Enroute to Newfoundland
Actually the sea is quite calm and the sun is shining this
morning, no complaints on the part of the pax or crew. However, it is certainly
true that we are taking a different course enroute to Newfoundland
than we would have taken to Greenland . Perhaps
the seas are different on each, I have no ready access to that information. I’m
sure it’s on the web somewhere but where, and how to read it, is beyond my
skill set.
Today is the first of three sea days before we port in what
has been derisively called “Newfie.” I don’t know whether the captain is going
slow or really needs all that time to “steam” to St. John’s .
We don’t actually steam these days, big ships are mostly
diesels or diesel-electrics that run on inexpensive bunker oil. It smells bad
when being loaded or combusted; I suspect it contains substantial amounts of
sulfur which would explain the odor.
Most ships keep a diesel running to generate electricity
when in port, thereby contributing to urban pollution. Some ports are requiring
ships to “plug in” to shore power (and of course pay for it) instead of running
a generator. This is a “green” effort of which I approve.
Ships distill their own potable water too, from seawater. I
remember a captain on some cruise remarking that he had to sail in circles
while “making water,” as he put it (I snorted). We drink the tap water aboard,
with no ill effects. Distilled, it is probably purer than most city water.
Shipboard personnel are from all over the globe, various
parts of the British Empire, the Philippines ,
the Ukraine , South Africa , Mexico , etc. Many shipboard
personnel end up marrying each other, and communicate with each other in broken
English, the only language they share. We joke that eventually the whole world
will communicate in broken English.
As you can see I’m mentally meandering vis-à-vis cruising,
something of which we’ve done a lot - 20 or so voyages. The other DrC says
we’ve spent something like 220 days at sea. That equals too much overeating.
The bakers on shipboard make the best dinner rolls, crusty
and yeasty. And I believe they’re serving prime rib tonight, yum. True, they
don’t include the Yorkshire pudding as they should, but the beef is good.
There’s a funny thought, why do the Brits call all desserts
“puddings?” Why do you never see French speakers as ship crew?
