Saturday 17 December 1983 – At Sea - Rough Seas Strong Force 8 Winds
When I woke
in the early hours of the morning we were pitching quite a bit and as the cabin
was so far forward, the movement was accentuated. I was rather concerned how we
would all cope with this kind of sea.
When Matt
and Rab woke they were far from happy. I finally got them upstairs to one of
the cooler areas where they felt a little better. I snaffled a couple of rolls
for them from the buffet breakfast which is served on deck each morning and
left them to it while I had my breakfast in the dining room. Two of our table
mates were there – John the English schoolmaster and The Moaner, an
Englishwoman whose name we have not ascertained but who bitches about
everything. She was feeling very ill and left us shortly. Breakfast took an age
because many of the staff were seasick and many of the others were learners.
I began to
have severe doubts about the wisdom of the trip especially after I got back to
my companions and found they were not much better. The final straw for them was
the lifeboat drill. We had to go up, up, up about six flights of stairs, past
several pools of evilly glistening vomit, wearing our outdoor clothes and our
lifejackets. Then we just hung around there. We had worn the warm gear because
our gathering point was out on the deck, but they kept us inside and it got very warm
indeed. To cap it all one of the children vomited just near us and I think that
was the final straw for poor old Rab. I hustled both her and Matt out into the
(very) fresh air of the boat deck.
It was blowing half a gale but we took a turn around the deck. They still
didn’t feel too good, so I went back down to the cabin to fetch the pills
The one
mistake I made was to get some Dramamine from the steward, which I gave to Rab,
while Matt got the Avomine which we had brought with us. He went out like a
light soon after we got back to the cabin and felt much better when we woke up.
Rab couldn’t sleep properly – just dozed – and didn’t make nearly as good a
recovery. While they slept I saw a very interesting film in the cinema about
whales and then went into lunch after reading for a bit. I was actually hoping
to get a lot of reading done on this trip but there is so much entertainment
that I don’t know if I will.
I went into
lunch and our third tablemate was there – an America, also John said to be a
retired real estate man and very pleasant. The Moaner was also there, doped to
the gills. She had gone to the doctor for the seasick injections but instead of
sleeping it off was battling away. Maybe she didn’t want to miss a meal? I took
some crackers and an apple down to my two and was pleased when they managed to
eat this and wash it down with a ginger ale. I got them to their feet and up
onto the Quarterdeck which, due to some quirk of the air-conditioning, is the
coldest deck on the ship. They were soon feeling almost normal – I could tell
because they started arguing.
Matt also
wanted to go off to play the machines but found that some clot of a kid had
managed to short out all the machines – and apparently narrowly missed
electrocuting himself. “He fried the
machines and his hair frizzed out and went pop.” , as Matt’s informant put
it. So we sat and read and watched the passing show for a couple of hours.
It is really
fascinating watching the people on this ship – they are such a diverse mob and
the differing states of dress are incredible. The testing time for the team was
when we went back below to change for dinner. I was very apprehensive, but they
managed it and we all went through to dinner together. The food has been very
good so far and the service improves with every meal.
The Moaner
was in fine form and a bit pissed we thought, being rude to everyone. We can’t
make her out really. She claims to have been everywhere and seen everything but
doesn’t seem to work. She mentioned in passing that she was a guide, but as
English John said on the side, he wouldn’t care to have her guiding him
anywhere!
Dinner over,
and both Rab and Matt ate well, if carefully, we went back to the Double Down
Room to watch the dancing and the cabaret. The main star was a hypnotist who
was quite good, but dragged his act out for far too long.
At lunch
time yesterday the weather was said to be “moderate with a moderate swell”;
today it was “rough sea with strong wind – force 8”. Since the ship was still
moving pretty well, and I thought it might get rougher, I dosed up Matt and Rab
before we went below. The pills seemed to do the trick because they both slept
like logs.
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