Day at Sea
Dominica ahead off our bow and Martinique to the stern and a lively sea coming in from the east: that was where we were this morning. Sail stations were called and the crew did their stuff up the masts and the ship shifted westward as an unusual north wind filled the sails. Things looked good and then the wind dropped leaving us for most of the day crawling around to the lee of the Dominica Passage. But that’s sailing for you! Makes you come back to appreciating the reality of travel and adventure in days of yore. Still there were other things to do. Geoff Hunt put on a mini exhibition in the lounge to show the oil painting sketches that he had done during the cruise. Also on display were pictures of some of his recent work of historical maritime scenes, many of them featuring events along the eastern seaboard of the US during the Revolutionary War. By mid afternoon it was clear that we were going nowhere and so the sails were folded and Sea Cloud II was pointed towards the west coast of Dominica for our final leg to Antigua. As we did so Ken Ringle gave us a colourful account of his many involvements with shipwrecks, the stories and personalities that he has come across over the years. As the green golden colours of Dominica’s coastline darkened the captain’s cocktail began and then a fine lobster dinner during which happy memories of the cruise were recalled and future friendships were promised.
