Day 43, Sailing towards Darwin, Australia

Queensland’s Cape York Peninsula was off our port side today as we cruised north thru the Great Barrier Reef which is made up of 900 islands and over 2,900 individual reefs.   While you can’t see the underwater reefs from the ship, the numerous islands of the Great Barrier Reef surrounded the ship all day as we made our way northbound to the Torres Strait where we will turn west toward Darwin.  We had expected higher heat and humidity today as we continue further north towards the equator, but the temperature stayed in the 80’s and was fairly pleasant in the shade.   When you ventured under the direct sun, things would heat up quickly, so we spent the day inside or in the shade.

We were supposed to anchor off Sherrard Island today around 6pm and leave early tomorrow morning. They say the scenery and sunsets here can be quite spectacular. The Captain announced today that this stop was cancelled since we would be there after sunset and there would be nothing to see. He could speed up and make it prior to sunset but that would involve running an extra diesel at a cost of $15K.  There was also an issue with deck officers getting enough rest as we would have to navigate certain waters very early requiring more people on the bridge.   What is puzzling is why this was on the official schedule in the first place if they had no intention of getting there prior to sunset and had these issues with crew rest. I guess it’s possible that our late departure from Cairns played a role, but that was never mentioned.   I didn’t have any expectation about seeing Sherrard Island, but a few people on board were very disappointed.

The first day after any port is a day we catch up on sleep and spend most of the day relaxing in our cabin. Yesterday’s heat sapped a lot of our energy so it was nice to stay in the air-conditioned spaces for most of the day and recharge.

Dale Kristien, last night’s guest entertainer, was the guest on Good Morning Amsterdam this morning. The theatre was packed and I have never seen it more crowded for Good Morning Amsterdam all cruise. Dale discussed how her family consisted of two sets of twins and how she discovered her singing talent when she won the lead role in High School Musical production during her senior year.

Judy attended the 2pm lecture by Mel Foster who spoke about Australia’s First Settlers, Swindlers, Doxies, Debtors and Thieves.   She found the lecture quite interesting and Mel is an excellent presenter. Of particular interest was the ultimate fate of 9 Irish Convicts deported to Australia in 1848, particularly that of Charles Duffy who ended up being the Premier of Victoria much to the surprise of the British who now had to deal with the former traitor on an official level.

Afterward she attended Crafts where they made an Origami Turtle while I played the in the Texas Hold’em tournament. My luck was not with me today and I finished in the middle of the pack.

I ran into Dale Kristen while waiting for Good Moring Amsterdam to start this morning and invited her to join us for dinner. She accepted and we had a wonderful time listening to her discuss her career in show business ranging from playing Christine Daie over 1700 times in the Phantom of the Opera to a maid on “Days of our Lives”.   She will be leaving us in Bali and head to the Ms Rotterdam for her next gig before she heads home to Los Angeles.

Gary Guthman, Trumpet Virtuoso, was the guest entertainer and demonstrated his mastery of the trumpet. He played a variety of Swing era songs followed by a wonderful medley of Dixieland tunes.   He ended the show with a beautiful rendition of “What a Wonderful Life” made famous by Louis Armstrong.

• Gary Guthman