so our captain did a video tour of the ship and then a Q & A. It lasted for an hour and a half and here were some of the more interesting tidbits I found out.......The Radiance of the Seas is the #1 envrionmental friendly ship on the oceans; This is due to the efforts of the crew who receive all the recyclying money when the "trash" is sold in ports. Some of this goes towards charities around the world where the Raidance sails; A mathematical simulation of the ship and all external factors is used to steer the ship! The Radiance underwent a $60 million "revitalization" since we sailed to Alaska on her; in a medical emergency a staff member can reach any point on the ship in 2-4 minutes and you would be in the medical facility within 5-7 minutes of the initial call! The turbines PULL the ship - not push it! The ship singers and dancers sign six month contracts and are trained in Hollywood, Fla - right in our back yard!
Though it would have been cool to have bright blue skies and sunshine, the sounds were even more "in character" shall I say?....with the mist and cool weather. I didn't realize until the ship's informational channel this morning was illustrating our position just how close we are to Antarctica....on the image above you can see our location is circled; the arrows indicate the relative distance to Antarctica on the bottom and Ayers Rock (where we are going next week) in northern Australia!
March 18: Milford / Doubtful / Dusky Sounds
We arrived in Milford Sound a little before 7 am, and though it was still dark outside, it was pretty awesome. But the morning views just got better and better as the sun rose over the horizon. It was in the low 50's and misty / raining as the morning broke. But by the time we left the sound it was just overcast.
March 18: Milford / Doubtful / Dusky Sounds
There isn't much to journal about today - just spectacular viewing! Two points of interest.....first, we saw the sounds in three separate time periods: Milford Sound from 7 am to 8 am; Doubtful Sound from noon to 1 pm; and then finally Dusky Sound from 2 pm to 3 pm. And second, when we left Doubtful Sound and hit the open waters the wind was clocked at HURRICANE force! Just a slight rocking on board though :)
No comments:
Post a Comment