Let's Catch Up!

From sea…

Location update as of noon on February 10, 2006:
Latitude: 28 degrees 25.6 minutes S
Longitude: 007 degrees 3.7 minutes W
Average Speed: 18.25 knots
Distance to Cape Town: 1350 NM
Sea Depth: 12,136 feet
Sea Temp: 25 C, 77 F
Air Temp: Same
Calm seas with great visibility and sporadic clouds. Swell height: 1 meter

Location update as of noon February 11, 2006:
Latitude: 30 degrees, 36.5 minutes S
Longitude: 0 degrees 8.3 minutes E (WELCOME TO THE EASTERN HEMIPSHERE!!!)
Average Speed: 17.3 knots
Distance to Cape Town: 953 NM
Sea Depth: 10,046 feet
Sea Temp: 23 C, 73.4 F
Air Temp: Same
Easterly winds blowing at a light 3 knots. Low swell, wave height: 2 feet.

Location update as of noon February 12, 2006:
Latitude: 32 degrees 21.9 minutes S
Longitude: 007 degrees 34.6 minutes E
Average Speed: 16.46 knots
Distance to Cape Town: 558 NM*
Sea Depth: 16,206 feet
Sea Temp: 23 C, 73.4 F
Air Temp: 22 C, 71 F (a bit chilly if you ask me)
Winds from the SSW with a long and low swell, expected to pick up into the night…and it did.

*1 Nautical Mile = 4,394 feet, or 8\10 of a mile

The ship is finally back to rocking. It has been dead calm for the past week or so and it has felt like we are not even on the ocean. Thankfully, we are back to some good ol’ ocean motion.

Well, first allow me to apologize for the time it has taken me to post a new blog. I promise to make this one doubly good. I have been absolutely exhausted and just could not bring myself to write. I thought about it a lot and even made several attempts, but just couldn’t do it. Get excited though, because a lot has happened since we last chatted. From the Bridge Tour to a Kick-Ass 80s Dance Party, these past few days leading up to Cape Town have been quite nice.

We’ll start with the logistical information. As far as this ship is concerned and its environmental practices while at sea, we go far and beyond what is required for vessels over 400 tons. It was amazing to learn what the ship does below the decks of passenger occupation: from an incinerator to a giant food processor, and a bacteria eating fungus that purifies and cleans our human excrement to a massive fridge to store all the bad food…we are just loaded with extras. As great as it was to learn about the environmental practices of the ship, it was also horribly depressing. I called the event educationally depressing. Mainly because I found out what our fuel consumption per days is. Granted, it all depends on speed however; if you take our average overall speed and say that it is maybe 18-20 knots…we are burning 100 metric tons of fuel per day. Now, the cost you might be thinking? Again, depending on where you get it, fuel for the ship can run anywhere from $280-$450 per ton. If the ship were to use all four of its engines (engine number depends on speed) and run at full speed, 28-29 knots, it would burn almost 200 metric tons of fuel a day. So, figure it cost about $35,000 a day…on fuel alone. Hey, at least I know where I my tuition went!

The ship also has a reverse osmosis processor. Another words, it takes ocean water and converts it into fresh water for drinking, showering, and washing. There are two of these machines and while at sea they only need to use one of them to make what we consume per day: about 250 cubic meters. When using both machines, it can create double that…obviously. In addition to the fresh water maker, there are also 8 storage tanks for fresh water that get used while in port, however, they are always full while we are underway for weight and stabilization purposes…which leads me to my next point.

One of the things about traveling long distances at sea is that the weight of the ship is going to change dramatically. From fuel usage, to food consumption, there is going to be a serious change in the way the ship moves through the water when this happens. That is where Ballast Tanks come in handy. There are three of them, one right in the Bow (front) and one on each side, port and starboard, just forward of center. (If that makes sense) Now as we go and loose initial weight, these tanks draw in ocean water to stabilize the ship and keep the ship’s draft (how much the ship sits in the water) at a safe depth. These tanks are also a part of the stabilization unit that helps make the ship not so rocky. Now, consider this. We leave Salvador and fill our Ballast tanks part way. When drawing in this water we take in an entire ecosystem of life that can live and go on in these tanks (when I say ecosystem, I mean hundreds of thousands of little bits of plankton: mini plants and animals). Usually, once you get to your next port you would dump the tanks, expelling the ecosystem in a completely different part of the ocean, introducing foreign species into the environment. Come August 2006, the IMO (International Maritime Organization) is setting the ground work for filling Ballast tanks and perhaps after two days of travel, emptying them and refilling, repeating this process as you cross whatever body of water you are doing, therefore not dragging these ecosystems all the way across the ocean. Thankfully, our ship already does this.

The Bridge Tour was very interesting. However, to my disappointment, there was no big classic steering wheel that we all see in our minds when we think of driving a ship. It was a tiny little wheel, not even 12 inches across. It was more of an absorbing atmosphere than it was anything else. There are at least two or three of every piece of electronic and technical machinery on board, just in case something goes wrong with one, there are one or two more to back it up. From depth finders to GPS, we are overstocked and ready for anything. Interesting tid bit: when the ship goes up and down, front to back, that is called pitching. When the ship sways side to side, that is called rolling. You would always prefer to pitch rather than roll, and when in a big waved environment, you want to reduce your speed, and try to have the waves come from behind, pushing the boat forward therefore not creating as much strain and pound on the hull (underside, front). Because remember, this ship is made of steel, and too much pounding down onto the ocean will create a massive hole in the ship. HA. HA.

All right, enough of the technical crap, on with the good, juicy stuff.

So, the ‘Rock the Bizz-oat’ Dance club decided to throw a P-A-R-T-Y. From a city boy, born and raised in South Detroit to Billy Jean and Jesse’s Girl , everyone and their mom was there. And When the Lights Go Down on the City, it was Footloose when I Fought the Law Time After Time. The Smooth Operator made it easy because I Want to Break Free and Baby Baby, She’s Got the Look. Can you Guess what era this party was from?!?!?! Never in a million years did I expect more than half the ship population to indulge on this exciting opportunity. I know I didn’t hesitate in creating the most hideous, tacky, yet tastefully 80s ensemble. We’ll start from the bottom up. My sneakers (blue and orange), with heinous, chunky red leg warmers, electric aqua blue boxer briefs with a pair of tiny, short blue, pink, yellow, white, and orange stripe boxers over them (my neighbors). A lime green t-shirt cut midriff, no sleeves and the neck line cut out. To top it all off, a white headband and red armbands on each arm… You know where the gym is anyone? It was the greatest outfit I have ever come up with while being incredibly unprepared for an event like this. It was really disgusting to see what kind of gear people had with them on board, from full body spandex suits to distasteful fanny packs, and socks with pumps to karate kid costumes. It was definitely the best night on the ship so far. The only thing was, the dance party was in the Union where there is not a ton of room for 500 + people to be dancing…so you couldn’t really dance and move much. I was also quite perturbed by the fact that the guys got screwed when it came to the best costume competition. They just didn’t call us out. It was ridiculous and there was a major uproar about it. Anywho, it was an amazing party and you will truly die when I find a damn way to put pictures up…hoping to in Cape Town, hoping to.

As for everything else, I’m less than 24 hours from Cape Town, South Africa – about 22 if you want to get specific. It is going to be an amazing trip. From a bustling Waterfront to the Winelands, and Green Market Square to Table Mountain, it is an eclectic European and African melting pot that is overflowing with activity. It is the oldest city in South Africa, officially settled by the Dutch in 1652, though the Portuguese, English and Spanish had been using it as a stoop over and trade stop for almost a 100 years before then. With Explorers like Vasco Da Gamma and Bartolomeu Dias, the Cape was commonly explored in the early 1500s. King Joao III of Portugal named it the Cape of Good Hope. He named it this believing that its successful navigation would bring riches of India within Portugal’s reach at last. It was a dangerous and scary area, known for its massive storms that would engulf sailors and ships. In 1647 the Dutch Ship Haarlem, ran aground in Table Bay. After being stranded for more than a year, the sailors made friends with the natives and decided to make it a permanent stop for traders and merchants sailing around the horn of the great continent of Africa. As with all colonization and settlement, there was massive amounts of native deaths to the Khoi and San people who had inhabited the region for thousands of years before these vicious Europeans arrived on their soil. Jump to modern day…well, the 50s to 90s while under apartheid rule, it was the rise of the Great Nelson Madella that helped save this amazing country. Captured in 1962, and imprisoned in 1964, he spent 26 years in jail for his country, telling his people he was prepared to die. Madella entered the ANC (Afrikan (not a spelling error, it’s a nationality) National Congress) in the 50s, helping to develop the Freedom Charter for South Africa that begins with familiar words: “We The People…” In 1984 there was a democratically elected ANC that lead to the end of apartheid rule. Mandella was released from Robben Island in 1990.

As for my itinerary: We arrive on the 14th, tomorrow. I’ll be spending the first day perusing my way around the city and then heading to the theater for a night of wine and cheese and a typical UMOJA African performance. As for Wednesday, maybe an afternoon trip to the Winelands via the South African train system. I leave at 0430 on Thursday morning for Kariega Reserve to spend three days and two nights on Safari. I think, I do think that that will be quite a good time. I return on Saturday evening, who knows what might happen then. As for Sunday, we are thinking of making that our adventurous day, though still not sure what: shark diving, sky diving, abseiling, or hang gliding. Sunday evening, depending on what happened earlier in the week, we might head out to a Wine Estate and spend the night at a B&B (painfully cheap) and wake up to a day full of delicious wine tasting. We leave on Monday the 21st at 2300…so, again, I think, I do think it will be a good time


Well, I’ve got to begin my day. Reading, sunbathing, and back deck Yoga at 1430.

Till next time. Ciao.