I mentioned a few days ago that the weather normally happens on a three day cycle; and if you hit it right you can have perfect weather. Last cruise with the Eurodam we caught the wrong day for Half Moon Cay but things were getting better during the afternoon. That showed in Fort Lauderdale which had the last of the wind during the night and then a very nice day. That was day 1. We sailed with that nice weather towards Half Moon Cay, day 2, and thus we are now in the middle of the best.
Half Moon Cay as it was a number of years ago. The company is continually developing and offering more facilities. Photo Courtesy Holland America Line.
And it was a Grand Day, as the Irish would say. The sea was as flat as a mirror, the sun was shining and we did not have a care in the world. 4000+ guests and crew could enjoy themselves today on the white sandy beaches or participate in any of the activities which our private island has to offer. I mention 4000+ because we were together with the Eurodam for this call. Two ships is the maximum Holland America allows at the island at the same time. More and there is the danger that the island gets crowded and people cannot enjoy all the facilities anymore. The Island is also open to other company’s under the Carnival umbrella but only when there is no HAL ship calling. So we will never be together with “those who choose another company”.
The Half Moon Clipper acts as a supply boat for the ships. It was built for ferry service in Nova Scotia so it can handle a bit of rough weather.
The call at Half Moon Cay is a tour de force in organization. Even more when there are two ships. The ships supply everything for the island as the refrigeration capacity there is limited to day storage and what the island needs for itself. Thus when we arrived the Half Moon Clipper, the local ferry and supply boat, came alongside to collect everything. Most of the time the ships work together and one ship will supply all the food and the other ship will supply all the beverages as that makes it much more simple to keep an inventory and to return the left overs (very few) to the correct ship. Then crews from both ships go ashore for the service. Apart from them also medical goes ashore as they man the first aid post in the village. The watersports, shops and other activities are staffed by local Bahamians under the direction of the island manager. Most of these staff live on Eleuthera and come over in the morning with the Half Moon Clipper.
Transferring supplies from the ship to the Half Moon Clipper.
If there is one ship, then the whole business of ferrying the guests to and from the shore is done by the shore tenders, the Annie Bonny and the Henry Hudson and they are also helped out by the Glass bottom boat before tours start. When there are two ships then one ship has to use their own tenders to supplement the shore tender capacity. Normally the captains of both ships then have a little chat of how to help each other the best way. Normally that works as follows: The largest ship (today the Eurodam) gets the shore tenders. This ship goes to the anchorage which is the furthest away from the port. The smaller ship (today the Zuiderdam) will stay on the engines and float right of the entrance. Here is no anchorage but the shorter tender distance is of great help if you have to use your own tenders. And then of course they mix and match the use of the shore tenders when needed.
The Henry Hudson one of the two purpose built passenger tenders for the island. Each can take about 300 guests in one go.
This scenario worked to perfection today and the guests had a great time, as was borne out by none of the ships leaving on time. So both ships had to crank up their engines a bit more to get to their next destination on time. The Zuiderdam is heading towards Oranjestad in Aruba, which is a high speed run, so from the moment of departure it was pedal to the metal. Tonight we will sail in between the various Bahamian Islands and then in the early morning we will cross the Old Bahama Channel to enter the Windward Passage. This is the gap between the east end of Cuba and the west end of Haiti and from there we enter the Caribbean Sea. Then the day after tomorrow we will arrive at Aruba around noon time for a late evening stay.
Weather for tomorrow, more of the same; but we are coming under the regular influence of the Trade Winds again, and an easterly breeze should establish itself with the chance of a rain shower. The captain announced rain bows at noon time tomorrow during his departure speech. So let’s see if he is right.
A satellite photo of the Bahamas and the North Caribbean sea. Not a cloud in the sky. (Photo Courtesy. www.weather.com)
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