Call me Phileas

4 December 2008

Cozumel, Mexico

I was really looking forward to Cozumel. It was one of the ports that I visited so often on the last contract and the memories of all that cheap Mexican food and cheap beer while sitting at an outside table in the sunshine…well, they were something I was looking forward to revisiting. Unfortunately the weather had other ideas. The night before we were supposed to arrive we had been warned that we were going to be entering a late storm that seemed to be centred over Cozumel, or may as well have been centred there for the effect it was going to have on us. The warning was that if the weather was bad enough to keep us from anchoring then we would have a sea day instead and head off for Port Lauderdale early. Looking at an early start at work if that was the case I went to bed hoping for fine weather, not just for the opportunity at Mexican food but also so I wouldn’t have to wake up early.

No such luck. The phone went and I got the call that I didn’t want. I showered, shaved and headed up to the casino. It turned out that we were just offshore from Cozumel, along with about half a dozen other ships, all checking out the conditions. One by one we all turned around and headed back out to sea. The conditions were rough, no doubting it; I can only imagine what it would have been like trying to get people in and out of the tenders under those conditions. So many people on shore must have stood and watched all that potential revenue sailing away that I have to feel for them but the decision was made and all the ships headed off.

It was interesting working in these conditions. This is the first time that I have had a window in the casino so that I can actually the see the sea. I can crane my neck around the end of the cage and look out at the water and see the waves.

It was rough but it was also really amazing to watch the waves, the white caps and even the bursts of spray that seemed to reach up as far as the window, which is pretty impressive given that we are on deck 5. The worse the conditions got the better the decision not to try and tender seemed to be.

For me in the cage the conditions meant having to watch out for drawers that slid open unexpectedly. I quickly learned that it was much better to keep them locked than to turn around and impale myself on one that had opened behind me. Whoever designed the cage, apart from not expecting someone of my size to have to work in it, designed it in such a way that the drawers are the perfect height to impact the worst place when you walk into them. It may be hard to tell from the written word but I’m probably speaking at least half an octave higher than I used to.

The other interesting thing about conditions like this was simply walking around. It wasn’t so obvious while I was at work, maybe because of the height of the casino in the ship or the fact that it is amidships, but walking to my cabin became something of a new experience. I don’t know if you’re familiar with the “vomit comet”, the plane that NASA uses to give astronauts a taste of weightlessness but that’s the best example I can think of to describe how it felt.

My cabin is in the very bow of the ship and as we headed into waves and the ship pitched up and down there was this fascinating rollercoaster effect. One second, as the ship would reach the peak of a wave, there would be a few moments of seeming weightlessness before the ship would head down into a trough. Then the G’s would take effect, I would feel much heavier and taking a step would require an effort. All in all a fascinating thing and as I weaved up and down the corridors I would watch others struggling and I would try and paste an expression on my face as if to say that this was something that I did all the time. Somehow I doubt I succeeded and I probably looked as funny as everyone else.

The one thing I can feel grateful about is that I didn’t feel sick at all. My roommate did but I didn’t have any ill effects and I’m glad to know now that there is probably nothing I can’t handle. Bring on the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.

The only bad thing, apart from missing the Mexican food, was that it was a bit difficult to sleep. The movement and the sound of the ship hitting the waves was a bit of a distraction and not conducive to the best night’s sleep. Our leaving Cozumel early did mean that we got back to Port Lauderdale early, about midnight as it turned out, and being docked at a nice non-moving pier did make for a better night’s sleep in the end. Having port manning today also meant that I could sleep in and not feel guilty about missing out on time off the ship.

So here I sit, passengers getting onboard the ship above me and settling in for an around-the-world cruise. It’s always interesting the first day of a cruise, seeing what sorts of people you’re going to be sharing “your” ship with but it’s especially interesting this time because of the length of the cruise. Can’t wait to see how it all pans out.