Day 31, Sailing toward Melbourne, Australia

Day 31, Sailing toward Melbourne, Australia

The sea state has increased significantly and the ship motions is constant with occasional roll as the stabilizers reach their control limits.   It’s hard to tell, but I suspect many guests have taken to their cabins as the crowds in most venues are greatly reduced.   There are now crackers sitting out at the front desk for folks feeling the effects.

Here is a web site that has many weather and sea state links for use by the US Navy. I have posted a few screen shots that show the wave and swell height in the Southern Pacific Ocean.   If you look at the area between New Zealand and Southern Australia, you will see the yellows and orange indicating significant waves and swell.   It’s a good thing that we are not near the red areas as that would be a very rough ride.   If you make a habit of checking this site from time to time you will observe that the southern latitudes near Antarctica are always significant.

To find these maps, follow the Oceanography links and then experiment. The site is complicated, but manageable with a little trial and error.

www.fnmoc.navy.mil

Exhausted from our day in Picton, we relaxed in our cabin all morning and ordered in room service lunch in addition to breakfast. We used the time to tidy up the cabin a bit, get rid of loose papers and organize some of the photos and files on the computer.   Judy spent the morning catching up on her knitting and she is almost finished with her current project, the Asanagi Wrap by Olgajazzy, and ready to move on to the next.

The cards were not as friendly today and I finished 4^th in Texas Hold’em, out of the money.   The casino started to decorate for the Super Bowl this weekend and they set up a game where you pick a square that will hopefully match the score – winner will win up to $900 – with prizes awarded at the end of each quarter. Each square costs $10.

On arrival in Melbourne, every passenger must be processed “face to face” in the cruise terminal.   They asked everyone to select one of three immigration processing times so they can divide up the passengers and try and minimize the lines. We will be getting our passports back tomorrow as well.

Attendance in the dining room was down, again I suspect due to the significant ship’s motion. Earlier in the day the Captain asked all passengers to secure any fragile items and place them on the floor or a place where they won’t roll around or fall on something.  Even though we are moving pretty good, it hasn’t reached the point where unsecured items are being tossed about.

Our table had 100% attendance and we enjoyed another wonderful meal.   Our table has gained a reputation for hosting entertainers and tonight another guest stopped by and was convinced that one of our regulars was one of the comedians. She inquired – “Are you the one from the Funny Farm?” We still weren’t sure what she meant but we shared a laugh at the confusion as she wandered off.

Our dinner guest from last night was the evening’s performer. She’s billed as Yoomia, a violinist with the tag line “Bach to the Future”. She was outstanding and put on an exciting show culminating with a rousing rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen.

While the Texas Hold’em game was going strong, the Crow’s nest dance floor was empty.

• Yoomia