March 31, 2016

World Cruise 2016 Day 86

Day 86 – At Sea. We are headed southwesterly just off the coast of Oman in the Arabian Sea. Sea conditions are good with about 3 foot seas. Air temperature is 79 and the humidity 85%. Winds are directly on our bow at about 25 mph, and the skies are mostly sunny. The vibration in my cabin tells me we are going faster than 18 knots, the data channel confirms our actual speed of 20. There is no pitch or roll to the ship.


As usual I went to the Lido for dinner last night. What wasn't usual was the number of other passengers there. It was absolutely packed. Several factors contributed to the crowd. First I was about two hours later than my usual 5:30 time, when I am one of the first customers, last night I probably arrived at a peak time. Additionally with the sailaway not ending until 6:30, I am sure many of the passengers went to the party and then went to the Lido instead of changing for the dining room.


As we left Muscat we were accompanied by two naval vessels, one from the USA, the other from Iran. There were also three Oman vessels in port in Muscat. Maybe the entire Oman navy?


There are two speakers I will listen to today, Vivian Rowan is doing a presentation on lost treasures around the world, and Timothy Runyan will talk about Oman's contributions to early shipbuilding and seafaring including the building of a vessel to replicate the voyage of Sinbad the Sailor.


I probably will spend some time this afternoon sorting thru the pictures I have taken. At last count I have just under 5000, a ridiculous number considering I will only post about 200 on this blog when I get home. But looking at it in a positive way, maybe I will get lucky, and 1 out of 25 pictures will be worth sharing.


It has been so long since I have read anything on my Kindle, I have forgotten what book I started to read two and a half months ago. It really doesn't matter as I have a feeling I won't have any reading time in the next month either. I have remembered to keep it charged, as the battery runs down even when it is powered off.


After lunch I spend about an hour walking around. We pass a few container ships headed NorthEast, and occasionally a ship going in our direction at a slower speed. I also spotted a large school of either small sharks or small dolphins They were too far from the ship to be sure what they were other than having a fin. I'm sure there have been numerous others, but I just wasn't looking at the right spot at the right time. Surprisingly the amount of trash in the ocean has decreased significantly the last few days. I have no explanation as to why.


Our entertainer tonight is singer and pianist Donna Groom, and her drummer husband. I remember all of the songs she sings from the 60's and 70's but don't remember the group she sang with, the Skyliners.


Tomorrow is another alarm clock morning. We are expected to arrive in Salalah, Oman "when we get there" to quote the daily program On Location.