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Please keep us posted on Rotterdam VI. Manyof us will be eager to hear news.
I hear echos of the past when we were onRotterdam V just outside of Alexandria andwe were hit by two freak waves.
[This message has been edited by sympatico (edited 04-04-2000).]
Were you actually on Rotterdam V when the waves hit? Was that the time she rolled almost 40 degrees? What was it like?
Joe at TravelPage.com
Yes I was aboard. I had an inside single soI can only say what happened in my room andwhat I saw later when things settled down. Everything, and I mean everything in thecabin was thrown about. Fortunately it happened about 5am and nearly everyone wasin bed. I had a bed next to a bulkhead sothat saved me from flying across the room.So much was broken around the ship. Everychair that wasn't attached was thrown. Thepiano in the Ritz-Carlton ended up on thebalcony. Hundreds of deck chairs went overthe side. Over 200 persons had broken bones.Some died, but I think that happened laterfrom complications. The call at Alexandriawas canceled and we headed to Greece as Iremember. The line had made arrangements formany doctors to be there to meet the ship.Many had head injuries from falls out of bed.The fact that so many were in bed kept thenumber of seriously injured to a minimum. Iremember a few passengers left the ship inGreece and did not continue the cruise.
You must be a great sleeper!!!! Are you ableto sleep during rough seas and heavy swellsas a rule?? I never seem to be able tosleep in heavy seas even though I've beenthrough many.
Didn't the wave throw you out of bed??
I remember speaking to someone in the crew about the experience onboard when QE2 was going through big water. If I remember correctly, he said that while lying in bed as the bow begins to plunge he would count out the seconds in his head. The bigger the waves, the longer the downward plunge. At the bottom of the plunge, he said it seems like the ship hangs for a moment and then the bow begins to slowly rise again. The whole sequence can be very rhythmic.
When the "big wave" hit he said he counted to a new record. Gerry, were you by any chance aboard for that wave?
KruzinKat
Yes I was on for the "Big Wave". Thats the one I meant. I realize I said Sept '96. It was actually Sept '95. It was a rough night but it generally helps me sleep. I was on the 4-8 watch. The big wave happened at 0210 on the morning of 11th September. I came up to the Bridge at 0350 hrs and noticed that the Bridge carpet was wet. It wasn't until I'd had my first cup of coffee that I was able to understand what the 1st officer 12-4 was telling me about the wave breaking over the top of the bridge front. There was damage to the deck of the focsle and we had lost the forward whistle again but the ship is so strong that she had just shrugged off the water and carried on.
I know she will be full of everything that happened.She actually joined the cruise in Osaka,Japan about the same time as the volcano was rumbling,before finally blowing.Can't wait for her to return home!!!!
Today is April 11th.....your friend shouldbe home. Please let us know as soon as you can about the big wave. I have friends whowill be boarding soon and I would like toshare with them the news. I will be aboardin the fall myself so I have interest forpersonal reasons as well.
Thanks a lot.
Thanks.....I really wasn't trying to rushTerri Lee....I was just giving a nudge soshe wouldn't forget to get back to us. Asyou say, it will be a few days.
Too bad the friend didn't stay on for thecanal crossing to Florida.
And no,ladies,I haven't forgotten.As Sympatico pointed out,my friend has to fly from the West Coast to Toronto(3-hour difference)...that's a five-hour flight.Then has to wait an eternity for her bags....then maybe another wait for the airport transportation home..AND on top of that,it has been snowing all day here,so heaven only knows when she will arrive home,desperate for a drink!!! I will be posting here as soon as I am able.Wonder why I am having to re-register,Joe????TL
I hope I didn't make you feel pressed. I amjust eager to hear, but I am happy to waittil it's convenient for you. How awful yourfriend must arrive in a snow storm!
The ship was "hit" on my friend's first night at sea,leaving Osaka,Japan.The sea was very rough with 40 ft waves,with the ship going up and down and backwards and forwards and then sideways!She said it was really bad.Everyone was violently ill all night.When the "rogue" wave hit(although she didn't know what it was at the time) everything went flying.(now we know why the chairs etc are so heavy!)The china and crystal were just left lying in the shops for a long time.She guessed that the staff were too sick to even bother to clean it up. I had sent a fax to her in the vein of"I hear that the earth really did move on the ship!"When she showed it to her friends,they all figured that it must have been on CNN or something....they had no contact with the outside world at this time due to the bad weather....no TV or anything.
The rough weather followed them all the way to Hawaii where it started to get better. In the meantime,it was so rough that the wine in the glasses on the dining room tables actually jumped out and spilt all over the tablecloths. Now that's ROUGH!!
Her one nerve-wracking concern was...having such a large ship being tossed around like that....what chance would the small life-boats have,if the ship went down??????
Some of you may be interested also,to know that there was a Special Memorial Service for the late Captain Hans Eulderink(Master of the ship last year). Most of the crew were present.One of the Social Hosts,Alan,sang "The Lord's Prayer".My friend said that he had a beautiful voice.The whole thing was very moving and she shed a few tears,as did many others.
Well,there you have it.I hope it was worth the waiting for.
TL
Sorry to hear about Captain Hans Eulderink - we cruised with him several times.
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