02 May 2013; At Sea.

This morning we left the area of the Catalina Islands by sailing South of St.Nicolas Island and entering the North Pacific Ocean. There was a long running swell but as I had hoped for it had lost most of its power already as the bad weather that had generated it had been weakening since the day before yesterday. So for today we were in business and the Statendam could nicely keep its speed. The wind had completely fallen away; down to a light air and sometimes a gentle breeze and that brought another challenge. Very low hanging clouds and so thick that our visibility was reduced to about 150 feet. In the old Atlantic days they would call that a “one funnel fog” as you were able to see only the first of the three or four funnels that a ship would have.  That meant that the bridge of the Statendam went to battle stations. Double manning, all watertight doors closed and the whistle blowing every two minutes, so the whole world could hear that we were there and the captain was on the bridge. Today was an area mainly free of traffic, at least according to the radar but that does not mean that there is nothing out there, so the extra look-outs were in position and all radar stations manned. 

When I came on the bridge at 07.15 there was still visibility and what did I see, a sight that we even seldom have in Alaska, Twitchers. I think they call them Birders in the USA. All lined up with the “big gun” cameras and waiting for the wildlife to show up. And then the white curtain came down. I would have gone directly to the Bar, but not these people. They remained out there. After a few hours they realized that standing on the bow gave a better protection against the cold and thus they moved enmasse. They had been standing behind the open railings all time and the closed in bow with its flare deflects all the wind. 

The restricted visibility lasted and lasted but so did these nature watchers. Some even lay down on the deck to take a nap but they stayed close to their camera, as you never know.

By 17.30 the white cloud finally lifted and in a flash they were back behind their cameras again. Half an hour later they were rewarded by a humpback whale who took a pity on them and decided to give a show. She/he breached several times so that ample pictures could be taken. The whale was not close, but that was not needed, a good twitcher comes well equipped. This was followed by a mother and calf swimming by at about a 1000 feet, less easy to photograph but none the less as impressive.

I have to admire their stamina and steadfast interest but I did not know that you could be so determined to sit all day in a thick haze hoping for it all to lift.  So I am impressed and salute their dedication. They all left at sundown. That made for a long day, as sunrise was at 06.16 today and the sunset at 19.25. hrs. No doubt they will be there again tomorrow morning although they will not be on the bow then, as I expect the wind to pick up around 5 am. I cannot have guests being blown all over the place due to the strong wind, even if they are hardy nature observers.

Tomorrow we will also get under the full –adverse- California current when we pass Cape Mendicino and are sailing up to the Columbia River in Oregon. From there onwards wind and swell should start to abate again and if that happens we will not have a bad passage at all, as the weather can be really atrocious here even in the month of May. I wonder how the Zaandam is doing as she is coming up from Hawaii, so she will also be under the influence of the swell. While the Statendam will pitch, she will roll,  unless she can stay just north of the wave field.

It will be a lot cooler tomorrow, due to the cold northerly wind blowing and the cold California Current coming from the same direction. Still with the wind as is forecast it should be a sunny day. Good for observing wild life, as even in the swell you can see whales and dolphins.