Day 29 In the Tasman Sea

We left Wellington yesterday evening and headed west through the Cook Strait out into the Tasman Sea. On a plush cruise ship such as the Seabourn Odyssey the transition back into the open ocean went largely unnoticed. That is until 3 AM this morning when with a thundering crash we crested a wave and bottomed into a deep trough. The shock shook the entire ship, so much so that all passengers and crew could set their watches as to what time that one wave hit. That was our delayed introduction into the Tasman Sea. When the assembled masses at "Trivia" this afternoon were asked how many awoke at 3 AM all of the hands went up. From that time until about 4PM we were buffetted around.
A more desirable introduction to the Tasman Sea would include the fact that it is the sea that separates New Zealand from Australia. For the locals it is affectionately referred to as "The Ditch". So in the local vernacular we are "crossing the ditch". Well all of us on board will attest to the many potholes that need fixing. This wretched piece of water is named after Abel Tasman who was a Dutch explorer that traveled here in 1642. It extends 1250 miles all of which I fear we will feel. Sadly, until 3 AM this morning I always thought the Dutch were such nice people. He must have been mean to someone who decided to forever link his name to this pockmarked piece of ocean. He is also credited with discovering Tasmania, New Zealand, Tonga and the Fiji Islands.
Tomorrow another sea day.

Chris -Pirates and other scary things - One of the things many sea travelers are concerned about over the last few years are pirates...Arrrrggghh. The subject was covered by the Captain and at one of the enrichment seminars. We learned that 6 cruise ships have had pirate attacks over the last 36 years. The first was the QE II in 1972 and also includes a Seabourn sister ship (The Spirit) a few years ago traveling in the Somalia area (before all the current trouble). In that case they mustered most the passengers and crew in a central location (the restaurant) that is on deck 4 and midship....I would have been comforted that there was at least food available! Not all passengers chose to go and they stayed in their room. I ate dinner next to a frequent Seabourn traveler from Japan (the one who spoke little English) who was on that cruise. He manage to talk and mime that he stayed in his room and cowered. The pirates had AK47's and actually fired a RPG (rocket propelled grenade) at the ship which put a hole in the superstructure near a window. It went through a passenger cabin and lodged in the bathroom...but it didn't explode and no one got hurt. The Seabourn went on the offense and the pirates turned and fled. I had heard that the Seabourn also had guns although they only admit they had a "number" of defensive "weapons" including things like ... the speed to outrun them, constant shipboard camera and satellite surveillance, protective convoys, LRADs (long range audio disk) and other security they won't talk about. The LRAD kind of looks like a satellite dish that beams high sounds that can program to stretch over a half a kilometer. It is programmed in 15 different languages and can be used to create sensory overload and it can send a very high frequency sound in an ear splitting decibel level that would burst your eardrum. They also can use it in port if they need to for protection. In the Spirit's case they beamed the ear drum shattering sounds and the pirates bolted. The Spirit has also had a protective convoy of 3 French commandos on the ship as they traveled thru the African route. The commandos mounted machine guns on the deck and manned them for 3 days. They were the "hit" of the ship where they were "mothered", fussed over and constantly photographed to the point that the Captain had to announce that there would be no more pictures of the commandos taken. In true "Seabourn" fashion the commandos left with 58 bottles of Champagne as a thank you. The 2010-11 schedule does not include Somalia ...smart move! Seabourn's safety statement reads that they are "fully prepared with necessary measures to cope with any threat." ... wonder if that applies to killer waves????????????????