Wednesday, 9/16/15 1:00PM
Last night was one if the roughest I’ve ever enduring on a ship of any size. It was cold, raining with winds gusting to 85 kts, averaging around 60 kts.
I’m assuming many passengers had their heads in wastebins as doors swung open and slammed shut and loose items slid back and forth on bureau tops.
I had taken a meclizine (for nausea, just in case), plus a mild sleeping pill, and managed to sleep through the worst of it. I’m embarrassed to admit that the eery banging, squeaks and groans of this old ship, combined with the sound of the surf smashing against the hull and the violent thrashing about, had me fairly freaked out.
My cabin steward, Warman, poked his head in my room around 9:30 this morning and awoke me. Clearly, the sleeping pill and the rocking motion left me in a state of blissful sleep longer than I had anticipated. But, we’re at sea. And there is really little to do other than eating and sleeping. I’d done enough of the former and chose to get more of the latter. So, okay, you caught me still in bed at 9:30…what are you going to do about it, throw me overboard?
Regardless, sleeping-in seemed uncool. Especially since Warman only wanted to get into my room so he could clean it and make my bed. So, I pulled on some clothes, hustled upstairs to the Lido Deck and got some fresh squeezed orange juice and a cup of tea. When I returned just over an hour later, he’d come in and done his magic.
As of 1:14 pm, we are just off the coast of Portugal, approximately 70 miles from Lisbon, traveling at an easy pace of 14.4 kts. Heading almost due south at 173°. Winds are out of the E at 28 kts. 39° 09.87′ N 009° 47.15′ W The temperature is in the low 60s and the wind gusts are still potent enough to blow my fat ass off this ship. So we’re restricted from walking around outside on the deck.
The passengers and crew have been growing noticeably prickly during this third day at sea. However the captain has promised that the beatings will continue until morale improves.