Today was our first full day on the crossing and for a change the weather outside was in synch with the weather forecast. The sun shone, the wind was steady around 20 knots from the East and the waves were rolling at the correct height of 10 to 12 feet. The latter made the ship gently move but nothing to be bothered about or create an uncomfortable feeling. The long term forecast indicates good weather all the way to the Cape Verdes, although I am a little bit concerned about a wave field that is being created by a storm much further north moving in the direction of England. That wave field might run further south than normal and that means that we could feel some of it. That will not happen until Monday evening, if at all, and by that time I might be able to slow down the ships speed a little bit, to create a more comfortable ride if needed. This is a high speed run across the North Atlantic and the less current I have against me, the quicker the ship will start to run into the plus and the faster I will be able to adjust the speed and still maintain the average needed. Thus far the North Equatorial Current is doing great with only opposing us with 0.5 knots of strength. That is average but I had been expecting a bit more, as the winds have been constantly N.E to East in this area lately and that is normally “pushing” the current up a little bit.

I had finished my scheduling puzzle yesterday and so I could start my regular captain’s inspection program. We have several schedules and plans that affect the whole crew. There is first of all the Cruise Schedule, which is the arrival/departure/speed plan for the voyage; then there is the Safety Schedule, which denotes all the drills and safety trainings for the crew and then there is the Proforma of the Hotelmanager which details all the party’s happenings and other events, including all his daily inspections. In order to prevent that these schedules clash, I sit myself down for a while and try to pre-empt that. I will of course not allow that the chief officer stages a major fire drill in the kitchen, while the Hotelmanager has scheduled a galley tour, just to give an example. Same for scheduling safety training while half the hotel is involved in happy hour. That would change the Hotelmanager into a very un-happy man and that is never a good idea. Rule one of successful management is to always have the catering on your side. Just ask any Colonel in the army.

 My inspections come in two sorts. A “captain’s walkabout”; by myself where I just ramble around the ship without a specific plan and just note anything that needs attention. Whether it concerns repairs, work practices or whatever there is that could be better. The other sort of inspections are more formulized. Then I am followed by a whole parade of people and we target a certain area. Main objective is then “compliance”. Compliance with government rules, company rules, best practices and  anything else that makes an operation go smooth and in an approved way.  These inspections normally last 30 to 45 minutes and each day there is one of them in some sort of form. These inspections are formally noted and its observations tracked to completion, altogether it comes with the other scheduling under the Safety Management System of the company and the ship. On this whole setup we are audited at least once a year by the head office, but at least twice a year by USPH and USCG, not to mention the numerous Port State Inspections in the various countries that we call at.

For a ship as the Prinsendam this is a real challenge, as we call at so many different country’s often several times in the season, so that the local authorities can plan us in their scheduling. That means that we have to adapt ourselves to the peculiarities of each country. There can be great differences in focus. The approach to a health inspection by an inspector in the USA, in Brazil, in England or in Holland can be totally different. They are all correct in what they are doing, but as it can be based on a different philosophy or sometimes political insight, the conclusions can be sometimes far apart.

 That makes that a captain’s inspection also a sort of a puzzle when looking at a certain item or a procedure. Will the way that we do a certain job, not only please the USA but also the UK? So the puzzle starts with synchronizing all the inspections and then the puzzle continues with carrying out the inspections. Luckily I always loved jig-saw puzzles when I was young.