The day started off quiet enough with slight seas and mostly sunny skies. The nice breeze has stayed with us, and for that, we are happy. According to the navigational info on channel 40, we learned that the Amsterdam has sailed 2422 nautical miles since leaving Ft. Lauderdale back on January 4th. Sure has gone fast.....
Besides the 9:30am crew fire drill, a new guest speaker by the name of Maximo Laura has joined us to speak about Peruvian weaving and tapestries. He is part of a new series titled People Who Made a Difference.
Tommie-Sue Montgomery continued her talk on the Incas and their part in the Cuzco empire all the way down to central Chile. Milton Keiles presented an account of the great oceanliners place in transportation and social history. All of these talks can be viewed on TV, and that is where we plan to watch them later in the day and evening.
All the excitement was happening today if you were lucky enough to be outside around 2pm. We are traveling in a shipping lane many miles offshore, and it was not unusual to see other freighters or container ships passing us during the day. What did look out of place was a lone fishing vessel with a half dozen fellows on it, apparently drifting, not going anywhere. It came into view about a mile off of the port side of the ship as we were relaxing at the Seaview Pool today. We should have connected the dots when we spotted a flashing mirror from the boat aimed right at us. Then we noticed what appeared to be orange lifevests being waved frantically by the crew. It was then that Captain Jonathon came on the speaker to announce that we were turning around, and going back to see if we could be of assistance to the disabled boat and their crew.
It was neat to see how the Amsterdam could be "turned on a dime" with the help of the azipods. It was at this point in time , that we wondered how did they know this was not someone in trouble or a trap of some sort, like pirates? You would say we have been reading too many Patterson books, or for that matter, watching too much world news. These things can happen every day somewhere in the world. As far as we know, these things do not occur here off the coast of Peru.
There had been no communication from the stranded boat, so when they dropped a tenderboat and sent a group of fellows from our ship, we are sure they were joined by several of our security guards as well. We have asked the powers to be about the possibility that our guards are armed, and have been told, we can tell you, but then, we would have to kill you. Enough said.....no more questions. We assume the answer may have been a yes. We hope so.
Here's the real story. The propeller on the fishing boat had been damaged beyond repair, and the crew had been anchored out here for three days....dead in the water, so to speak. They had run out of food, and more importantly, water, so you can bet that they were glad that we stopped to help. Maritime law dictates that we are obliged to stop and help, if memory serves us right. Anyway, the tenderboat came back to the ship to be filled with food and water. Captain Jonathon came back on the speaker and told all of us that caviar and champagne had been delivered to the stranded crew, but then, he was only kidding, of course. Love the British humor. He also said that the local coast guard was notified, and they would be sending out a towboat to pull them back to shore sometime tomorrow.
We were soon on our way right after the tenderboat was hauled back on the ship. Once we turned and headed south once again, the Captain put the pedal to the metal, and we were flying to make up the lost time.
We had company for dinner this evening. Comedian Frank King was invited by John and Diane to dine with us. Strangely enough, he did not actually eat with us, as he only drank several cups of coffee. Perhaps he had dined before his 7:30 show in the Queens Lounge. One good thing was he gave us a sampling of his jokes and funny stories, so we feel that we really got to see his show, even if we did not attend. You know us by now, because we did not attend. He filled us in to the world of being on the comedy circuit. Seems that if a cruise director decides they do not like you, you are fired. Plain and simple.....gone. Frank mentioned several cruise lines that did just that to him. Must be a very competetive field in which to be employed.
Four of our tablemates will be going on HAL's three day, two night excursion to Machu Picchu and Cuzco, leaving tomorrow from Lima. Sure hope they have fun and are not bothered with the altitude in both places. We've heard it can be a bear if you get sick. We are also wishing them clear skies with no fog or rain.
