26 November 2008, Belize.

With the Cold front slowly dissipating behind us we arrived at our regular time at the pilot station of Belize. By 5 am. the pilot was onboard and we started the two hour long journey winding our way through the reefs towards the anchorage. One hour behind us was the Norwegian Pearl and by the time that she approached the anchorage, the Veendam was at her normal position. By being the first ship I can pick the closest anchorage in a direct line to the port without having to anchor in too shallow an area.

The whole anchorage area is very shallow. When we drop the anchor we have no more then 10 feet under the keel but you could go closer by reducing the UKC (Under Keel Clearance) to less than 6 feet. Even less is also possible but then maneuvering becomes an issue, as every time you would give the engines a ”kick ahead” the stern would dig in and there would be the danger of touching bottom. The squat of a cruise ship can be quite substantial. (See my explanation during the Amazon cruise in October) Therefore I look for the happy medium and we anchor on the 10 meter line which gives me at least a bit of clearance under the keel and when maneuvering a bit of water flow under the hull.

The first shore tenders arrived the moment the ship dropped the anchor. It almost looks as if they are hiding somewhere and as soon as they see the ship appearing, they come racing out of nowhere. Thus by 0730 we were in full swing and eager shoppers, snorkellers and prospective beach bums were all transported to their various destinations. I had a quiet morning for once, with only the ships staff meeting to conduct and to clear up my computer from the never ending stream of emails coming in.

In the evening I had something more unusual on hand with the retirement of one of our crewmembers. The deck store keeper retired after 33 years with the company. He started in 1976 and had since sailed with Holland America; mainly on the Rotterdam and finally on the Veendam. As we had already planned a crew party I used the opportunity to officially say farewell to him in front of all his friends and colleagues. This with a big thank you to Mr. Sutrisno with some gifts and presents. I think after mixing paint for over 30 years, he must be ready for some forest air in his native Sumatera.

Storekeeper Sutrisno receiving a farewell present from his boss Bo’sun Dedi. Photo courtesy Leah Fehr, wife of the chief officer.

The deck storekeeper is the man who is in charge of preparing what the sailors need for the daily job and he is responsible for keeping the equipment in good order. Paint comes in large drums and is for the daily job measured out in-just enough-quantities and quite often diluted a bit with thinner for better application. Brushes have to be cleaned and scraping tools sharpened and there are a myriad of other small items to attend to in order to keep the deck dept. maintenance team up and running. For these purpose there is a Bo’ sun store and there is a separate paint store. The latter has to be separate from the rest due to the flammable nature of most paint materials and supplies. The deck storekeeper is really one of those un-sung heroes who work behind the scenes and are seldom seen, but gets noticed if suddenly the ships appearance starts to detoriate. As so many other positions onboard, it is a very vital job within the whole operation to keep the ship up to standard.

The crew parties, get togethers and other social events are organized by the crew purser. This is a fairly new function for Holland America ships. More about that next time.

Although we have an hour back tonight to adjust ships time to central american time, it will still be early start for me, as the approach to Santo Tomas will begin at 3 am. With the cold weather of the last weeks, the average temperature in Santo Tomas is now so low (read under 80o F) that they are expecting fog at the airport. That has not happened in the last 20 years.