Awake briefly at 2am. The boat is moving about a bit. Channel 40 says the wind is blowing out of the south at 40 (again), on our port beam. We are proceeding west ar 14 knots. I thought we were through with this nonsense!
5:30am, showered and waiting Danish at 6. I am anxious to watch our approach to St. Pierre.
In the Lido Awaiting 6am Donuts
6:01am, in the Crow's Nest, alone. It's pitch black outside. The GPS says sunrise is 6:58am. The interior lights are dimmed, but there is enough artificial light to completely destroy night vision. Oh well, daylight can't be that far off.
We are still almost two hours from port, and there is a good book to listen to. I am currently listening to a series of Teaching Company lectures, on the history (not the content) of Darwinian theory.
Surprise! Kathy is awake and has joined me for the arrival in the Crow’s Nest.
7:45am ABORT! ABORT! ABORT!
Our morning advisory group is sitting in the Crow's Nest watching our supposed approach on the GPS, when it became obvious that we were sailing away from, not toward St. Pierre. David is the first to make note of this.
At 8am, our intrepid captain came on the PA to announce a strikeout. First strike, dense fog. Second strike, a broken down pilot boat and no pilot. Third strike, a combination of 40 knot breeze and substandard dockage which is judged inadequate to securely hold this vessel in this breeze.
We Bypass St.Pierre Harbor in the Fog
Since there is no port and few scheduled activities today (it was supposed to be a port day), we thought this would be a good point to include some shots of our room.
Our Boudoir, With Excellent Mattress
Foggy Day View From Our Cabin Window
Sitting Area, Where We Dump All our Stuff
Desk and TV Monitor Where Cable Appeared Sporadically
Ship Navigation Information Was on Channel 40, 24/7
Keith Takes His Own Photograph in The Necessary Room
Deeply Set Bathing Facilities
Are Challenging for Us Shorties
Commodious Closet Space, Sufficient For All the Clothes Kathy Brought
We currently are on a course for Boston, hi-tailing it at 20+ mph. We are trying to beat Hurricane Denny to port.
Room TV Monitor Shows Ship Position and Course11am, still boosting 20+ knots, straight for Boston. We were informed earlier about hurricane Denny, lurking off the US east coast, and threatening to move north. I believe our intrepid captain may be trying to make port early, Friday night instead of Saturday morning, to avoid a schedule delay. I'm told that one thing HAL doesn’t mess with, schedule-wise, is turnaround day. Fine by me, as long as we don't get kicked off early. Kathy is disappointed. She was looking forward to getting off in France.
4:45pm in the Crow's Nest, looking for Nova Scotia on the starboard. Beautiful sunny day. Wind is down to 25, on the port beam, but we now are sheltered in the lee of Cape Breton Island, so we have a smooth ride. Two downsized drinks for the price of one full size drink.
Kathy in the Crow’s Nest For the Last Hurrah
Choppy Seas Homeward Bound
The captain announced we will be docking in Boston at 4am Saturday, just a tad early. The approach in the dark should be spectacular. It will seem plus strange to awake to corn flakes Sunday morning.
Formal dinner 5:30 to 7:30. Escargo was on the menu, as well as baked Alaska. Kathy wanted both. I believe she secretly wanted to dress up one more time. Curmudgeon Keith has warned her that he will be leaving the blazer ashore for our next cruise.
The Presentation of the Baked Alaska
Farewell From Our Chef
Who Apologized For an Ageing Vessel
Keith to bed at 8. Kathy out partying to 10.
Nite-nite.
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