SilverSea really does a good job of activities for sea days.
There’s everything from lectures to line dancing, as well as a variety of
movies and other videos, books, games, and of course great food. Saturday was a
scheduled sea day, and we all enjoyed the available amenities. Collette visited
the spa and came back glowing, and I know there was some shopping. Cathy, Larry
and I have joined a trivia team, and are in second place after 2 days of play.
The winning team really is brilliant, but we’re determined to catch and even
pass them. I also played some bingo and won one card. For most of the game I
thought I must have a completely different set of numbers than the ones they
were using! Just as we sat down for dinner, one of the servers spotted some
whales near the ship. We rushed to the window and could just see them moving,
one spouted, but none really surfaced. The seas continue rough, and the winds
are still very strong, so it was a restless night.
Sunday morning we arrived at Dutch Harbor in very poor
weather.
[Above 2 file photos]The captain and local pilot tried twice to anchor the ship in the
harbour, but the anchor would not hold. It was not safe to stay, so they turned
the ship around and left the harbour without letting us go ashore. We did get a
good view of the small community from the ship.
The winds were so strong that
the crew tied down all the deck chairs, but some of them broke loose and
actually became airborne. I don’t know if any actually went over the side, but
for a few moments it looked and sounded quite dramatic. Some people saw a whale
or whales jumping from the water, but we all missed that sight. The crew
quickly organized alternative activities for us. I joined a line dancing class.
It was kind of hilarious as the ship lurched about and we all tried to hold our
places and balance while remembering the steps. Very good exercise. There was
an amusing explanation of the International Date Line and what happens to the
day we will lose this week. (We’ll get it back on the way home from Japan.) This
afternoon we’ll do bingo and trivia again. It’s certainly relaxing being at
sea, and although most of the time we can see nothing but water, it’s quite a
stunning sight. We’re in the Bering Sea, and it’s very grey and steely, with
the sun blazing across it and constant choppy wave action. Given that the waves
are about 3 – 4 metres high, the ship is surprisingly stable, although we’re
all glad we don’t have to pass any kind of sobriety test involving walking a
straight line. The next few days will be at sea as we make our way to
Petropavlovsk Russia. We will cross the date line along the way and lose one
day before we get there on Friday[we are losing an hour a day for the next few days - should help our jet-lag]