Rocking and Rolling on the High Seas

January 18, 2012 – Rocking and Rolling on the High Seas

I’ve always enjoyed Rock and Roll, but it is not nearly as much fun on the High Seas. Cruise ships today are floating hotels, built primarily for the comfort of their guests. As such, they have state of the art stabilizers to reduce the amount the pitch and roll of the ship as a result of the movement of the sea. But the sea is a living thing far mightier than man and his technology. There is only so much we can do to control her movement. While the Caribbean, where we spend most of our time, is fairly smooth the two days in and out of our home port in New Jersey can be much more challenging. Lucky for me that I spent the first few days of my cruise experience sailing out of Antigua heading for St. Maarten, St. Croix and San Juan, PR. Most of the time it was like floating on a gentle cloud.

Reality set in when we left the Caribbean and headed for New Jersey. When you reach the open Atlantic and start to head north the sea becomes much rougher. The winds pick up driving the waves and the ‘rock and roll’ of the ship becomes far more dramatic. The movement is less at midship, but when you are at either end the movement is much more severe. Float a toy boat in your sink or bathtub, if you’d like, and watch this action when you disturb the water. Also, the higher you go on the ship, the more you will feel the movement. My office is on Deck 2, just a bit aft of midship, so generally not too much of a problem.

My cabin is not so blessed. I live fairly far forward on Deck 6. So, when the seas get rough, so does my bed! The first night on the open water as I went to sleep, instead of the gentle rocking that normally lulls me to sleep, I literally found myself lifting off the mattress! A bit disconcerting at first . . . but when you are tired you can adjust to anything.

To say someone walks like a drunken sailor is a bit of a misstatement. I’m thoroughly convinced that a drunken sailor on land walks a perfectly straight line. It is the sober seaman on terra firma that probably appears to be a bit out of sorts. Why? Because when you get used to walking on board a ship, you have to continually compensate for the pitch and roll. So instead of placing one foot in front of the other in a fairly tight line, I have found the best way to keep steady is to plant one’s foot forward and off to the side in order to keep your body centered. If the floor beneath you isn’t moving, then this exaggerated motion probably looks a bit odd. Think about doing this when you are carrying a plate of food and a drink in the crew mess, and you will realize the importance of not toppling over. Now think about doing this in the mess with a lot of other people moving around carrying the same items, and you will get the picture of a fairly complex ballet taking place. Probably would look pretty funny if you weren’t in the middle of it.

With the Crew Mess on Deck 2, you get used to seeing the foam off the top of waves splashing past the port holes. It is a little more disconcerting to see ‘blue water,’ not the waves but the sea, itself, momentarily covering your ‘windows.’ It freaks some of the crew out, but I’m perverse enough to enjoy the view. Always hoping to see a fish swim by . . .

Unfortunately, because most guests join us in New Jersey their first two days at sea can be fairly ‘dramatic.’ The first day out of Bayonne, I answered many guests’ questions about when the ocean would become calm. I told them that while I wouldn’t promise anything, they could probably expect smooth sailing by the end of day two. When the water mellowed out by the end of that afternoon I looked like a bloody genius. First time for everything, eh?

And the adventure continues . . .