This is the Captain.

At Sea, May 12, 2017

"This is the Captain. I have an important announcement."

It started out as a quiet day at sea. After breakfast I joined the other knitters and needlers up in the Crow's Nest to stitch and chat until it was time to go down three flights for "Ask the Captain." Once during most cruises, the Captain sets aside 30 minutes to answer questions from the passengers. It is always amazing, and comforting, to hear him answer queries about everything from technical to silly. And, as always, his number one job is to keep everyone safe and happy.

Someone complimented him on the smooth docking in some pretty tight quarters. The ship doesn't pull into the dock like a car into a parking place. Rather it pulls up parallel to the dock and then, using the thruster (learned that puppy has a 360 degree range) the ship slowly moves to the dock, still parallel, until the lines are secured. It really is an impressive demonstration of seamanship. He said the wind was the biggest problem. The dividers separating the stateroom verandas act like a multitude of little sails catching the wind and pushing the stern away from the dock. We've been on cruises when the wind is so strong coming straight at the ship that it bests the thruster making landing impossible.

This all comes into play later during lunchtime.

Yesterday was a bit gray with occasional showers but still in the high 60s. Woke up to the same this morning but the Promenade Deck was open for walking or deck chair sitting so no big deal. During the morning Q & A the Captain had mentioned that there was a low behind us and we were running close to 20 knots to stay ahead of it. Not two hours later the ding dong ding of the announcement bell rang and instead of the usual chirpy voice of V the cruise director we heard, "This is the Captain. I have an important announcement." Uh oh.

Evidently when he returned to the bridge he learned that the weather was worsening. The seas would be 2-1/2 to 3 meters high and of more concern to him, the winds would be reaching gale force. He explained that landing at Horta in the Azores would be way too dangerous so he secured a berth for us in a port in northern France on May 17th and had already altered our course. This means that we will steam past Horta and will now have seven sea days between Bermuda and our next stop. This also means that rather than a relaxing day on Sunday when most of the passengers are ashore, the Location Crew is now feverishly cancelling and refunding money for Horta shore excursions and setting up a menu of excursions for the substitute port. I think it's Brest, but I'm not sure.

The reaction amongst the passengers was pretty much, Meh. There wasn't that much to see and do in Horta anyway other than free wifi in the terminal. Probably the only disappointed person is Dr. Stuart, our Geologist on board. His scheduled talk this afternoon is, "Fire and Brimstone - The Origin of the Azores and the Myth of the Atlantis." The Azores are part of the Mid Atlantic Ridge, an underwater mountain range. Let me tell you, Dr. S was some kind of excited to be crossing that ridge and visiting one of the islands formed by volcanic eruption millions of years ago. Some say that the Azores could be the Lost City of Atlantis. I'm pretty sure that as a scientist he's going to debunk that but I could be wrong. Yesterday he had some pretty convincing scientific evidence that could prove the theory that life on Earth came from Mars as bacteria on a meteorite a bazillion years ago.

Tonight is the second Gala Night. Usually when the ship's itinerary is abruptly changed the Captain provides the wine at dinner to console the disappointed passengers. Remember, his Number One job is to keep us A) Safe and B) Happy. Altered Course = Safe; Complimentary Wine = Happy.