Day 3 Still at Sea

We woke fairly early again due to the hammering on the ship’s hull which we have since found to be the bilge keel being battered by the sea, which only happens when it gets a little rough.  Having said that, the official sea state is a moderate swell with 40 knot winds from the north west, so, not bad at all really, especially in a ship this size.  However we certainly wouldn’t want to be sailing across here in a 50 foot yacht.

Having woken from our slumber we drew back the curtains only to be confronted with a wall of white outside the cabin window, which without any glasses on resembled the dreaded iceberg.  Our hearts missed another beat, but fortunately the iceberg dissolved before our eyes as it was just a wall of foam being pushed up by the bow of the ship and meeting the crest of a wave.  What a relief!

The other noticeable thing was the lack of other shipping around us.  At the same time yesterday we were surrounded by them.  Had the U boats been active overnight or had we just moved that much further away from the entrance to the Channel?  We’ll never know!

Anyway, it’s Sunday so a little lie in before a FE in the dining room.  Having a slightly later breakfast meant that there was less time to hang around before lecture 2 on the history of the Caribbean.  This time Dr June Goodfield managed to go through an interesting history of Nevis Island without a single hitch in her PowerPoint presentation.  Jolly good show.

Time for morning coffee before going to the pub to watch the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, live on Sky.  The place was heaving as the Sunday football was still on when we arrived there, but we managed to get a seat before the race started.  It was just like being in the Saracens Head at Sunday lunchtime, I had a pint of Speckled Hen and the place was packed – home from home.

By the time the GP had ended, there was just time for a comfort break before going to the art gallery to learn about one of their featured artists, Fabian  Perez.  A most informative discussion was given by the gallery consultant and tomorrow he is featuring Rolf Harris. (Hope I’ll be able to see what it is) Maureen on the other hand had decided that her bed was more important than the gallery lecture.

After my lecture and her nap we decided to go for afternoon tea as we made cruising history today and skipped lunch completely.  After tea we felt guilty and decided to get some air and do a few circuits of the promenade deck.  Whilst the wind was still blowing at gale force, the air temperature had increased significantly, so it was much more enjoyable that yesterday.  The sun was just starting to set, so we sat down to take in what looked as though would be a stunner of a sun set.  At that moment I noticed a black cylindrical object moving away from the side of the ship and thought that the U Boat that had got all the other ships had fired on us and the torpedo had gone straight through our hull and out the other side!  It wasn’t until the object leapt out of the water that I realised it was a porpoise that my heart began beating again. 

If the weather warms up even more tomorrow, it could be time for shorts and even a sun bed!!

Rather hoping for roast lamb on the menu this evening as it’s Sunday, but whatever it is I’m sure it will be delicious.

At the time of typing this (6.38pm), we are off the west coast of Portugal, some 750nm from Southampton and 590nm from Funchal Madeira, our first port of call.  Air temp is 14 deg C, the wind has slowed to 31 knots and we’re heading 208 deg at 16 knots in a moderating swell.  Little or no movement of the ship now and the bilge keel has stopped clanging.  Peace at last!

Pot roast for dinner – absolutely melt in the mouth, but only managed 4 courses this evening.  Must try harder tomorrow.

After dinner we joined two of our table guests at the late performance by Jimmy James the R&B singer famous for hits such as ‘I’ll go where the music takes me’ & ‘red red wine’ amongst others.  Absolutely fantastic performance definitely warranting his standing ovation.  Ship now steady as a rock not sure if we’ll sleep without some gentle rocking.