Days 10-14: sea daze (OTW to Hawaii)

Sea day 1:
Did bugger all.
Sluggish as, apart from a walk around the deck (x3 laps = 1 mile), we did a bit nothing. OK, we ate and read a bit, and that was tough going.

With days like this I should work?

In the evening we caught the end of one of the acts on board (two British comedians, Hope & Keen, (who must be the last survivors of vaudeville - about 80 years old, and the jokes were older) popped into the nightclub for the tail end of a Karaoke competition (urk) and collapsed into blissful sleeeeeeep.

Sea day 2:
This day started out on a more interesting note when we woke up at 5am to realise the aircon wasn’t working. Or the lights. Or, for that matter, the ship’s engines.

Our room during the power outage

Neither Emma nor I pretend to be experts in things nautical, but we were fairly certain this wasn’t normal. We went for a wander around the deck, and were surprised to find perhaps 40 or 50 other people up and about trying to find out what was on. Which was nothing.
Hoping one of the things that was on was coffee, we went to the bistro on level 14. It was dead too. Probably just as well because the one thing this ship really can’t get right is coffee.
We sat on the deck and watched the stars for a while. It was rather pretty, although the thought of being adrift at sea for two or three weeks slighlty undermined the experience.
I predicted that eventually the captain would make an announcement along the lines of “we’ve had a slight mechanical malfunction, but it’s nothing to worry about. It’s fixed now, and we don’t expect any further difficulties.”
About five minutes later the captain made an announcement: “we’ve had a problem with the power management computer, but it’s nothing to worry about. It’s fixed now, and we don’t expect any further difficulties.”*
So my prediction was close. The captain’s prediction wasn’t quite as accurate, as the power immediately died within seconds of his finishing his announcement. I suspect this may have been followed by rather harsh words on the bridge.
They fixed it a few minutes later, saving the Chief Electrician a short walk along a plank. All up the power was out from 4-6am.
(Incidentally Emma had another theory about the reasons for the rationale for the captain’s announcement: “I’m awake, and you eff-ing will be too”.)
Truth is, it was kind of fun. It might not have been so fun if we were still floating midway between California and Hawaii.
During the day we attended three lectures (the flowers of Hawaii, shield volcanoes of the Pacific, and East Asian geo-politics). The first two were excellent, the last a bit light-on.
As this was also a formal night we got all glammed up, and later caught a show by an illusionist named Garry Carson, whose claim to fame is that he did 8,000 shows at the MGM in Las Vegas over 2 1/2 years (the maths are interesting) who was exceptionally entertaining.

Sea day 3:
The highlight: another three times around the deck. Woo-hoo.
Actually the real highlight is that Emma was getting much better, and was finally feeling rested & starting to fully enjoy the cruise. She is no longer in peril of me putting a pillow over her face to *stop the infernal coughing*.
We attended another lecture (this one on Tsunamis), and read some more (“Film Directing, Shot by Shot” for me, Harry Potter for Emma), and I did a bit of sound editing for an animation sound track in the afternoon.
I suspect this isn’t how most people spend their holidays (except for the Harry Potter bit, which is an extremely popular book on this ship), but it works fine for me.
In the evening they showed the AFL Grand Final in the Vista Room, where perhaps 100 Aussies watched Geelong bitch-slap Port Adelaide into defeat like the whining little girls they are.

Too many Aussies, not enough football

The biggest thrashing in AFL history made it hardly worth watching. The only thing making the game watchable was Channel Ten’s brilliant coverage.
(I figure a bit of judicious sucking-up will help ensure my job is still there at the end of the cruise.)

Sea day 4:
Slackest day yet.
After another three laps around the ship, and then more reading and eating.
Our addiction to lectures continued: Hawaiian birds for Emma, Pacific Ocean geology for me.
But the coolest thing was that all day we’ve been spotting flying fish. Those little buggers can cover a surprising distance. A completely new thing for both of us.

A shot of the ocean where the flying fish where just moments before. Speedy little things.

Otherwise Emma sat on the deck and has almost finished Harry Potter, while I’ve been reading my film book and one on insight meditation.
Tomorrow is Hilo, so an early night tonight.

* I suspect the literal translation of this is “we’ve had a problem (translation: we were dead in the water) with the power management computer (translation: it blew up), but it’s nothing to worry about (translation: we ran around in a panic for half an hour before someone worked out what the problem was). It’s fixed now (translation: we got lucky and dodged a bullet), and we don’t expect any further difficulties (translation: I’m getting off this trash hauler as soon as we hit Hawaii).”
NB Emma wants me to make it clear this is a beautiful ship, and not a floating bucket of bolts. Since she is looking over my shoulder I figure I better humour her.