At Sea to Dominica
The sun rose from at 6:40 as we drew abreast of English Harbor in Antigua. English Harbor likely was given that name since Admiral Nelson used to berth here and he was largely responsible for locating his fleet headquarters here. Nelson loved the Caribbean. In fact, his wife, whom he later abandoned, was from the Caribbean.
Although we were at sea there was never a dull moment. Captain Karlsson called to have all the sails were set from the Sky Sails on the main mast to the Mizzen Lower Gaff on the Mizzen mast. We had a nice following wind and were making about 5.5 knots as we sailed east and south to Dominica. At about 9:30 someone yelled whale ahoy. I thought it was a joke but then noticed a crowd hanging over the stern pointing and gesticulating widely. Sure enough there was a pod of Minke whales swimming just a stern of us. Every once and a while they would head directly for the ship dive and swim under the stern. They kept this up for perhaps an hour. They were beautiful creatures and looked about 20ft long. They were dark gray save they had brilliant white pectoral fins, which shone brightly even beneath the water. They swam ever so gracefully slowly arching their spines as they rolled over the waves after having drawn and expelled a breath. Tom Ritchie gave a terrific lecture on the geology of the Caribbean and in particular the role of volcanoes in the creation of the Lesser Antilles. Tom’s choice of talks could not have been better timed since as we drew abreast of Montserrat its volcano was spewing out gas and water vapor high into the heavens.
Many went on the engine room tours, which were scheduled today. The main engines, looked after by a crew of six, on the Sea Cloud II are 1,300KW/HP each and they drive the 9ft diameter propeller. We make our own water, about 60 tons per day, by desalinating sea water and employing the latest in reverse osmosis technology. The waste on the Sea Cloud II meets the strictest of environmental standards and it is comforting to know that all on board are keen on making the trips as “green” as possible. The entirety of the six large rooms which make up the engine room are all controlled by a state of the art computer room.
Tom Heffernan gave an historic overview of the sugar trade and slavery and showed how the entire fabric of the Caribbean was indebted to this demeaning trade in human beings. Later in the evening David our chief chef provided an introduction to how the galley makes the miracles it does three times a day; then it was tea at 4PM!
Tonight we had dinner al fresco on the Lido Deck. Eating gourmet food under the stars in a gentle breeze in 75 degrees is as civilized a human behavior as any I can think of at the moment. The sun began to set as we sailed by Guadalupe off our port side. Once again I went to bed with the wonderful sense of having spent every moment of this day entirely fulfilled.
The sun rose from at 6:40 as we drew abreast of English Harbor in Antigua. English Harbor likely was given that name since Admiral Nelson used to berth here and he was largely responsible for locating his fleet headquarters here. Nelson loved the Caribbean. In fact, his wife, whom he later abandoned, was from the Caribbean.
Although we were at sea there was never a dull moment. Captain Karlsson called to have all the sails were set from the Sky Sails on the main mast to the Mizzen Lower Gaff on the Mizzen mast. We had a nice following wind and were making about 5.5 knots as we sailed east and south to Dominica. At about 9:30 someone yelled whale ahoy. I thought it was a joke but then noticed a crowd hanging over the stern pointing and gesticulating widely. Sure enough there was a pod of Minke whales swimming just a stern of us. Every once and a while they would head directly for the ship dive and swim under the stern. They kept this up for perhaps an hour. They were beautiful creatures and looked about 20ft long. They were dark gray save they had brilliant white pectoral fins, which shone brightly even beneath the water. They swam ever so gracefully slowly arching their spines as they rolled over the waves after having drawn and expelled a breath. Tom Ritchie gave a terrific lecture on the geology of the Caribbean and in particular the role of volcanoes in the creation of the Lesser Antilles. Tom’s choice of talks could not have been better timed since as we drew abreast of Montserrat its volcano was spewing out gas and water vapor high into the heavens.
Many went on the engine room tours, which were scheduled today. The main engines, looked after by a crew of six, on the Sea Cloud II are 1,300KW/HP each and they drive the 9ft diameter propeller. We make our own water, about 60 tons per day, by desalinating sea water and employing the latest in reverse osmosis technology. The waste on the Sea Cloud II meets the strictest of environmental standards and it is comforting to know that all on board are keen on making the trips as “green” as possible. The entirety of the six large rooms which make up the engine room are all controlled by a state of the art computer room.
Tom Heffernan gave an historic overview of the sugar trade and slavery and showed how the entire fabric of the Caribbean was indebted to this demeaning trade in human beings. Later in the evening David our chief chef provided an introduction to how the galley makes the miracles it does three times a day; then it was tea at 4PM!
Tonight we had dinner al fresco on the Lido Deck. Eating gourmet food under the stars in a gentle breeze in 75 degrees is as civilized a human behavior as any I can think of at the moment. The sun began to set as we sailed by Guadalupe off our port side. Once again I went to bed with the wonderful sense of having spent every moment of this day entirely fulfilled.
