The day started with our entrance into the Bay of Biscay, our ship constantly battered and tossed from side to side by huge waves. The sight from our balcony was amazing, huge white topped waves pounding into the ship from every direction. Driving rain mixing with the spray and foam to create a misty outlook. High winds blowing, creating movement of the water that was battering our ship relentlessly.
The predicted weather had turned, and the force of the waves made it very difficult to move around our ship. I have sailed through these sort of conditions before and although the ship's stabilizers are built to withstand this sort of weather, there is still a very great deal of movement in these very extreme sea conditions. We had difficulty walking around the vessel, keeping our balance by holding on to the rails and every conceivable protrusion that would take our weight.
Margaret and I decided not to go ahead with our plan to eat in the self service restaurant on the Verandah deck today. We ate our breakfast in the main dining room to allow the waiters to do the walking …
We settled ourselves down in the main lounge with our reading material and listened to a couple of very interesting talks from the shore excursion staff and the destinations lecturer.
The relentless weather conditions made all movement around the ship very difficult, we were informed by the Captain that weather conditions are forecast to get worse tonight and this may result in a delay in reaching Lisbon, our first port of call. These windy conditions are hitting the ship full on and slowing her up.
We spent the afternoon in our cabin just reading and relaxing, the safest option. The weather is certain to improve when we leave Lisbon and head for Casablanca.
With some difficulty in keeping our balance we made our way to the Britannia lounge to catch the end of a very good performance by an accomplished classical guitarist.
This night was a night to remember, as the ship was still struggling through very high rough seas, we were tossed and turned even in our bed, everything that was not secured was getting thrown around the cabin and we woke up several times during the night to collect drinking glasses and other artifacts.
WILD WATER,
(A rough sea poem)
The uncontrolled power of a stormy sea,
Unmeasurable patterns of force,
The ever-changing, moving powerful sea.
Wind-driven waves, ever rolling,
Relentlessly moving, rough high water,
The uncontrolled power of a stormy sea.
A carpet of movement, rising, swirling,
Blue shades of water, white-topped waves,
The ever-changing, moving, powerful sea.
A dark mass of movement, never still,
Rough high water, spume and spray,
The uncontrolled power of a stormy sea.
Unrestrained torrents, wildly mixing
Flecks on foamy wavelets, magical beauty
The ever-changing, moving, powerful sea.
High water, hurling, rising and falling
Curling and swirling currents set free,
The uncontrolled power of a stormy sea,
The ever-changing, moving powerful sea.