Melbourne to Margaret River

This is now our 3rd sea day and by now our routine should be organised, but no, today was a totally relaxing and very unenergetic day.

Temperature: High 16C/61F, Low 9C/48F

Wind/Weather: Initially 15-20 kts W’ly, building to 30 Kts by early afternoon. Swell increasing to 5m or 17’. Broken overcast

Sunrise/Sunset: 07:16/17:22

Clox: Z+ 9 (no change)

Distance to Noon/Total Distance: 937 miles since departure Melbourne

Navigation

Sea Princess continued steering a W by N’ly course, or about 280 degree across the Great Australian Bight.

Activities

This is a new feature I am adding this morning and it is a copy of the inside pages of the Princess Patter, which is the daily information sheet that provides the schedule of the day’s activities and dining options. The centre two pages list the daily schedule, so I will endeavour to provide copies every day. Hopefully you can read them, as the ship is still performing like a bucking bronco, so taking photos is somewhat challenging and requires rather high ISO and shutter speeds.

Today’s sea routine got off the rails early this morning, as I actually slept in until after 07:00. This is most unusual, as I am normally awake by 05:00, must be the salt air. No point in heading out for a walk at that time, so I planned to get the daily walk in after lunch. Judi was sleeping soundly, so I didn’t have the heart to wake her for the usual breakfast time (always mindful of happy wife, happy life). I worked on the blog until Judi woke shortly before 09:00. This meant I also missed Zumba, by the time we finished breakfast.

AM Trivia was one of the most challenging we have ever attended and it contained questions on both extremes of the difficulty scale, none in the middle. Easy questions were, which country has the Great Barrier Reef and which country has Kiwi birds. Then we had questions that were off the difficult end of the scale – What is the name of the 2 ladies stuck in the US Embassy in Tehran and who was the first elected leader in Taiwan. Our score dropped to a paltry 11/20, while the winners had a very respectable 18/20.

On completion of trivia, it was off to lunch, sitting with 2 other couples and a chap travelling alone. As usual, everyone was from Australia except for us and over the next almost 2 hours we enjoyed some excellent conversation and even some lunch. I had the chicken curry, which was definitely on the mild side and Judi had fish and chips. Getting lots of practice at the lazy day, we returned to the cabin, where I worked on the blog and Judi enjoyed a siesta. We even missed 1/2 price drinks at happy hour in the Wheelhouse Bar, most unusual for a Scotsman. 

Next up was PM Trivia, with the questions being classic trivia, useless information and things you see in every day life. A classic question was, what is the colour of the head on a box of Corn Flakes. BTW, this was one of the many we got wrong, as we barely managed to attain double figures, with 10/20. At least we were one of the few teams that reached double figures, but the winning team had a respectable 15/20. Unfortunately, we started hot the first day, but are slowly sinking into mediocrity. 

At 17:00 we received the daily navigation and weather update from the Captain. It wasn’t good. The winds are freshening, currently about 35 kts and the swell is building. Unfortunately the swells are coming from right ahead, which results in pitching, a motion that the stabalisers are unable to dampen. Stabalisers are very effective in countering rolling, or side to side movement, but not pitching, which is the raising and dropping of the bow. Looks like it will be a bumpy evening, similar to our first night after departing Sydney. To ease the passage, the Captain has reduced speed from 20.5 knots to about 18 knots. 

Quick shot of the ship pounding through the swells. This is just a small sampler, as I’ll have a more impressive shot from early tomorrow morning.

Dinner was extremely interesting, as when we arrived at the table, we found it set for 10 people, which we all agree is much to crowded, especially as most of us chaps are not on the petite side. Fortunately the new couple that arrived for the first time last evening, did not show, so we cleared the extra settings and removed the extra chairs. The Maitre’D was in the dining room, so I asked our Head Waiter if the Maitre’D could come over to the table, as we all wished to voice our concerns. A couple of nights, no problem, but 104 night is clearly unacceptable. The response I got from our Head Waiter is the Maitre’D declines to attend the table and we have to go to him. As the customer, I personally think it is deplorable and avoidance is an extremely poor strategy in dealing with issues. Needless to say, the Corporate Office will be advised and if 10 people turn up at our table, the Maitre’D will resolve, or the Hotel General Manager will be called. 

Regardless, we have a terrific table and everyone participates in some hilarious jokes and other tall tales. The waiter actually asked if we were a group that knew the others prior to boarding and was very surprised when we responded in the negative. This bodes very well for the next 100+ nights.

As another day closes, we bid you farewell, till tomorrow and hope for fair skies and following seas.