Cruise Day 9 - Scenic cruising Cape Horn

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Damn it, damn it, DAMN IT, we reached Cape Horn right on time this morning just after 7.30am and I was still confined to quarters. Rounding Cape Horn was one of the events on this trip that I was most excited about. I talked with Bernie about whether to sneak out of the cabin for a few minutes but, being such a compliant person, I did the right thing and stayed confined. Bernie went out to the bow to take photographs. Our stateroom is on the port side of the ship and as we were sailing east to west past the horn it was to starboard. Grrr! I was positively itching to throw on some clothes and my puffer jacket and head to starboard.

At 7.59am Captain PJ sounded the ship's horn to signify our passing from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. Then, bless him, Captain PJ turned the ship on a sixpence and there it was, right outside our stateroom window, Cape Horn!! I even had an uninterrupted view of it for a couple of minutes before everyone rushed around from starboard to port. Out of the way you inconsiderate people, some of us can't leave our cabin and we're trying to see the event too!! We then sailed west to east and at 8.08am Captain PJ blew the horn again to acknowledge that we had passed from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean.

At 8.15am the Medical Centre rang and found me in my cabin where I was supposed to be! Hmmn, if I had snuck out would I have been back in the stateroom at 8.15am or would I have still been outside listening to Ryan tell us over the PA that we were very lucky to be experiencing an exceptionally fine and clear morning for rounding the horn? The nurse asked if I was symptom free this morning so I said yes. She told me she would ring again at 9.00am and release me from quarantine if I was still symptom free.

Yay, two things to be excited about: I would shortly be allowed out of confinement and visibility was excellent and the ocean(s) not too wild. In fact, the conditions were so favourable that Captain PJ held the ship just off the horn for 10-15 minutes - purely for our sightseeing pleasure - which was very exciting. What would Captain Cook and all those other adventurous explorers from the age of sail have thought of standing off Cape Horn simply to sightsee? In their day it was quite literally a life and death undertaking to round the horn and pass from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans.

I had my shower so that I would be ready for the call from the medical centre at 9.00am. My temperature was still just slightly elevated (about 99°F) so I threw down a couple more NON- ASPIRINS and I started filling in the questionnaire I was told I would have to hand in as part of my release paperwork. What a chore - I was supposed to try to remember every morsel of food that had passed my lips for the three days prior to the onset of symptoms!! I finished the questionnaire about 9.15am and still there was no follow-up call from the nurse.

Note: After photographing the packaging with my iPhone and then zooming in on the photograph I can finally see that I have been taking Acetaminophen - so ... none the wiser really.

At 9.30am I called the Medical Centre because I desperately wanted to be released back into the general population. The nurse said - so you haven't had any diarrhoea since 9.00am yesterday? Yes, that's right, I said. Maybe a little bit of a white lie, but there was no way I was spending another day in quarantine!! I only stretched the truth by about six hours and decided I could live with that!! The nurse cleared me to leave the cabin, but reminded me to treat my digestive system gently - no sauces, no spices, no dairy, no fibre and not too much of anything.

OK, OK, OK, let's go to the Lido and have breakfast! Soooooo much food, so little that would be suitable for me! I finally decided I could manage a waffle and a cup of tea - which was way more interesting than the green apple and dry crackers I had for breakfast yesterday.

After cleaning our teeth we rugged up and I went outside for the first time since Saturday morning. It was rather rough this morning which meant that it was sort of raining sea spray on the starboard side of the lower promenade deck. Undeterred, we set out to complete four laps of the deck. The promenading was OK except for the starboard forward quarter which was like waking through a light rain shower, but salty. After three laps we decided to pack it in and go back inside.

I may have been released from our cabin, but the HAZMAT team hasn't yet been stood down! I've lost track, but I think they've been coming in morning, noon and night to sanitise the cabin. The supervisor told us that we would be removed from their list at the end of today and the cabin stewards in our corridor will resume normal cleaning services. So I'm reasonably confidant that our cabin is reasonably clean - it's just the rest of the disease ridden ship I have to worry about. Germy handrails everywhere (ugh!), germy chairs that have to be touched to pull them out from the table and pull them back in (ick!), germy menus in the Rotterdam Dining Room that have passed through how many hands before being handed to me (blagh!)??

I was already paranoid about getting sick before getting sick - washing my hands, washing my hands, washing my hands AND sanitising with Purell AND avoiding raw and undercooked foods and generally trying to choose what I thought would be 'safe' foods - now I'm worried about anything that I can't eat with a knife and fork! My theory on how I got sick is that some dirty bugger with diarrhoea didn't wash his/her hands and then touched a handrail, chair or menu that I then touched before using my hands to eat something and ... there you have, Tracey down with a tummy bug!

My first day back out in circulation coincided with a day at sea so I had run of ship, but no opportunity to get ashore. The day passed quickly enough, but the sea was increasingly rough, probably as much pitching and rolling as we have experienced so far. Quite a few of the others were on the Kwells - and off alcohol - but I've been feeling OK so I have been able to spare my liver from dealing with Meclozine Hydrochloride BP (Active ingredient in 'Sea-Legs') on top of Loperamide Hydrochloride (Imodium) and the Acetaminophen. I'm waiting until tomorrow before I have a wine though! I definitely do not want a relapse!!

During the day we negotiated the Strait of Le Maire. I wish I'd known as I would have taken a bit more notice! I was sure the map near the Front Office showed us looping back around the other way, but today's sailing path quite clearly indicated that we came through the strait. I guess my main interest is that our navigation of the passage was so effortless, so un-noteworthy in fact, that it wasn't even mentioned in shipboard commentary. That makes it considerably different from when Cook passed through the strait in the Endeavour - heading for Cape Horn in January 1769 - when his efforts were hampered by foul weather, violent currents and fearsome rocks. In fact he waited for four days for the wind and tide to be favourable for his successful navigation of the strait.

The day concluded with the group welcoming me back to the dining room after two evenings absent. They said they had missed my company and that I was looking much better than in my Proof of Life photo!! Following the Medical Centre's advice, I skipped entree, had a very small serve of scallops with rice for main and then treated myself to a passion fruit sorbet to finish.

The night found us sailing at an average speed of 17.5 knots towards the Falkland Islands. The weather forecast is good so we are looking forwards to going ashore and seeing the penguins!



Steps 5,908 (4.30km)

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Comments

[Caroline Brunner]

Cape Horn
Yes, you were really lucky with such mild weather rounding the Horn. When I did it [2013] the seas were quite rough and the Horn wasn't nearly as clear as it was for you because of the sea spray. You certainly have experienced some wonderful weather for that part of the world. Glad you're home now BUT I'm off tomorrow night for 10 weeks so we'll have to catch up when I get back end June. Ciao