First of four sea days between Madeira and Bermuda

Friday, November 04, 2016
Open Sea, International
The wind is picking up and we can hear higher waves. We’re
supposed to hit a storm, or part of a storm tomorrow . The anticipation is worse
than anything. First time on a ship, first time in the Atlantic, and we’re
supposed to hit part of a storm.

How’s my tummy? A lot of discomfort is psychological. At the
first pitch and rolling, I bought wrist bands and motion ease oil to put behind
my ears. They worked perfectly. I want to avoid Bonine if possible.

 Then I asked Jesse’s father, a doctor, if I
had placed my wrist bands correctly. He told me that wrist bands were purely psychological and if I thought they we’re working, then they worked.

With that news, I felt queasy for about twenty minutes until I told myself to get over it and feel
good. So I did. It’s important not to fear seasickness, not to fear the long
transit, not to fear sights such as smoke pouring from the smoke stacks, or the
thought that you are in the middle of the ocean. There are risks in all forms of
transit, so the alternative would be to stay home and do nothing .

First trip to the med center. Jacques had had trouble with
an ear since Barcelona, so he finally saw the doc, who fixed him up, making him
perfect again. All was well afterwards and a 400 euro bill. Travel insurance!

I had better luck at dance exercise class, a cooking demo,
and the movie “Monuments Men” in the large theater in the afternoon. Imagine a
huge theater in the bow of a ship! Fabulous. Now a short rest before the
Froggie’s Trivia match and dinner in the steak house. Did I mention that we make a good team and arein first place. Every day when the standings are announced the “boos” are
getting louder.

 
On our morning walk today, we saw three young men assigned
to painting and patching. The sea air eats at the ship if any metal is exposed.
There’s a coating of salt on the outside handrails at this moment with the sea
so strong. It has to be wiped constantly.

Did I speak about our neighbor today? Jacques looked up from
his desk, which faces our port-side balcony and saw a tanker on the sea about a
mile away headed in the same direction. All the neighbors were on their
balconies talking about the tanker. We passed it going faster. We would see
another three days later in a storm, fully-loaded, rolling fifteen degrees
side-to-side, doing only ten knots (11.5 mph). Talk about misery.
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