"Treasures of Cruising the World" with Bill & Mary Ann: Report # 58 Sailing Towards Hong Kong February 27, 2016 Saturday Partly cloudy & 89 degrees Crossing the Equator 63 Pictures

Sent: Saturday, February 27, 2016 2:11:42 PM
Subject: Report # 58 Sailing Towards Hong Kong February 27, 2016 Saturday Partly cloudy & 89 degrees Crossing the Equator 63 Pictures

Report # 58 Sailing Towards Hong Kong February 27, 2016 Saturday Partly cloudy & 89 degrees Crossing the Equator 63 Pictures

Sometime during today, the Amsterdam will be crossing the Equator. And although we have already done this once back in January, we will celebrate it this time with a special event at 10am. A simple explanation of this King Neptune Ceremony is that it assures a safe voyage for all, so the tale goes. Those crossing for the first time (pollywogs) are subject to a process where they become indoctrinated to many time sailors (shellbacks). In this case, a select group of crew members (prisoners), get questioned by the magistrate (Gene, the CD), and King Neptune (officer Mark) with his queen (Jodie). The first disgusting act is to "kiss" the big, ugly, smelly fish. Then, they are "slimed " with fluffy tinted egg whites by the surgeons (more crew members), and finally presented to the judges……..five of the top officers, including Captain Mercer. Thumbs up, they get saved, thumbs down, they get dunked in the pool. In this case, it's better to get dunked, or you wear the egg whites for ½ hour in the hot sun. Anyway, it is in all good fun, and as always, we can be assured of a safe passage from here on out. Once the crew members were done with the skit, one officer was grabbed, de-shoed, and thrown almost head first into the pool….. uniform clothes and all. No wonder Captain Jonathon and his four officers left the scene the second the ceremony finished. We have been on previous cruises where the captain walked the plank, and was forced into the pool, obviously being a good sport about it. Want to bet we get certificates for this crossing?

Other activities of the day included an interesting lecture about Hong Kong's history during the British Colonial times to the present day city. A new guest speaker has arrived by the name of Dr. Ping-Wing Kam. Speaker Andrew Johnson dealt with clippers from the east and their impact on the world economy regarding the trade with tea and opium. You can never learn enough about Hong Kong in our opinion. Makes the visit there even more intriguing.

We met Barb for lunch in the dining room, where all of us ordered the pepper jack cheese burgers. We think the lunches here are the best. Maybe it's the company, as we are always among the last to leave the room. By the way, we learned from Pande that 200 passengers will be leaving the ship in Hong Kong, and only 90 will board. At least eight friends are among them.

We spent the afternoon catching up on photos and reports, walking, and visiting with some buddies. We also took note of the progress on the damaged tender boat. It still remains inoperable with only one new propeller and rudder attached. The opposite side of the boat's prop and rudder are not accessible to repair. So we think that work will be completed once we get to Hong Kong. Other work being done on the promenade deck was grinding metal ceilings, sanding and painting thresholds, and railing work. It is understandable that they needed to block the traffic under the damaged tender boat, but they really over-did the other jobs. The dedicated walkers were not deterred that easily, as we all kept strolling anyway.

The sun set around 6:02pm, but it was not a stunner tonight. So far, nothing can compare to the Bali sunset. That is the winner so far.

Dinnertime was an intimate table for three of us. Barb got invited to Bill and Leta's table with Tom M as her "date". Bonnie and Paul were joining their friends , who are scheduled to leave in Hong Kong. And Bob, Martha's husband, left for home yesterday. Actually, Martha had a story about Bob's exit yesterday that left us glad we were not leaving the ship in Jakarta. Apparently, when he left the ship, he was required to put his suitcase and carry-ons through the exray machine shore side. We all had to do this when we left the ship yesterday. Well, the officials went through absolutely everything in his possession. They scrutinized every little item, especially his medications. They asked for every prescription form, and made sure it all matched what he had. Once he was cleared, they led him to a very expensive taxi, probably someone's cousin or whatever. It cost him $50 US for the drive to the airport, which was not extremely far away. At this point, he did not question the fare or the fact that they made him pay for road tolls as well. Lucky he had some rupiahs with him. Due to the traffic, he got to the airport just in time to check in for his flight. He emailed Martha and said never again would he fly home from this port. Perhaps leaving in Bali would have been a better bet. Or stay onboard until Hong Kong, which is a dedicated segment end.

In between the story of Bob's adventure, we all dined on the rib eye steak, that came about as big as the plate. Our waiters brought Martha the largest and thickest steak just to see if she could eat it. Of course, it would feed all three of us, so she could only eat part of it. After all, we had to save room for the jello. This always gets a laugh from our assistant waiter, Rudy, who teases us every time we order the old-fashioned dessert. Remember, there's always room for jello.

The captain mentioned in his PM talk that we are heading for some gale winds and 15 foot deep swells in the following days. Rain too. Guess we don't have to worry about sunburn for a while.

The clocks had to go forward one hour tonight as we sail northeasterly. Hate losing that hour, but we will get it back eventually.

Bill& Mary Ann

"Kiss the fish"