23 September 2914; At Sea.

In the early morning hours the ms Veendam departed from Halifax under the command of Captain Chris Norman. Once outside it started to move slowly on the still high swells but the wind had abated sufficiently to prevent the waves from getting higher again. Unfortunately the seas were rolling in from the SW and the ship was steering NE and that sometimes caused a very noticeable movement. If a ship rolls, then the stabilizers will take care of that. If a ship pitches then we can reduce speed to make it more comfortable. But when the swell catches the ship on the quarter it creates a sort of corkscrew motion and there is very little you can do about that, apart from sailing in another direction. As we wanted to go to Charlottetown we had to go North East and thus we had to endure this unpleasant movement. When looking around it did not seem to affect that many people as all ships activities were eagerly participated in but there were a few more people sitting on the couches in the midships area than is normally the case.

The ship followed the coast of Nova Scotia for most of the day. Tonight we will sail around Cape Breton and then head for Prince Edward Island which is located north of the bigger island of Nova Scotia. This area from New Foundland to Nova Scotia and the Grand Banks can be notorious for reduced visibility. Now the severe storm and dropping temperatures ensured that it was not happening today.  The cold water of the Labrador Current and the warm water of the Gulf Stream are meeting in this area, creating a prime cocktail of temperature variations to create very low hanging clouds.  In the winter the Labrador Current wins most of the time and the icebergs it brings down in spring are mostly clearly visible but that is not always the case later in the season and it makes this area very dangerous for shipping. Especially in the past when there was no radar.  Our own Amsterdam (I) 1884 was lost in this area in 1884 by running aground at Sable Island. Due to the pounding seas the ship had to be abandoned and left to the elements.

It is for me the first time back on the Veendam since 2008 when I left for the Prinsendam after having been here for four years. It was also on this ship that I started my blog in 2007. So we have come full –circle so to speak.  Since then the ship has mainly be sailing on the East Coast in the summer and South America in the winter but that is going to change in the coming winter season. This time no Caribbean, no South America, but she will be sailing San Diego to Hawaii for a number of voyages. Although many people complain about the sometimes very wobbly weather in the north Pacific, it remains a very popular destination and the ships are always full. A lot of guests like the number of sea days and then take the gamble of a “good wobble” occurring during the cruise.

In 2008 the ship had another refit, a so called SOE upgrade (SOE = Signature of Excellence) and that changed the ship to a certain extent. More about that in the near future when I will have taken some photos. Currently the ship is making nearly the same cruises as the Maasdam, except that it does not call at Montreal but has Quebec as a change over port. Here it stays for 3 days. Great for the crew as Quebec is a very nice port.

Tomorrow we will be in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. The weather for tonight calls for strong winds but it should die down near the port and inside it should be no more than about 20 knots and sunny.