Happy first day of Spring, or where we are, it is happy Autumn. And so starts day three at sea as we near the coast of South Africa. Captain Frank said we had 274 nautical miles to go to reach our first port of Richards Bay. The Zuiderdam is maintaining a speed of 17 knots and we are sailing in waters that are 30,000 feet deep. Today the seas are much better with swells up to 9 feet with winds enough to cause some white caps. The temperatures were in the mid 80 degrees. Much the same is expected in Richards Bay tomorrow. We are still experiencing some pitching and rolling. Captain Frank went into a more detailed explanation of the term "rolling". It was very interesting understanding the true meaning of the word, which in nautical terms, it is measured mathematically. When the rolling is extreme, it can cause ships to capsize. Now we have a greater respect for these nautical words, and rest assured the details are under control with the experts on the navigation deck.
He also gave some info regarding our entrance to Richards Bay tomorrow. At 6am, the pilot will be arriving via helicopter and landing on the bow or the aft pool area. The ship's first response team will be present in case anything goes wrong. Usually, the guests are warned not to take any photos with flashes when this is happening. He did not say that today, assuming most folks will be asleep that early and the sun should be up by then. The pilot will bring us into the cargo berth where two gangways will be set up portside. That should be around 8am or earlier he hopes. Since this is our first port of entry into South Africa, there will be local customs and immigration officials coming onboard. As well as a health inspection, there will be a face-to-face passport inspection. Once cleared, we will be free to go ashore. This is great to be cleared here, so we will not have to do that in Durban, the day many more folks are leaving for safaris.
The big event today was dubbed Derby Day, where five stables of horses and jockeys (staff members) compete to win. This would be done by the guests voting. Many years ago, there were contests where the guests decorated their "horses" and the game went on differently. There may have been prizes for the winning horse. Today's event seemed to be wrapped around selling drinks and eating snack food at the Lido Poolside. It was combined with a wine fair with specials on beer, wines and cocktails from 11:30 to 1:30. It's pretty good how well they are able to do these promotions, making us realize this is a business where HAL strives to make money. Guess it keeps the company going and we are glad for that…..
The usual lectures continued with everything Africa, as well as the craft groups and knitters. Lots more folks came out on the promenade deck to relax in the fresh air. It was most comfortable with the worst of the heat and humidity behind us for a while. We took at least two walks today, with the last one being when the sun went down. Hoping for a nice sunset, we were disappointed to find there was none. The sun simply dipped into that usual bank of clouds and was gone. And besides, we were watching a good movie about a group of Australian aboriginal sisters that went to Vietnam in the 1960's to sing for the troops. A true story, it was good.
Dinner was more about African cuisine with seasonings we were not familiar with, so we stuck with shrimp cocktails and Caesar salads for starters. Mains were one lasagna and one spice-crusted prime rib meal. Both were fine and cooked just right. Our kind waiters have been serving us very hot entrees, and we really appreciate it. We usually pass on the heavy desserts, but tonight was an exception since they served the Bosche Bol. And we savored every bite.
The last performance of the Flyrights vocal group was in the World Stage. We have heard from many guests that these guys were the best.
Tomorrow……South Africa here we come.
Bill & Mary Ann
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