16 Feb. 2020; Ocho Rios, Jamaica.

The rain forest did its job much better than I had hoped for and on arrival it looked more like the autumn weather in Alaska than Caribbean sunshine. It was windy and rainy but not cold of course. Luckily once the sun got hold of the clouds, they burnt off and the sun came through. Unfortunately my prediction was better than the official forecast so we had a shower during the day. Not nice as you get wet, but not as bad as it could be, as the rain is warm.  Although one gentleman was upset with the rain, as he was ashore in a group and they all decided to take shelter in a shop. It turned out to be a jewelry shop……… do I need to say more? As the rain shower took a while, the shop attendant was able to work her charm and the local economy was stimulated with a considerable investment.

We were the only ship in today and that meant that we could pick the dock we liked and that is the most northern one as it works the best for our mooring ropes but also for the way the guests walk into port. That port is a small cruise terminal with a few shops, and some guests then turn around and go back. For the other guests, there are the tours or their own adventure into Jamaica as Ocho Rios itself is more a name then a real town worth visiting. There are lots of things to do over a larger area and thus you will also meet holiday makers from the various resorts. There is a Sandals hotel resort in the area, but also several communities with holiday homes or 2^nd homes.  Often rented by people from Europe.

The Ocho Rios pilot stepping on board. The sailor to the left is our most senior crew member. Mr. Sadeli has been with the company for 43 years this year and will retire after he has made 45 years with HAL.

Ocho Rios is a port that we have been calling at since the late 70’s. In the early days there was only the Bauxite Pier, also known as the James Bond Pier as in the Doctor No movie James Bond came sliding down the Bauxite slide. The Kaiser Terminal as it was then called is now defunct but in the early days of cruising we could dock there if there was no cargo ship. Then a cruise ship pier was built for one ship and later extended so two larger ships could dock and the Bauxite pier became a backup pier if there were 3 ships in at the same time.

The infrastructure for sailing into port is still from those bauxite days. There is a Leading Light Line which brings the bow of the ship to the beginning of the pier, but instead of stopping there, we now turn to port and curve towards the cruise pier.

Sailing into Ocho Rios Bay. The James Bond pier is to the right and the ship will dock at the cruise terminal to the  left. The weather still looks very gloomy here but an hour later the sun started to burn through.

What can you do: Local water sports, just off the pier, Rafting on the local river called the Martha Brae, going for tea (Jamaica used to be a British Colony), climbing Dunn’s River Falls, riding camels, swimming with dolphins, or my favorite, “Reggae, Rum and Jerk” Which is a food and wine tour, as I happen to like all things mentioned. Although it was a long time ago that I participated because as Captain the Rum part does not really go with sailing the ship. But when I was a junior officer it did not matter as there were plenty of other Jr. Officers on board to cover if needed.

The protective bank/reef of the bay with the swell breaking over it. Normally one can see much more sand than we saw today.

Ocho Rios Bay/harbor is protected by a very low reef, which stops most of the swell from coming in, and also the pounding ocean during bad weather. Today it just looked that there was more water coming over than in the past as you did not really see the beach anymore. I do not know why; maybe the last hurricane season has taken a lot of sand away. That is not really an issue as eventually the sea will deposit new sand again, once there is a prolonged quiet spell as far as wave activity is concerned.

The crew did not see much of this all, as they were in drill. Once a week we have our General Drill where all crew go through their paces with carrying out their safety duties to ensure a safe ship. Today that was a bit more hectic than normal as I threw one of my drill specials. We simulated a mass casualty situation where the Medical Team has to work beyond their capacity. 4 Medical staff faced with a large number of casualties is challenging. That only works if the whole ship stands behind them and take all the ancillary work away. Medical saves lives, we do the rest. This drill takes a lot of preparation from my side, but even more from the crew side as each team has to prepare for their job in detail and then execute it in the best way possible.  For such large drills we first hold a Table Top discussion, then conduct the drill and then facilitate a debrief. The debrief is where we discuss the achievements and the challenges. That is tomorrow so afterwards I can share a few photos on the blog.

Tomorrow we are at sea and then we will be in Half Moon Cay.  But first we have to sail around Cuba as that island is right in the middle between Ocho Rios and Little San Salvador Island.