Where to begin? We are in about six foot seas, and though it was sunny and rough this morning, it’s now very grey and ominous. It’s raining and the deck is really pitching. We’re sailing into the storm system that’s pounding California.
The seas are rough enough that last night the crew stacked the chairs and lounges and tied some down. The pools have been drained, and the stage show was cancelled last night because one of the dancers fell and was injured. Barf bags have appeared in racks at the elevators, and earlier today a glass overturned here in the stateroom. The Captain got on the PA this afternoon to tell us that it’s too rough to put on a harbor pilot in San Diego, so he will, as he put it, “come into the harbor as if we are hitting the Number 3 wire on an aircraft carrier” by plowing through the harbor entrance at full speed to counteract the swells at 0530.It’s pretty cool, actually.
Outide of tidal data that I can pull off of my gps, though, good weather info is hard to come by. The stuff coming from the bridge is computerized and some of it is very wrong, and I don’t know if I should trust anything else. It’s probably in the low 60s outside. There are force I gale winds coming across the bow, which accounts for the swells running perpendicular to our course. It’s fun to watch people stagger back and forth across the hallways, a little less so to do it myself.
I’m dreading going back to work. I really want to work. I love my profession. I miss working, but I don’t miss the environment that I’ve been in, and the more I analyze it, the more dysfunctional it appears, much to my dismay. But there is no time to rest or even recover from this trip. Friday I leave the boat and fly to Sac, find my car and drive home to wash clothes before leaving Sat morning for Railtown, home Sat night then off to training on Sunday afternoon.
These are the days at sea that I love. Force 6 or 7, a little spray over the bow. Lazy rolls. Lovely, lovely. You are heading north by north/west, I believe at this point. The seas and winds should be trailing. Being out on deck, thus, is tolerable. I don't really care for it when it gets up to force 11, green water over the bow and the ship starts yawing. I love the Captain's description of how he's brining the ship into San Diego. I'm looking forward to talking with you and hearing of your experiences!
ReplyDeleteRE: the last paragraph, as the "space hippies" said in that episode of Star Trek, "I read you."