For your nautical types, I posted the Beaufort scale the other day. You might be wondering how we are faring out here at sea? Well, the Captain comes on the radio at noon each day and announces some lovely details such as we are 578 nautical miles from Kauai right now and we have another 2141 nautical miles still to go until we reach Samoa. I actually remembered what he said yesterday 🙂 Everyday he also mentions our speed, which we are planning on maintaining 16 knots to get us to Samoa, however I agree with Andrew, we seem to be speedier at night than during the day. I do not think the sea is any different – however the number of booms we hear at night of waves hitting the bow are much more frequent than during the day! Back to the Beaufort scale – we have been at a 4 – 5 on the Beaufort for the past 2 days, however the Captain is expecting it to get a bit more windy and thus the scale might go up. I forgot to mention that yesterday so I thought I would start with that today!
Today, was a special presentation day – the Captain was doing a talk in the World Stage, which of course, I had to attend! That takes precedence over art classes! As you probably have figured out, I, like my dad, love being on the sea – while my sister and mother do not necessarily hold the same love as we do! I have two distinct memories of being in some high seas in my life – one was on the JoLynII, which was our Tollycraft boat that was about 28 feet long, where we spent our summers going up the coast of BC. It had a bridge on top where my dad, when it was not raining, would drive the boat. My mum and Joanne would sit up there with him, especially in high waves, as they preferred to see the horizon. Where would I be? In the bow berth of the boat, reading! The rocking of the sea does not bother me at all. Then about 10 years ago, my sister flew to Maui and took the boat to Lanai, I think it was, on vacation. Now, this boat, a similar size or a bit bigger than our 28 foot boat, crosses a channel between Maui and the island of Lanai which can be a times a bit rough. Joanne I understand did not fare too well and said next time they were going to go there (if they did) they would fly in one of those little planes. A few years later, Andrew and I were on Maui, and we decided to go from the harbour to Lanai on a similar ferry boat. The crossing over was not bad, however the 4 pm crossing back to Maui was FUN! I sat there knitting bouncing around while there were a LOT of people on the back deck of the boat either getting air or spending some time hanging over the railings. I am very thankful that Andrew was able to stay with me on the crossing without having to patronize the back deck either!
Back on subject now, the Captain – he is kind of a funny guy! He is Polish and learned to speak English in Britain as he wanted to work at sea. He then climbed the “ranks” through the tanker ships and then several decades ago moved over to Holland America. He lives now in Kentucky with his wife, who actually is on board this sailing as it was both his birthday and wedding anniversary in the last week. The captain then did a presentation about the ship, which I took pictures of for the engineers viewing this blog. I must apologize though, my seat had a railing in the way when I was taking pictures!
To start, the Captain talked about the “broken steering wheel” of the ship when he came aboard. Apparently on the freighters he was used to the huge wheel with many spokes which is also seen in movies. He thought someone had taken a chunk out of it as they were hungry too! (funny comment) That is not the case on cruise ships. This “wheel” is actually very sensitive however not used very much – most of the “propelling” of the ship (another word for driving as my dad would probably tell me that driving was not correct terminology) is done by a joystick these days! There are actually 3 joysticks on the bridge – one just near the wheel (main joy stick) and then 2 smaller ones in each of the wings of the ship which are used when docking – so that the Captain or person in charge of docking can see and control the ship.
There was a lot of data also presented, which will be easier for me to type in instead of you trying to read it on the pictures. I will do that farther below. Next we talked about the propulsion of the ship which are mainly done with either the rudder, going forward or the Azipods which rotate 360 degrees and can stop the ship if needed in an emergency within 600 metres (I was surprised by that figure) by throwing them in reverse after putting the engines in neutral. I will get to how I know that in a minute. The captain talked about how WONDERFUL the Azipods are when docking and getting around barriers such as entering harbours. He actually showed us a video of them turning 360 degrees around which was really cool! On to other propulsion type things, there also are stabilizers which are “wings” that come out of the ship a bit forward of midship, that help with the rolling side to side movement. The crowd much appreciated that feature! However the Captain then let us down – he said that there had not yet been invented a way to stop the porpoising effect of a cruise ship (up and down movement from the front) to which everyone was then unhappy! The captain then went on to talk about the Thrusters and how important they are when moving away from a dock and how the little circles with a cross in them indicate on the ship, above the water line, where the thrusters are located, due to the amount of water that is churning when they are turned on.
Then we moved into navigation – where he showed us a chart of going north into Alaska – first, all navigation charts are electronic these days and anyone who has paper charts should not throw them away as they will become valuable! Apparently the British, who publish the charts are very soon going to stop this process. Then he showed us what a radar map looks like which is VERY hard to read, however if you then transpose the chart on top of the radar map, you see more of a 3-D image of where you are going! Technology in this area is really becoming advanced!
Lastly, we visited the engine room on his presentation. It looks SO CLEAN! I imagine it is clean too as the staff are always cleaning the brass and metal on the ship everyday. Not much to say about the engine room other than the statistics below which if you think about them are quite staggering if you think that we had been at sea for 6 days/7 nights and we are currently at sea for 6 days/7 nights and how much it takes to get 2000 passengers and 800 crew where we are going!
| Noordam Information | |
|---|---|
| Date of Delivery | January 31, 2006 |
| Gross Tonnage | 82897 tons |
| Length | 285 m / 934 feet |
| Width | 32.2 m / 106 feet |
| Max Draft | 8 m / 26.2 feet |
| Air Draft | 49.7 m / 163 feet |
| Max Sea Speed | 23 knots / 42.6 kmh / 26.5 mph |
| Stopping Distance from 23 knots | .7 Nm / 1300 m / 4250 feet |
| Electric Diesel Propulsion Engines | 3×16 Cylinder + 2×12 Cylinder 1 gas Turbine (18760 HP) |
| Propulsion Motors | 2 Azipods 17.6 MW (2×24000 HP) |
| Thrusters | 3 x Bow Thrusters 1900 KW each |
And just because I like MORE data! Here is some more!
| Maximum Capabilities | |
|---|---|
| Heavy Fuel Oil | 2200 ton = 3,060,000 litre = 592,995 gallons (US) |
| Diesel Oil | 800 ton = 225,000 litre = 237,760 gallons (US) |
| Fresh Water | 2200 ton = 2,200,000 litre = 4,650,000 gallons (US) |
| Fuel Consumption | .25 t/Nm = 138 l/km = 67 gallon/Nm |
| Avg. Fuel Consumption p/day at 15 knots | 80 ton = 81,600 litre |
| Avg. Fuel Consumption p/hour in port | 1 ton = 1,020 litre |
| Fresh Water Consumption | 400 ton/day = 400,000 litre per day |
Obviously, we “filled up” with Fuel and Diesel in Seattle and left as a heavy boat. Now, looking at those numbers, we could manage at sea without being in port for about 25 days until the tanks ran dry of Heavy Fuel. However that is not reality as we are stopping at several ports. I am NOT going to try figure out a formula to calculate when we will need to take on more fuel, based on hours in port with engines running vs days at sea (some supportive person can help me with that if they want to) however I am assuming we cannot get all the way to Australia without taking on some more fuel in Fiji at this point in time as our cruise is 27 days long! .
Water, however is a different entity. All large (including this one which is larger but not HUGE like some other ones) cruise ships have a desalination plant on board which takes in the ocean water, cleans and purifies it and then it becomes the water that is used for water on board the vessel! The fresh water the captain indicated above is for drinking water, however in general, the ship consumes 400 tons a day which is mostly created within its plant on board for water heavy processes such as the showers, kitchen and laundry services.
Then we got to the questions and answers – some were interesting and some people either did not have their hearing aids turned up or were not paying attention! Of the interesting questions one lady asked if someone fell overboard (which the captain said don’t jump it is dangerous) by accident, how fast can they turn the ship around and pick the person up? I thought it was great question as while Andrew and I have sometimes walked the deck after dinner down to the bow, we have passed the emergency tender. The answer is once they know someone has gone overboard they go into neutral and turn on the Azipods to provide backwards propulsion to slow down. We are generally cruising at about 15 knots per hour so that can take about 600-800 metres when started. They do not necessarily “turn around” unless the seas are really rough, they more stay still and launch the emergency tender (which is small and orange and takes 6 people only) to rescue whomever has gone overboard. He also mentioned if they receive a call to assist at sea, the process is very similar, however they usually do not have to stop as fast. Then depending on how many people need to be assisted they either let the emergency or regular tender down into the sea. Conditions also are a factor.
As both my father and I are aware of a former Captain of Holland America, named Captain Albert Schoonderbeek, who has a blog as he now cruises around the world, and I have followed Captain Kate McCue and her cat Bug (who has since passed away) while she was the first Captain at Royal Caribbean, I asked the Captain a question myself, which was if he used Social Medial and posted about his thoughts of being a captain and of the cruise ship industry! His answer? He has two left hands and does not use a computer. He tried to use Instagram but soon forgot. He is a better Captain and leaves the computer to his wife! I guess that was a succinct answer?
Other questions asked are about the “tours” that used to be done on the ships, especially longer cruises like we are on – like of the kitchen and bridge, and as expected, they are not doing them due to concerns of health risks after COVID. Another person asked, which was a good question as we did experience this on the Nieuw Statendam one night, is if they are going to open the doors to the bow on the 5, 6, 7, and 8th decks at some time so people can take pictures. The Captain did say they do this on the cruises to Alaska when viewing the glaciers, however it was not planned for this cruise, as it requires supervision. I found this comment interesting as I do not remember being supervised the couple of times when we were crossing the Atlantic when the doors on Deck 5 in front of our stateroom were left open…. Yes there are high sills to get over however it was nice to be out there! That is also when I found out that people cannot see into our front window which is good as sometimes staff are out there cleaning or painting during the day!
After the Captains talk, I hurried upstairs to the Observation Deck as it was time for another Art class – colouring! I had my new pencils that I had bought in Honolulu and while I only bought a pack of 24, they have packs of 36 on board so there are some extra colours that I can optimize my pictures with! Needed some creative time! Also I wanted to register for the next Acrylic Painting class which was happening at 4 pm this afternoon…. it will be my revenge class!
I then met Andrew for the PROPER Mariners lunch for the level of the program that we are in! We were seated at a lovely table for 2 at the stern of the ship next to a German couple who we chatted with a bit. Again, I had the same meal as the lunch yesterday – the lobster salad was great, the tuna was cooked this time and the chocolate dessert (brownie) was divine!
The couple next to us we chatted with off and on – they live just outside of Frankfurt and like to cruise. They had flown Lufthansa to Seattle to join this cruise and are getting off in Sydney, similar to us. They asked where we were from, and I mentioned Vancouver, BC and the gentleman said it was his 3rd favourite city! So this intrigued me! I asked him what his favourite city in the world was and he said Singapore! I then mentioned that we will be flying Singapore Airlines from Sydney to Singapore for a couple of days prior to traveling to Japan and onward home. He then pulled out his phone and showed me lots of pictures of Singapore and what sights we should see and not where to go (like the zoo which I was not planning on going to anyways)! Then I asked him what his 2nd favourite city in the world was and it is Sydney, Australia, where we are headed. They like Sydney due to the Opera House and will be seeing a production when we arrive in Sydney. It is interesting as I looked to see what is playing myself a while back and I think there is nothing going on when we pass through Sydney later in November, which is too bad. This couple mainly cruises on Costa Cruises in the Mediterranean and Holland America the rest of the world. They have been to Vancouver MANY times for various cruises – mainly Alaska, however they have also sailed to Japan on a Trans-Pacific cruise too. I mentioned that Lufthansa still flies a 747 to Vancouver and he knew that! He was disappointed to not be on a 747 to Seattle as he likes the plane. I let him know that it is now the only 747 that flies into Vancouver, and if it is on time, it flies over me as I am getting into my car after my volunteer shift at the Vancouver Airport! Their next cruise, which they just booked as Holland America just released their 2027 cruises in the last few weeks while we have been on board, is going to be to South America. They like to cruise it seems!
As this “Mariners” lunch started at 11:30 am, we heard the Captains announcement which is at noon each day, during lunch. Now, as I have mentioned previously we have been at a 4-5 on the Beaufort Scale. Today at lunch we were at a 6 which is some swells with white caps and some winds and we are heading towards a 7 – great! I just love rocking and rolling – not necessarily the music kind! We finished chatting with our German lunch table neighbours and were on our way to do afternoon sessions which for me meant Painting with Gogh!
Today was a Seaside Escape on Canvas that we were painting. I have done this painting previously and as I indicated above, this was my revenge painting! I did an EXCELLENT job painting this previously on the CALM waters of the Mediterranean Sea and it was absolutely beautiful! The only issue? We forgot it in our cabin when we left the ship in Barcelona! I tried to get it back, however it was gone. I have always regretted losing that painting! Low and behold – guess what I get to do today? Actually it was supposed to be Hot Air Balloons however the Bonolo, from the Art Department found out that it was not licensed to be painted in Australia (which is our destination and I presume the rules we are under now that we have left the USA) so she had to switch paintings. I am very happy! Andrew might not be as they are going in the suitcase to come home with us!
Only one problem – we are at sea and this sea is getting a bit choppy and we are on Deck 10 painting WAY UP in the sky! It is more like Deck 15 when you count from the sea line in my opinion! Painting the water – no problem, painting the sand, no problem. Getting paint on the umbrellas – oh another issue that I had not run into before! I forgot to tell you, it is hot outside these days and fairly humid. Paint does not dry fast. I did not have this issue when painting in the Mediterranean – but had it today! Got the sea, sand and then was painting the “shadows” for the umbrellas and the paint was not dry enough to put the while paint on top of the light brown “shadow” paint! So Bonolo to the rescue! She went and got her hair dryer and dried each of the 16 canvases that were being painted for us! Guess what? There was no plug to be found in the Art Room… She did not want to turn on the hair dryer in the Observation area at the front of the ship as it is noisy (the Art room is just to the side of the Observation area) so she dried each canvas in the elevator lobby on the 10th Deck! I remained at my table while she dried mine, however I should have gone and taken a picture! I would loved to have seen the faces of the people coming off the elevators at that level!
Soon we were able to proceed and get our white umbrellas painted and then we could start adding colour to them! Right, the lady who we were following on the video is on solid ground and having no issues painting straight lines – us up here tottering around at sea? Squiggly lines are happening! Well at least for me! We also have to paint shadows of people and their footprints – right – now that was the ultimate challenge of not hitting the canvas full on with a blotch of paint! In the end I survived without a lot of paint either on me or my clothes (good) and most of it on the canvas and the palette!
I wish I had taken another picture too, however I did have some paint on my fingers and I did not want to get my purple diamond phone dirty – during this 2 hour process of painting what was my computer doing? It was uploading the blog posting from October 22nd from Kauai! It took just over two hours! My laptop was balanced open on my folded up walker sitting next to the table where I was painting. I think some people thought I was one of those Digital Nomads trying to double task! I wonder why?
It seems as we are going to “Australia” there are certain sports that cannot be broadcast on the limited channels on our in suite TV’s – such as the World Series which started at 2 pm today while we were at sea. There were MANY people frustrated, mainly male, as there is not a “Sports Bar” on board anymore and they were left to stream or listen to the game on their phone. Needless to say, when I thought uploading my blog post was a good thing to do while I was painting, which normally only takes a few minutes, took hours as the satellite was VERY busy transmitting information! Once 6:30 pm rolled around and I was done painting, the blog was posted and I was done for the night! Time to go get washed up!
Tonight was a “comfort food” dinner for me. I had a salad and something that I am very lucky they will make gluten free on Holland America for me. They have a mixed cheese macaroni cheese that is awesome – I have no idea what types of cheeses are in it other than they are normal cheese (not American) and one of them has to have some peppers in it! They made it special for me with gluten free penne noodles! It was just the perfect size too! That was a great end to the day!
Tomorrow I just figured out that we will be crossing from the North Pacific to the South Pacific! Stay tuned for more information on that!