There has been no change in our plans and we are still on the way to Egypt. Thus this morning at 06.00 we changed course under the South West point of Crete and are now heading on a straight course towards the Sea buoy of Alexandria. I am aiming for a pilot time at 04.30 and if the pilot is on time, then it will mean that we will be docked by about 06.15 hrs. Our tours are leaving at 0700 hrs. and I want to make sure that they will not be delayed due to clearance procedures. Most of them are full day tours and I need them back on board on time as otherwise it might endanger the arrival time in Port Said, where we also have full day tours. The localized windy weather is causing strange currents around Crete and last night we had for awhile 2.5 knots going with us. Then during the day that diminished but we were then propelled forward by a following wind as the wind shifted to the North West. When this wind died away in the late afternoon, we suddenly got the current against us, losing about 2 knots in the hour. That lasted for about three hours and then all was normal again. No wind and no current.
In the mean time the bridge was keeping a good look out, not only over the water but also over the sky. Would we see one of the surveillance planes or not? We were sailing in their flight path, roughly between Malta and Crete and you cannot say that we are not conspicuous with our gleaming white superstructure. Nothing was seen or heard. The sound of the plane is quite often the first thing that indicates its presence as most pilots like to approach with the sun in the back, or in the ships dead angle so that an unnoticed approach is possible. With their high speeds then they are suddenly there and “buzz” the ship. However all remained quiet. Whether they were on duty somewhere else, or whether our reporting had done the trick, no plane was seen. Also on the radar no ships were observed to be going in the direction of Libya. Maybe coincidence or maybe the blockade worked. There were more than enough ships on the radar travelling through the Med to expect one or two to be coming or going from that country. At least under normal circumstances.
One of the early Holland America Line posters. Early PR. combining Dutch tradition with the longing for the New World.
Today is the 18th of April and that means that Holland America celebrates her 138th. birthday. Our initial beginnings started on 8 Feb. 1871 when the company’s forerunner the CV Reuchlin, Plate & Co was founded but we keep the date of 1873 as the official one as that was the day that the company was officially incorporated as a public company . Two ships, the Rotterdam I and Maas (later Maasdam I) were taken over and two more ships added (W.A Scholten and P.C Caland) to make a regular Trans Atlantic service possible. As it was a sea day and as there was room in the daily program, I gave my Holland America History lecture. I have about 10 passenger ship history lectures in my repertoire but today there was of course only one option. So we spent 90 minutes following the development of the company and highlighted the various Dam ships of the past and present. What I find one of the most fascinating things about the historical progress of the ships, is the ‘elbow room” on board or the space per guest. This is called the space ratio and is found by dividing the Gross Tonnage of the ship (which is not a weight but a volume measurement) by the basic bed complement. That gives for the Rotterdam II a ratio of about 4.3 (due to the high number of emigrants onboard) and the Prinsendam of 48, which is the highest in the fleet ever. But then the Rotterdam II would have easily fitted inside the hull of the Prinsendam to start with.
Today was also the Seder dinner for the Jewish community onboard. My wife and I were previleged to be been invited by the Rabbi and it was the first time ever that we could attend this celebration. The whole portisde Lido was full, approx. 130 guests and not all of them Jewish. A lot of guests came along with their Jewish Friends or grabbed the opportunity to witness this ritual which is one of the binding factors of the jewish community abroad. On the longer cruises, Holland America ensures that we have representatives of the main faiths on board. Jewish, Roman Catholic and a Protestant rep. (any background will do here, as long as they respect the various factions inside Protestantism) There main duty is to conduct services and to look after the spiritual well being of the guests during the cruise. Among ourselves we normally call them the Holy Trinity but they call themselves the God Squad. The other two had also been invited by the Rabbi and they graciously attended. The whole ritual, including, the dinner took about 2.5 hours and then it was 8 pm.
Time for a check on the bridge, fill out the night order book and go to bed. The telephone will ring at 03.15 tomorrow morning for the approach to the pilot station.
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