19 Nov. 2014; Luderitz, Namibia.

Indeed the good ship Rotterdam arrived as planned on Luderitz roads at 0700. The Authorities came onboard and started clearing the ship. All Guests were required to present themselves in person but the system worked in such a way that once been, you could go ashore with the tender. Not all at the same time of course, you still needed to get a tender ticket but at least they did not keep everybody from going ashore until the final guest had been seen.

It was our plan to take the trainee’s on a tender tour once the rush to get ashore was over, so we spent the morning having them climb in and out of lifeboats and swinging out life raft cranes which are used to lower the life rafts of the crew. Everybody is taught the principles of lifesaving equipment at school but reality is slightly different. Mainly due to the fact that every time when a new ship is constructed, new equipment is bought and that equipment is most likely not the same as on the previous ship.  Even with sister ships such as the Rotterdam and the Amsterdam there can be vast differences. In the same way that are a large number of automobiles out there, so are there also a large number of different lifeboat types for sale.

By lunch time that was all done and then we were getting ready to take a tender for a spin but it was not to be. In the late morning the wind had been picking up and by early afternoon there was a considerable swell running around the ship. Not exactly weather to start playing in with a boat. All 4 tenders were now needed to maintain a regular tender service as the time needed alongside the platform increased as everybody had to be very careful when stepping in and out the Tender, due to the movement, and that costs time.  So we decided to postpone to another day. We will be docked in Walvis Bay for two days and if the authorities allow us, we can exercise a little bit then. Still disappointing as I did not make it ashore and now it might be a while before I make it back to this part of the world.

Which is a pity as Luderitz is a most peculiar place.  It has a sheltered bay which is accessible with ships of a draft of less than 8 meters, which meant for the Rotterdam that she was out of luck as she draws just over 8 meters.  Although discovered by Europeans in the 15^th century it was not until 1883 that a town was founded which was eventually named after Adolf Luderitz who owned the land. In 1909 diamonds were found and the place turned into a boom town. As result is there is some nice architecture including Art Deco.  With the mining slowly shifting away in the 1920’s, the town lost its prominence step by step. Also the climate does not help to make the place attractive and while we were at anchor, we mainly saw brown, yellow and white (from the houses) colors but no greenery at all. Which with a rainfall of about 1 inch a year is not un-expected.  About 12,000 people still live there and that meant with the visit of the Rotterdam the population for the day went up with 10%.

Thus our guests had a windy day in Luderitz and a very bumpy tender ride back to the ship.  When all were back, we raised the anchor and sailed for Walvis Bay where we will arrive tomorrow morning at 10 am.

The weather is supposed to be somewhat similar but with less wind and less sunshine. Here we will dock and that means at least a more comfortable way to get ashore than what we had today.