Day at Sea
Sea Cloud II headed west out into the centre of the Caribbean Sea with not an island in our way or on the horizon in any direction. This was a day dedicated to sailing with Tom O’Brien as our experienced guide to the masts, sails and their positions in relation to the wind blowing at an almost steady 15 knots from the east. So riding silently on the azure sea, our bow wave white, and the decks at a gentle tilt, we spent a most relaxing day. There were bridge tours, engine room tours and “stem-to stern” tours for those who were keen to better understand the workings of this beautiful ship and Lennox gave an illustrated lecture on the forts, ports and navies active in the Caribbean during its colourful and bloody history. Later in the day Berit introduced us to the fish of the region, pointing out the stranger aspects of their behaviour on the coral reef. For those who wanted to know how Chef David Setzermann conjures up his amazing meals on board there was question and answer time in the afternoon.
A highlight of the day was seeing the illusive island of Aves on the horizon. In fact it is only a sandbar at the summit of the underwater Aves Ridge, but it is geopolitically important in the Caribbean as it is claimed by Venezuela and is dominated by a huge platform, upon which are stationed Venezuelan Naval personnel. This enables Venezuela to claim almost the whole of the central Caribbean Sea as its territorial waters. We left Aves Island to our stern as the sun set and headed back through the night towards the chain of the Lesser Antilles. After dinner a gang of sailor suited crew members came up to the Lido Deck and entertained us with salty sea shanties with which we all joined in as our singing skills allowed.
