The Tasman Sea, called “The Ditch” by Aussies and Kiwis, has the reputation for being one of the most unpredictable and treacherous bodies of water in the world. I don’t remember 
all the factors which cause it but mostly I think it has to do with its location between the Pacific and Antarctica. Lots of currents flowing in lots of directions, strong winds coming from the south, etc. This may all be a bunch of crap but I believe that it’s at least partially correct. When I first began researching this trip, the Tasman Sea kept popping up in the reviews posted by other cruisers. There was an occasional smooth crossing but, more frequently, the reviews were not very good. And now it was our turn. We were “crossing the Ditch”, about twelve hundred miles of it, on our way to Burnie, Tasmania.
Leaving the coast of New Zealand, we headed due west into seventy mile per hour winds and fifteen foot seas. Unfortunately, it didn’t get much better over the next couple of days although the winds did eventually die down somewhat. Oh, I almost forgot something: this area is known as the “Roaring Forties” after its latitude. The “Roaring” part is easy to understand.
Because I had opted for “As You Wish” dining, there were many nights when I didn’t eat in the dining room. So I can’t really say what happened during the rough weather. But one of my “roll call” friends, Robin Heuer, kept a diary of her trip and she has a wonderful description of the experience. I’m going to “borrow” some of her narrative (I don’t think she’ll mind):
“It got VERY rough. Walking became difficult. But it was complete mayhem in the dining room! The ship was rolling from side to side, followed by pitching from front to back, followed by some really strange lurching. It was the lurching that caused the problems. Dinners and glassware and anything not secured started flying off tables and steward’s stations.
The dining room started out about two-thirds full but was nearly a ghost town by the end. I’m sad to say we lost Aunt Brigitte. She didn’t get the Bonine onboard soon enough. But you know it’s rough when your dining room steward offers you a seasickness pill and takes one himself. He declared, ‘This is the first time I’ve been in the Australian Sea, and it’s very rough’. Yes, Alberto, it is.”
Robin, thanks for the excellent description! There were a few other casualties of the rough seas, in addition to the dining room. Of course, items in passenger cabins ended up on the floor. However, the two big things were the shops and the entertainment. Items in the shops which had been on display were now all over the floor. And the
liquor display case also tipped over, smashing a number of bottles of very high-priced booze! The rest of the shops closed after that disaster. The entertainment for the evening was scheduled to be a big production show with the Volendam cast but they felt it was too dangerous to attempt in such high seas. So a banjo player was substituted for that night. The cast show was held several days later. Oh yeah, one last thing: there was no orange juice at breakfast one morning. Seems that so many glasses had been broken, there weren’t enough to go around. That was a first for me!
I’m glad that I’m not prone to seasickness but it’s beginning to get tiresome. I’m ready for calmer seas…..
all the factors which cause it but mostly I think it has to do with its location between the Pacific and Antarctica. Lots of currents flowing in lots of directions, strong winds coming from the south, etc. This may all be a bunch of crap but I believe that it’s at least partially correct. When I first began researching this trip, the Tasman Sea kept popping up in the reviews posted by other cruisers. There was an occasional smooth crossing but, more frequently, the reviews were not very good. And now it was our turn. We were “crossing the Ditch”, about twelve hundred miles of it, on our way to Burnie, Tasmania.Leaving the coast of New Zealand, we headed due west into seventy mile per hour winds and fifteen foot seas. Unfortunately, it didn’t get much better over the next couple of days although the winds did eventually die down somewhat. Oh, I almost forgot something: this area is known as the “Roaring Forties” after its latitude. The “Roaring” part is easy to understand.
Because I had opted for “As You Wish” dining, there were many nights when I didn’t eat in the dining room. So I can’t really say what happened during the rough weather. But one of my “roll call” friends, Robin Heuer, kept a diary of her trip and she has a wonderful description of the experience. I’m going to “borrow” some of her narrative (I don’t think she’ll mind):“It got VERY rough. Walking became difficult. But it was complete mayhem in the dining room! The ship was rolling from side to side, followed by pitching from front to back, followed by some really strange lurching. It was the lurching that caused the problems. Dinners and glassware and anything not secured started flying off tables and steward’s stations.
The dining room started out about two-thirds full but was nearly a ghost town by the end. I’m sad to say we lost Aunt Brigitte. She didn’t get the Bonine onboard soon enough. But you know it’s rough when your dining room steward offers you a seasickness pill and takes one himself. He declared, ‘This is the first time I’ve been in the Australian Sea, and it’s very rough’. Yes, Alberto, it is.”
Robin, thanks for the excellent description! There were a few other casualties of the rough seas, in addition to the dining room. Of course, items in passenger cabins ended up on the floor. However, the two big things were the shops and the entertainment. Items in the shops which had been on display were now all over the floor. And the
liquor display case also tipped over, smashing a number of bottles of very high-priced booze! The rest of the shops closed after that disaster. The entertainment for the evening was scheduled to be a big production show with the Volendam cast but they felt it was too dangerous to attempt in such high seas. So a banjo player was substituted for that night. The cast show was held several days later. Oh yeah, one last thing: there was no orange juice at breakfast one morning. Seems that so many glasses had been broken, there weren’t enough to go around. That was a first for me!I’m glad that I’m not prone to seasickness but it’s beginning to get tiresome. I’m ready for calmer seas…..
No comments:
Post a Comment