Subject: Report # 34 Sailing Towards Picton, New Zealand February 3, 2016 Wednesday Partly cloudy & 71 degrees 14 Pictures
Report # 34 Sailing Towards Picton, New Zealand February 3, 2016 Wednesday Partly cloudy & 71 degrees 14 Pictures
Today was a welcome day at sea. And it could not have been a more perfect one with blue skies and comfortable temperatures. We have dropped south to the point where we have left the heat and humidity behind us for a while. The seas have become rougher, or we should say the swells are deeper. During his PM talk, Captain Mercer said that we are experiencing the residual effects of a system in the Antarctic region. It is tolerable so far, as we have been in a whole lot worse seas.
During our AM walk, we found that two technicians from New Zealand have come onboard to fix the tender boat that was damaged. Their job appears to be repairing the tears and gashes on the fiberglass bottom. At least their task was made easier with the boat still suspended in the # 10 slot, exactly where they placed it after it was damaged. Suited up with plastic jackets and hooded masks, they used power tools to sand the rough edges torn by the razor sharp coral beds in Rarotonga. In our opinion, the entire deck should have been roped off, because the dust from the sanding created a cloud that extended all the way to the aft of the ship. We stayed primarily on the sunny side avoiding the cloud. Seems that they had to make the cuts uniform and actually larger in order to apply the final coats of fiberglass. Hopefully that work will be done tomorrow while we are in port. The fumes from the fiberglass can be powerful, so the more folks that are off of the ship, the better.
The two guests speakers continued their series today. Mr. Wright spoke about the possibility of a catastrophic collision of an asteroid with the earth, and the consequences. Perish the thought, but it does get one to thinking. Our tablemates had a lucky encounter with the speaker last night, when they went to deck 10 to check out the constellations. They got a one-on-one star and constellation description and identification by the speaker. How lucky he happened to have his laser to point out the stars of the Southern skies.
Joseph Kess spoke about the effect of living in the South Pacific on people such as Gauguin, Melville, and even Marlon Brando. Instead of a blissful existence, things did not always turn out that way for everyone.
Barbara H and Culinary Arts Center Host Donna gave a cooking demo using honey. We are coming into a part of New Zealand where honey making is an art. The last time we were here in Picton, we stopped at a honey stand on the roadside. We learned that honey bees will stick to one type of plant only when collecting the nectar. So if you have a field of a type of clover for instance, the honey produced will take on that particular flavor. By tasting each type, we had a chance to purchase them. We also learned that even if a jar of honey crystalizes, it can still be used, since it never goes bad. It simply needs to be heated to dissolve the sugar crystals.
Anyone that always wanted to know how to make towel animals would learn that skill in the Wajang Theater today. We do think they are clever, but we told our room stewards long ago not to make them for us. Secretly, we think they were glad, because they have a lot to do without the extra work. One thing we can say is that they are getting our laundry back most days, the same day service. This sure is a nice perk, not to have to worry about washing our own stuff in the laundry room.
Since the weather had cooled off, we did not change to swimsuits. But we did go back to the aft pool and found it was warm enough to relax for a while on the lounges. We were joined by friends and ended up spending the usual two hours back there solving the troubles of the world, so to speak. Think we may have gotten more sun than we thought, and must remember to use sunscreen before going out. Easy to be lured by cool temps, and get toasted by accident.
The Captain announced that he had the first sighting of a wandering albatross today. One lone bird has joined us for the day, coasting back and forth in the ship's wake. This bird had a wingspan of over 9 feet, and probably weighed up to 25 pounds. They skim squid, small fish, and octopus off of the waves tops with their pointed sharp beaks. Legend has it that every albatross has the soul of a sailor that was lost at sea. They are considered good luck to see, but a curse to kill one. Many do get tangled in fishing lines, so they are on the protected list these days. Hope to see more as we sail the coast of New Zealand and onward towards Australia in the days ahead.
Bonnie and Paul had a very interesting story to report at dinnertime. Remember we mentioned the extremely strict agricultural restrictions when coming into this country? Well, one passenger was targeted when the officials singled her out to have her large bag searched in Auckland. Perhaps the cute little beagle indicated a problem, which is usually the case. Anyway, the officials dumped the entire contents of her bag, finding bits and pieces of old crumbs, sand from the beach, lint, a dried up flower petal, and a stem from a grape. It was collected and bagged, while she watched in horror. No fine was imposed, but she was not a happy camper, feeling that she was violated. The longer you travel, the more likely these incidents will occur. We have had similar experiences at airports, resulting in just inconveniences. No sense getting upset, because it makes it worse. We figure they are just doing their job, some more aggressive than others.
We have savored every day of sailing in the South Pacific and hate to see this segment coming to an end. Really looking forward to our second visit to Picton tomorrow, our last stop in beautiful and friendly New Zealand.
Bill & Mary Ann
Blooming bulbs
Window garden
First amarylla to open
Doing well with little water
The bottom of tender boat # 9
Getting fixed slowly
The cut was made deeper
Ready for fiberglassing
Still suspended in place
Our first wandering albatross sighting
A seabird with a 9 ¾ foot wingspan
Impressive in flight
Constantly on the hunt
Will eat small fish, squid, and octopus
