This was our first full day in the north Atlantic and what a gorgeous day it was. Sunny skies, temperatures in the mid seventies and a gentle swell coming from the north that gave the ship just enough movement to let everybody know that we are at sea without really affecting anybody by it. The ship is sailing with a full complement of guests. Many of them having sailed on the Veendam in the past and those who did not are here because they just love ocean crossings.

Last night we had our welcome onboard party, when most guests are coming through the receiving line and where I introduce the senior officers and staff. Although I do not remember all the guest names, I can most of the time place a face with a previous cruise and a time of the year. Thus I remembered quite a few people that were onboard during last years thanksgiving cruise and who were then already announcing that they were coming for the crossing.

After clearing the Bahamas we lost the influence of the Gulf Stream current, but we picked up a little bit of the Antilles current which runs NW above the Dominican Republic. However it curls a bit to the East as well, and that gave us during the morning about half a knot of extra speed. Now are sailing in an area that is called the Hatteras Abyssal Plain and there is not much of a significant current here. The description “Plain” is a bit misleading. The ocean floor is not plain or flat at all. However when you look at the contours of the sea bottom on the chart, it looks fairly flat compared to other area’s. The sea reaches depths over here of up to 15000 ft. and if one would look at the Bahamian islands as a mountain range with an elevation of 15000 ft. then elevation on the bottom of the ocean of 1000 ft. makes it look flat by comparison. Further in the ocean the seabed becomes more mountainous again when we sail over the North Atlantic Ridge.

My day today was filled with ships inspections and meetings. It takes a lot of coordination to keep a cruise ship going especially if the ship is moving away from routine voyages.

A challenge that all of us face nowadays is the enormous amount of new rules and regulations that are coming at us all the time. Where in the days of the Titanic the merchant marine world was definitely under regulated, hence the disaster that took place, now there seem to be a rule and or checklist for everything and the Captains function becomes more and more one of an auditor, making sure that the ship complies with everything applicable. As every country in the world and often also Federal States or provinces inside a country seem to have their own rules it can be quite a puzzle to figure out which rule applies where under what circumstance.

We also saw the first flying fish and some porpoises. The view from the bridge is ofcourse the best there is but with the upper cabins having balconies the chance that guests see more and more of the nature around us is getting bigger and bigger. Unfortenately it is impossible to announce these sightings. By the same that the guest has arrived at a viewpoint the animal has most likely disappeared already.