A message from the Captain...

Friday, March 14. Hot, sunny, calm seas.

Today we received this note from the Captain:

I have received a number of questions concerning our forthcoming transit of the Indian Ocean with regard to the oft publicized 'Piracy' subject. I believe the more you know, the better your understanding of the subject.

First and foremost, given the number of ships which transit these areas, many at slower speeds and with lower freeboards and also taking into consideration the international outcry [on the pirates] if an attack on a cruise ship was successful, the likelihood of being harassed is extremely low.

Vessels with low freeboard, [the distance from the waterline to the deck], which are moving slowly, are main targets. We, on the other hand, are moving at 20 knots and have a high freeboard. Additionally, because of the actions of Naval forces in the area, the number of incidents has been reduced considerably.

Nevertheless, it would be inconsiderate of me were I not to take precautions.

* Amsterdam will be reporting directly to UKMTO in Dubai. UKMTO is the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Organisation who co-ordinate all of the coalition warships in the area assigned to anti-piracy operations. We are being tracked during our entire transit and although we may not see them, warships and AWACs will be monitoring us.

* A close radar watch will be kept on the bridge.

* We have extra security guards and they will be a rotating 24 hour anti-piracy watch.

* We have 4 LRADs [Long Range Acoustic Devices] rigged, manned and ready for immediate use.

* We will also have charged water hoses ready for use on both sides of the promenade deck.

* We have rigged razor wire on our freeboard deck, if a boarding was attempted it would be on deck 3.

In the unlikely event of an attempted boarding, or even if we are suspicious of a vessel, you will hear ONE LONG RING ON THE SHIP'S ALARM - followed by an Announcement; "TESTING, TESTING, TESTING" from the Captain, Staff Captain or Officer on watch on the bridge.

Upon hearing the announcement you are asked to move out of your staterooms, [if in them] and stay in the corridors or an interior space, please move from the outside decks; stay away from windows and doors; please sit down, as any manoeuvre attempted by myself at high speed may result in heeling of the ship, as we will be moving at high speed; with all the generators on-line we are capable of 25 knots.

I will emphasize that these precautions are in the unlikely event of a boarding attempt, so please do not concern yourself unnecessarily and I hope this clarifies the subject for you.

Sincerely, Captain Jonathan Mercer

Master, ms Amsterdam.

END OF THE CAPTAIN'S MESSAGE.

At this writing we are still in The Bay of Bengal. The transit of the Indian Ocean that he refers to is, I think, after Sri Lanka when we head on down  towards South Africa. That is 12 days with three ports. I think that the further we get south, the less the concern.

This does add a little drama to our otherwise idyllic life on board.

For your information, the Indian Ocean is the calmest, the saltiest and the warmest of all the seas and oceans and encompasses 1/5th of the world's oceans. It is also very vast, vaster than most realize as it stretches from India in the north, to below Africa and Australia in the south, east and west, a massive area.

Tomorrow morning at 7.30 we are scheduled to be docked in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

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Our daughter, Jeanette, celebrates a birthday on March 15. The photo below was taken some 40 odd years ago with her brother, Craig.

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Today's nautical terms in everyday usage.

Rummage Sale: From the French "arrimage" meaning ship's cargo. Damaged cargo was sold at a rummage sale.

Pics:

- Fellette in the deep end warming up for aqua aerobics.

- The shapely instructor who needs no exercise.

- The class following the instructor showing the movements.

- Our current position.

- Jeanette in early days.- Jeanette, somewhat later.