Subject: Report # 50 Sailing Towards Darwin, Australia February 19, 2016 Friday Partly cloudy & 91 degrees 29 Pictures
Report # 50 Sailing Towards Darwin, Australia February 19, 2016 Friday Partly cloudy & 91 degrees 29 Pictures
Our day began with the music from the "Muffin Man", better known as Yitno, in the main dining room at breakfast. He discovered the old time song, when a couple we know, Diane and Mike, told him about it on the Tales of the South Pacific last fall. Ever since, he has played this tune on his cell phone when he roams the dining room with his tray of perfectly arranged sweet rolls and muffins. Brings a smile to our faces every time.
The skies were gray and dark, with rain on the horizon. Think we even spotted lightening. Pande told us that it had rained heavily last night, cancelling a crew party that was to take place on deck ten forward. Too bad, since they don't do this very often that we know of. Actually, very soon, we will be in Indonesia where many of the crew will be meeting with their families. That's better than a party any day.
At 9:30am there was another fire drill for the crew only. It was held entirely in the forward section of the lower promenade deck. The crew roped off the front section, and a scenario was set up for them to have a quick response. There must be some kind of scoring test by the officers on these drills, as they seemed to be in a rush with the hoses, canisters, and a possible medical team. Nice to know that any situation that may arise can be dealt with. One of the passengers literally crawled behind the teak lounges to take photos of this drill. Since she stayed out of their way, they did not seem to mind.
We noticed that life boat # 9 is still not totally fixed. The props and shafts are missing, and although we do not know for sure, there may be damage that we cannot see, such as to the engine. Hard to believe that accident with the boat could have caused so much damage in a short time.
A different type of lecture was shared today with a real reef pilot by the name of Gerrit-Jan Hulsebos. He gave an fascinating mariner's version of guiding ships through the Great Barrier Reef…..both shipping and coastal pilotage. The only other time we got a close-up look at this specialized guidance, we were on the Prinsendam at that time, traveling in Antarctica. We learned things we never knew about sailing safely in and around the icebergs. Not as easy as they make it look.
Lunch was especially good in the dining room. We met with Barb and we all ordered the veal piccata with spaghetti. Even the broccoli was good. Think we were the last to leave the dining room once again.
Walking on the promenade deck later was not easy. The heat and humidity takes a toll on you. Hard to keep hydrated in this extremely humid, hot, and windy weather. Guess that is what we can expect for some time now, because we are approaching the Equator and Indonesia. The best part of walking is running into friends, who are doing the same…..trying to keep in shape. Really, the bottom line, is so we can eat and drink what we like, and not leave the ship in April the size of elephants. Hope it works……We do appreciate the smaller-sized portions. They're doing us a favor, right?
Around 7pm, we went to deck six forward, and watched the sunset. It started out to be a fair one, with clouds on the horizon. But, eventually, the sky lit up with hot orange and deep blues as the sun disappeared behind the clouds. It always gets good in this part of the world. There were only five of us watching it, as the winds were fierce on this outside deck. But so worth it.
Dinner found all of us back. The seven of us keep the conversations going round the table, that the time flies by. We seem to have no trouble getting out of the dining room by 9:30pm…….latest 9:45pm. Since there are few fixed late seating guests to serve down on deck four, the dining room empties out early. So much the better for us, because it is not noisy and we get excellent service. Most of the waiters are done for the evening, and are setting up for breakfast.
The entertainer this evening had a repeat performance with Jamaica's # 1 comedienne, Matilda. Patrick Murray was the guest artist, who had a hysterically funny show as always. Bet he joins the Pacific Princess tomorrow when we are in port together in Darwin.
Looking forward to seeing Darwin, since every time we have been here, we were on tours out of the city.
Bill & Mary Ann
A surprise "extra" bloom
Sunset over Northern Australia
Started off just OK
But then,
It got good
Enjoy……
