Greetings from somewhere near the resting grounds of the Titanic. We are off the coast of Nova Scotia, near Sable Island- the “graveyard of the Atlantic”. Sable is a mysterious nature reserve inhabited (says Wikepedia) by horses and seals and the Ipswich sparrow. Since the 17th century, 475 ships have run around on it after getting caught in the mixture of the Labrador and Gulf currents. When these currents meet, they create very rough seas and there is always a lot of fog. Making it even more treacherous is the fact that Sable Island is ever shifting with no fixed position in the ocean. Bit like the Bermuda triangle out here.
This story was cheerily relayed to us at the noon announcement by our captain, whom we have met on a previous crossing. He is rather funny: he answered my question about rogue waves years ago by saying he was against the whole business, says he is afraid of bad weather.
Speaking of bad weather…..we have had a little of it today. The winds were huge - force 11, which is classified as “violent storm” and translates to 55-65 knots, with a sea state of “rough”. If the winds had kept up, this would mean 37-52 feet high waves. It has however died down, and is now force 8.
The decks were officially closed but lots of people were out, including us step counters (did you really expect anything less?) It didn't seem that much bigger than summer storms, until we went down to the second deck. This was amazing…a few waves suddenly, completely covered the windows in front of our chairs. It was a bit like when Frederick was very little and we were standing in front of the window of the polar bear enclosure at the zoo. In an instant the bear swam up and put all four limbs on the window separating us. It was just like that- like having nothing but some glass separating you from a polar bear. I asked Thomas if he flinched as I did, and he said yes…it was genuinely frightening.
But of course this is nothing. The captain says one should use the hand rails; and that is about it. A few weeks ago they went near a hurricane and that was really bad. Osman (handsome Turk) says he was awoken in the middle of the night to the sound of a bomb going off. He sleeps in the bow, so it’s worse there. Apparently they were hit by a wave, or more likely, plummeted down from a big one, and he says he has never heard anything like it.
So basically, we have had some huge winds and a few large waves, but it didn't stop the tea or canasta. No one is sea sick and our sleeping is extraordinary. I slept the first night from 9:30 to 7:30 and then took a huge nap later in the day.
I have to get these photos up, so I will make this short today. Most exciting is the below video of a wave I took. Having issues getting it to work, but let's see.
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Caviar Count: 1
Crêpes Suzette: 2
Steps taken as a family on the QM2
85, 702. (but who’s counting)
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| our living room; bedroom out of view |
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| our deck |
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| This was after the wind mellowed. Imagine the wave really fully covering the window for a few seconds. |
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