Next Leg: Some Doubling Back

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CS:
Tues 7 April: Shore leave finished at 10am; expecting to leave this afternoon. We got underway about 2pm; we had a wonderful view of the docks, the river and Hamburg as we sailed into the Elbe and out to sea. It seems Craig’s jinx (which operated to ensure that everything interesting happens in the dark) has indeed been allayed. The weather was still bright so we could see clearly the city skyline and the lovely settlements along the length of the river. There were strips of beach at some points along the shore not far from the city and numerous Hamburg citizens (Hamburgers?) were enjoying their first warm spring evenings, on the sand, along the paths and in the waterside cafes.
Wed 8 April: Daf is excited about leaving the ship in Port Said to return to his family, he teases that we will have to break in a new steward. The North Sea is again grey and lively, the weather rainy and bleak. Around 9am we were just off the Dutch coast; nothing to see except grey. But we did get a splendid view of the white cliffs as we went through Strait of Dover around 3pm. Craig, eat your heart out. Captain has warned the weather might get a bit rough crossing Bay of Biscay tomorrow.
Thursday 9 April: This morning we are just getting to the end of English Channel and will change course in about 2 hours to head more southerly to cross the Bay of Biscay. The sea is a bit lumpy but not uncomfortable now but when we turn we may get that roll the Captain talked about. The sky is overcast with broken cloud cover and some lighter blue patches. We went back to the bridge after dinner - we are about halfway across the Bay of Biscay and the roll has started to pick up. The sea roll lasted all night.
Good Friday: It’s Easter-time. We are about to turn more southerly to track down the Portuguese Coast, unfortunately when we turned the rolling motion did not abate much. The sun on the windows to the cabin is quite strong, the weather is fine and the sea fairly calm, but we are just hitting the swell abeam, giving the constant roll which is so unpleasant. The roll kept up most of the day making it nearly impossible to do much other than read (not really a hardship) but the worst of it abated by midnight.
Sat 11 April: We both slept well and missed breakfast. The sea is calm and flat with a long shallow steady roll from the stern, a much more pleasant motion. The sun is bright and on the bow, so clearly we have changed from a southerly to a more eastern track. We have just rounded the tip of Spain and moved into the Gulf of Cadiz, heading for the Strait of Gibraltar.

PP:
Tuesday 7th April: As we progressed down the Elbe, we passed a large airfield on the southern riverbank which isn’t the Hamburg International - it looked more like an Airbus manufacturing facility. I don’t quite know why I thought this: maybe the number of very large hangars with “Airbus” on the side, plus several of those especially designed large transport aircraft with the hugely bulging upper fuselage (for carrying fuselage bits) parked all over the place gave some hint?? In addition, there seemed to be a terminal further over which could possibly be a freight terminal suggesting a wider use for this facility. No pictures of this, as Susan had the camera on the ship’s other side, and we went past quite quickly.

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Photos

River Muscle
Waiting for Work

But does it float?
On the Elbe River