21 November 2008, Costa Maya.

It was another windy day. The cold fronts from the North are not letting up at all. At the moment the next one is forming in the Gulf of Mexico and will pass over us while we are approaching Tampa. Similar to last Sunday. The result is a continuous pattern of strong winds over the North West and Middle Caribbean. However as the wind also pushed the clouds away, it was a nice and sunny day. We arrived on the minute at the pilot station and after picking up the pilot proceeded to the dock. As I was first I had the option to pick my dock but with the North Easterly wind and swell, only docks 1 and 2 could be used. (See Costa Maya blog of last week) Thus I went for dock 2, as I was the smaller ship, leaving the easier approach to dock 1 for the Westerdam, which is quite a bit longer than the Veendam.

By 08.00 both ships were safely docked and a steady stream of guests left the ships to enjoy the facilities of Costa Maya. Upon opening up my computer for my early morning email-delete-ritual, I was surprised to find an invitation to join, together with my colleague from next door, the official re-opening of Costa Maya after the devastation by Hurricane Katrina. The Westerdam had been the first ship to dock at Costa Maya after its rebuilding but it seemed that it took a while to find a politician to officially cut the ribbon.

In the end the governor of Yucatan came down to do the honors and the whole place was buzzing with important people and of course those who thought they were important. From both ships the ships staff had been invited to be present and enjoy a luncheon held in honor of the governor. Four hours notice for such a happening was not much but we managed as it was at the same time a nice chance to meet the colleagues again. I picked up Captain Peter Harris from the Westerdam at 11.30 with his staff and we all marched to the restaurant in the square where it was all taking place. We had to sit through numerous speeches, Mexicans do like to talk, all extolling the virtues of Costa Maya. However they had reason to be proud. The place had been restored in record time for Mexican standards, 1200 people were back at work and the government was granting $15 mln to improve the area around Costa Maya so that the guests can also enjoy the nearby town of Muhalal. Something that will work when the mega liners start to arrive. Next week the Independence of the Sea will dock for the first time, and although Costa Maya can cope with the numbers, quite a few guests will enjoy exploring outside the resort.

Meeting the people who run the place gave me the chance to push for some extra bollards for securing the ship on dock 2. When they rebuilt the piers, they lengthened them, but in a layout made for the mega liners. For a small cruise ship as the Veendam (54000 tons is considered small to medium nowadays) the gap between the stern and bow bollards is too long and I cannot position the Veendam where I would like it best. With the addition of an extra bollard I could slide the Veendam another 45 feet aft. Further behind the pier and also a little bit closer to the end, thus less distance for the guests to walk. The president of the cooperation was all in favor, so next week the pilot and I are going to figure out the best placement for the two new ones.

The Veendam pulled out of the pier shortly after 1600 hrs. sailing straight into Cold front number four. Thus we will have a wobbly trip back to Tampa. Depending on how fast the weather front moves south, we might have or might not have another windy arrival in Tampa on the coming Sunday.
The weather will remain sunny, but with 40 knots winds and 10 feet of swell it will be wobbly.