Blogs from Oceans and Seas - page 105

Slow, slow, quick, quick ….. Back in the olden days when everything, of course, was in black and white my friend Bob Withey and I decided to join a ballroom dancing school that was running a series of classes over the Easter holidays. We had no interest in dancing and no idea what it really entailed. The theory was that ballroom dancing classes were an excellent way to meet girls. Haven’t you always found that there is a significant gap between theory and practice when things social and personal are involved? Well, we signed up for the class at the front office and then stumbled in our boyish way into the dance hall. Blimey, strike me down with a fever – girls? The hall was full of them – about 30 all told – and just ... read more

Today was quite something. I remember waking being so excited I would be out in the open sea today. We would have passed Iran sometime overnight and be sailing along the Gulf of Oman into the Arabian Sea. I don’t remember what time I woke, but looking at the photos it must have been just before 7am. Stepping outside onto the balcony, it hit me how humid it was, but also how beautiful the view was. There was this humidity haze over the water that gave it this magical feel. The water also looked like silk and we were just sailing quietly along so peacefully. I think from the entire time I spent on the ship, this moment would have to have been my favorite. It was beyond words and I imagine what everyone dreams of ... read more

True or False 1. The death of Napoleon I seem to remember that, in my youth, there was a television programme (yes, such things did exist in my youth – although on a black and white screen that would sporadically disappear upwards on a never ending cycle) that had as its tag line the following ‘the following story is true, only the names have been changed to protect the innocent’. Well, the tag line of this blog entry might have been ‘the following is true, only the facts have been changed ….’ So, some strange and unusual things about St Helena – you will have to decide which are true. Some have claimed that the term ‘bogeyman’ derives from the time of Napoleon Bonaparte. Although this charming little ditty seems to suggest that parents weren’t unhappy ... read more

Today was my first dive. It was a completely different experience than I’ve had before. I fought terrible seasickness, for one thing. Apparently, the med I am taking for malaria preventative causes seasickness. Must take dramamine. Here is how it goes here with Peri Peri divers: from the dive shop you go down the “stairs of death” to the beach where the boat is being backed into the water by a Tracker. Everyone gets on the sides of the boat and pushes it out (it is a zodiac, but large). The women jump into the boat first, then the men, then you battle the waves to get off of the beach. The water is really pretty calm right now, but it is a bitch to get out of the wave line. Once out of the wave ... read more

Marcel, Ben, Pieter and I went on our first ocean safari today…sadly, no whale sharks. But I did see my first ever Hammerhead shark and Black Fin Reef shark. We also encountered two pods of dolphins, both bottlenose and humpback dolphins. I was not in good position to take photos of anything. The water is full of plankton, so in order to get a good photo you’d need to be within 6 feet, I think. It was my first time in a zodiac (a sort of rubber boat), well not the very first time, the first one was when we went to look at elephant seals in Great White Shark infested waters, so obviously the goal was to stay IN the boat. Getting in and out of a zodiac has its challenges. Also there are no ... read more