30 November 2010; Caribbean Bound.

To get to the East Caribbean Sea there are basically two ways to go. Going north and keeping the Bahamas to the right or going south and keeping the Bahamas to the left. Both routes have their advantages and disadvantages and it is the decision of the captain to say which one it will be. The Bahamas which stretch all the way from the North of Florida to the top of the Dominican Republic block any other way possible, unless you are a light drafted speed boat. Going north into the Atlantic Ocean is the shortest route; it is the least sheltered (for the first day) but as the adverse current is less you can go slower and provide a more stable ride. The South route via Old Bahama channel is longer by about 60 miles, it is more sheltered for the first day (as the Bahama reefs catch the swell) but have a strong adverse current and that means that when you leave the shelter of the reefs at the 2nd day, you really have to plough into the waves to keep the schedule. After consulting the weather charts which indicated that here would be some swell (left over from some bad North Atlantic weather further North) but it would be constant all the way until we entered the Caribbean Sea. Thus the decision was to go for a more constant motion of the ocean instead of a very wobbly last day and a half when the Prinsendam, coming out of old Bahama channel, would have to remain on full speed to make up those extra miles. Miles lost to the longer distance and that adverse current.

Thus we moved about a bit today but it will be a constant motion for the whole period until Dec. 2nd at 0700 hrs. when we move into the Caribbean Sea. I can now run at a lower average speed as I will have less current against me and also less miles to travel. Just sailing a knot slower can make a big difference in the movement of the ship. My experience is that when the Prinsendam moves against a medium long ocean swell, that she rides the best at about 17 knots. With following seas it does not matter; the faster the better as she likes to surf. So we are doing the whole three days with an average speed of between 16.5 and 17.5 knots and that should bring us on time to our first port Castries on 3 Dec.

As soon as the ship clears the North East Providence channel, it lines up on a course of 125o and can keep that course until the Virgin Passage between Puerto Rico and St. Thomas. We will mainly sail in deep to very deep water. Once outside of the Bahamian islands, we fall directly off the edge as it were and are in the American Basin, which is located 12,000 feet below the water. From then on it will only get deeper until we sail over the Puerto Rican trench which is one of the deepest points on Earth. From there it goes up steeply when we cross the line of islands which form the boundaries of the Caribbean Sea.

So today the guests could enjoy their first day on the Prinsendam and find their way around. This should not be too difficult as most of them have been onboard the ship before. During the captain’s welcome onboard toast, I saw a lot of familiar faces coming through the line. Most of them grabbing the chance to do a 3 week cruise before the festive season starts. Of most interest is of course what the Amazon will offer when we get there. The good news is, is that since a few days ago the water level is slowly rising again. Thus I can do the whole cruise without having to face too low a water level anywhere. The rest will be up to the river itself. When we get there the Amazon will dictate, how fast I can go, how close I can go and what we will see. It will be an expedition, although on a 5 star ship.

Tomorrow will be another sea day and by noon time we will be north of the Turks and Caicos Islands. The weather should remain the same, partly cloudy, warm, breezy and with a low swelling running from the NE Atlantic.