Blogs from Pacific, Oceans and Seas - page 13

Splendid day and breezy. Had service in Social Hall at 10.30 but I was so busy reading that I forgot the time and did not care to go in after they had begun. Some heavy squalls in the evening. Had *Moody & Sankey’s hymns in the evening, fairly well sung by two or three people. It is getting very monotonous on board – everybody growling at the heat, the food, the ship and everything else they can growl at. Another warm night. Days run 290 miles. Lat 15.28S & Long 170.44W. Blog note:- Dwight L Moody and Ira D Sankey were American Victorian Evangelists who preached and sang to hundreds of thousands of people in America and England. They evolved and established their own style of Gospel hymn which became very popular and a major force ... read more

Ship rolled a good deal in the night. A heavy swell on. Got up early and had a bath. Passed the Barber’s shop where one of the passengers was lying in a very comfortable chair being shaved. There are only three gentlemen’s bathrooms – one is not usable and the other two are poor. In fact, for the size of the ship, everything on board the “City of New York” is second rate. About noon went into the Baggage Room (or hole) to get some things out of my portmanteau. The confusion was great. – all the luggage being piled indiscriminately, one of the other and the heat, awful. I got what I wanted after half an hour’s hunt and came out dripping. A very warm day – flannels etc., the rage. An American negro presided ... read more

Fine warm day. Mr Hewick lent the “Life of Lord Macaulay” to read. Morning passed that way. Afternoon, some of the passengers indulged in quoits, others in reading and looking on. I was one of the latter. Some excitement was caused immediately after dinner by our meeting the other “City”. We stopped and lowered a boat and the meeting having been given out beforehand, a parcel of letters was despatched to the “City of Sydney” which also pulled up. After an exchange of whistles and sundry greetings by both of the Captains, we parted. Looking into the Smoking Room before turning in, it seemed to me that a good deal of gambling goes on there, chiefly among the Americans of whom there are a great number of board. Turned in by moonlight – warm night. Forgot ... read more

Ship a bit doubtful in the night whether she would go to the bottom or not, finally made-up her mind to remain as much as she could above water but to take plenty on to her. A miserable night. The steamer rolled fearfully and at one time, heavily. Our cabin gave us a good idea of what the Black Hole of Calcutta was like. The timber groaned and creaked in a most unpleasant manner. The screw whirling round in mid-air as the ship heaved, went into the water again with a thud which, one would think, would put the machinery considerably out of gear. As for sleeping, that was almost impossible. One had to keep awake to remain in the bunk, which I had a lively desire to do considering my fall would be some 5ft. ... read more

Having crossed the 180 degree, we have a day to spare and a day like yesterday we could very well have done without. A lovely day today. Up early and had a bath. There seem to be about 100 first class passengers on board. Raffling going on for the number of miles the ship runs each day - some tickets put up for auction afterwards. Spent the afternoon sleeping and reading. Music in the evening and on deck which was crowded with people. Beautiful night but warm. Finished “Coningsby”. Days run 305 miles. Lat 27.44S & Long 178.28W.... read more

Bad night, could not sleep. Ship rolled, some sea on. Got up about 7. Had a bath. Ship rolled more causing all the passengers to disappear, chiefly the ladies. Feeling queer myself, did not go down to lunch. Had our table tickets served out to sit according to numbers. Purser informed me that there is another passenger of the same name as mine but did not know the number of his cabin. After going down to see the place I had assigned me and not liking it, I returned and asked the Purser to give me another seat which he did. Lay down most of the afternoon and afterwards went and sat in the Social Hall. The ship rolled so much that we had some difficulty in keeping our seats, often could not do so. Great ... read more

Place: Middle of the Pacific Ocean APRIL 10th--- So it began…the longest part of the trip. The 10 straight days at sea! Our ship is currently sailing across the Pacific Ocean and it is pretty rocky and miserable! The worst part is that this is when all the real research papers, presentation and finals happen. I somehow picked up a terrible could in Taiwan and haven’t been feeling well. I’m trying to power through it though with naps and tons of cold medicine. To make this part of the voyage less miserable SAS decided to run some fun events this week. Tonight was the SAS Student Film Festival. It was kind of a mix of movies. Most of them made fun of ship life and stuff like that. Others were more artsy and highlighted some of ... read more

In November 2010, Carson and Deb took a trip to the Philippines to do some scuba diving. We flew into Manila, then traveled overland to the southern shore of Luzon Island where we boarded a water taxi to Mindoro Island and the small beach town of Puerto Galera. Shimmering seas and lush mountains surround the small town and three cove shaped beaches, all called Sabang. The boat harbor and our hotel are on the largest. The Atlantis Dive Resort catered to our every need. From small swimming pool, spa, massages, internet, beachside bar and fantastic restaurant, we found we never had to leave the grounds. The staff were incredibly friendly, everyone was on a first name basis. For Carson the diving was fantastic. The coral is still pristine in these waters. The Resorts Master Divers took ... read more

March 28th, 2011 4:00am 25 04.03N 112 35.86W Seas: 3-8 feet & confused Wind 13 knots sailing wing on wing (mainsail & genoa) comments: 'I am in the belly of the beast. I am cold from the night air, I now find myself in darkness. It is warmer here, though I can tell the creature is injured as we sway back and forth, limping to the left. I hear fluid sloshing, bones cracking. I slide and rock back and forth as it continues to fight. I am now warm... I am heaved to one side. I feel someone else is here. He is cold. He must of just been eaten too. He collapses beside me in darkness.. I feel him twitch then go silent. I can hear the beasts labored breaths as the storm rages beyond ... read more

March 26th, 2011 Anchored at Abreojos It is reaching sunset and we are safely anchored at Abreojos. From the 5 mile radius, Brett began his screams of joy, pointing and dancing as he saw the faint outlines of crashing waves near shore. Apparently able to tap into his super-human vision, he exclaimed that there would indeed be surf for all. As our down-wind sail came to an abrupt stop (we simply ran out of wind) and coasted into the bay, we did see that in fact there were some nice peeling waves reaching around the point we are anchored next to. Then the wind gusted to 25 knots and has not let up.. this did not detour Brett our surf nazi, and he screamed, pointed, danced and did a few of his "hooo hooo hooo hooooooo! ... read more