Bridge Tour, sea days. hot and humid again...

Friday, February 25, 2011 – at sea

Much more humid weather in the Coral Sea as we head north to the equator. Slept late; exercised; magician entertainer; lunch and dinner with friends; bridge tour (an exclusive!). Quiet day. We’ve been enjoying the company at our dinner table. We have a table for eight and we are only five so I’ve been inviting all kinds of couples and singles to join us for the night; gives us a nice variety of guests to keep the conversation flowing and we are all continuously meeting new people.

Ship’s information: Delivered on Sept 28, 2000. 62,735 gross tonnage. Panama Canal net tonnage: 50.058 tons (should be able to figure out how much it costs it for the transit based on this!). 780 feet long, 21 knots cruising speed, 22.5 maximum knots, fuel oil consumption 96/gallon per mile. Fresh water production 370,000 gallons per day. Fresh water consumption is 170,000 gallons per day. Heavy fuel oil consumption per day is 39,500 gallons with a speed of 21 knots or 90 gallons per mile. We can store 870,000 gallons of heavy fuel oil and 46,000 gallons of marine gas oil.

Saturday, February 26, 2011 – at sea – Off coast of Papua New Guinea in the China Strait

Scenic cruising in the early morning hours so we were very close to land to see the rolling hills and sparsely populated regions. Coconut plantation was off on one side of the ship. Dutch lunch of meatballs, pancakes and apples, battered fish, fried pork and black beans and small round yet flat dough balls with confectionary sugar and syrup. Hot and humid day. Exercised inside and walked the deck. Love walking the deck and keep looking for dolphins and whales! People say they are out there but I’ve only seen them three times…which seems to be a low average since we have been at sea for so many days! Lecture on Papua New Guinea by the US Consult to Borneo and Papua New Guinea. “Classic formal” night tonight with concert pianist, Ms. Tomono Kawamura..

Loving the ship – loving the days at sea – loving the people – loving my group – loving the crew. It is coming together and it is fun. It will be over before we know it.

Check out the blog by one of the people in our group – www.travelpod.com/members/ospry. David lives in FL and writes for the local paper, has published two books and is working on his third. I have not been able to access his blog yet but his wife said he wrote a moving tribute to the citizens of Christchurch.