Today the weather was even sunnier than two days ago; Vesuvius loomed crystal clear over us. I think the gentle breeze was just enough to keep any haze away which normally develops here if it is a real warm day. We have a regular port call so the good ship Oosterdam was docked at 07.00 hrs. in the morning and will sail at 18.00 hrs. today. Provided that everybody is back on board.

Vesuvius, well known Volcano from Pompeii and Herculaem Fame. As seen from the aft of the Oosterdam.

If that is going to happen, I do not know with the large number of family’s that we have on board. Sometimes comprising of three generations, normally this means that we have more independents going ashore and then there is a heightened chance some will get delayed. Sometimes because little Johnny got back on the Big Red Bus (*) and it can even be that they lose Granddad somewhere (*) then there can be delays as the whole family is stuck at the police station because they lost a cell phone or worse. (*) I have held up the ship for both of these occurrences in the grey mists of time. Granddad’s case was funny though, as after a domestic with his wife, he walked away and was not in a hurry to be found… when he finally came back, there was another domestic………………….. )

We docked in the same position as 2 days ago. Swung on arrival and docked nose out.

A captain looks at a cruise completely differently than a guest for which each port is going to be an adventure of a life time. Because we always have to think about a plan B, in case something happens, and the “cruise brochure plan” does not work out as planned.

So this is what the average captain thinks about all the coming ports during this cruise:

Civitavecchia……………………. Wind or no wind………… squalls are dangerous here…….. More ropes ashore

Naples……………………… are there ferry’s in the way or can I shoot straight in?

Santorini……………….. Are we the only ship……………….. YES………… so we can anchor, hurrah

Good for the ship and good for the guests, no tourist jams at the cable car.

Rhodos………….. if the Etesian winds are blowing, hopefully, straight north to south in line with the dock.

Iraklion…………………… Please no wind on arrival, we have to make a 90o turn.

Piraeus…………………. Does port control have its act together about the traffic so we can adjust correctly

Nafplion………………… Nice and calm seas please for our tender service

Argostoli……………….. See Rhodos

Kerkira …………………… Hopefully we will have the dock close to the city

Kotor…………………….. We are the only ship, so we will dock; now we need sunshine to make it perfect.

Venice (noon arrival) ………………..   No Six pack Navigators in the Laguna please……………………………..

If there is a lot of sunshine in the area and on the Balkan, then the Mediterranean south of Greece gets very wind. A high pressure system builds up in the Balkan and then the Etesian winds start blowing. Therefore most docks are constructed north to south so the wind only pushes the bow or the stern but does not let the ship drift sideways. But the wind is not always straight north/south and then you need a lot of engine power to compensate.

We will sail south from Naples at 18.00 hrs. Around 20.00 hrs. we will see Capri and then for those who are still awake by midnight, Stromboli might put on a little show. From there we race on to Messina where will embark the pilot around 05.00 hrs.  A quick zig-zag trough the Straits of Messina, pilot off, and then pedal to the Metal to Santorini. This is a tight run to get to Santorini on time and the grey area is always: how much delay, if any, will there be at Messina Straits due to opposing traffic or slow traffic ahead of us.

But we will have another sunny day tomorrow, with gentle North Westerly winds and that should result in no wind at all on deck.