During the night it was rather breezy, to use an understatement, with a few moments of storm force winds blowing around the ship. That translated into a very windy arrival as well. However Iraklion has the wind either straight from the North (Etesian winds) or straight from the South (Sahara winds) and thus the docks are lined up North to South to make the docking as easy as possible. As long as you can make the swing safely in the port, from an East/West heading to a North/South one, as the docks are perpendicular onto the entrance of the port, you are in good shape. When you get the nose or the stern into the wind then the ship does not drift anymore and you can park easily and safely alongside the dock.
On occasion the swell broke over the breakwater.
And so we did. But as the dock space was fully open to these Northerly winds barreling in, our guests had a challenge to walk to the Gate. Security did not allow any taxi’s on the dock and there weren’t any golf carts or other mobiles to help with transport. I was able to observe the interesting phenomena of ———-Rollator Against the Wind———-. I felt sorry for the guests but on the other hand, this would have figured greatly in a Marx Brothers movie.
I also had to lean against the wind pulling a suitcase as my Lord and Master descended today on the ship and she will be sailing with me until Istanbul 9 days from now. We have our objectives nicely divided, she goes sightseeing and shopping and I go to work.
Wind or no wind, Tai-Chi will continue………… every morning.
That work took me today by starting to walking around the ship checking where my help can be utilized the best. Normally I take care of a mixture of training, providing training materials and updating procedures. This time an inspection element has been added to it to assist the captain. The Prinsendam is an older ship and as a result has a number of challenges with the way it has to comply with all the rules and regulations. Not that the ship does not comply, it does of course, but as it is an older ship, we have to use a different approach to reach the same result.
Hereby it helps that I am myself from an older era. I went through the ranks when the Prinsendam was built as the Royal Viking Sun in 1988, so old rules make sense to me, much more than to somebody who just starts out. Having a continuous career also means that the upgrading of the rules through the years to the current day is easier to understand.
Thus today was clipboard day and with a General Master Key in hand I went nosing around. I first look at all the hardware (the ship) and after I have met most of the crew for training, I will look at the software (the crew). The two need each other to deliver the complete Holland America Line package for a safe and luxurious cruise.
Crete was a windy but sunny call today and as the winds were from the North it might have been chilly but at least there was no sand in the air. The Sahara winds from the South bring in lots of brown sand and that gives maybe a much warmer day but also a much stuffier day. I do not know if sand affects Asthma sufferers, I know that pollen and traffic pollution does, but I always feel as if I am constantly munching on grit when I am in the Greek islands and the winds are from the South.
We left at 5 pm. and are now having a slightly wobbly ride towards Ashdod in Israel where we will be the day after tomorrow. While heading in the general direction of the Promised Land, we have also been promised improving weather with the winds easing down step by step.
April 14, 2015 at 4:29 pm
Although I’ve never had to experience the winds from the South in the Mediterranean area, I do know what munching on grit feels like. Even what brown/red dust feels like in your ears, nostrils, hair, simply everywhere! That was on a ride to the Bromo crater in Ea Java (when I was ‘four’)
With the winds coming from the South, I remember how one of your readers couldn’t believe that sand from the Sahara desert could be blown all the way into the Mediterranean and onto the ship you were commanding at the time.