Dearest Rachel –
Maybe this was due to us having to charge out, hell bent for leather, from the Bay of Islands in order to make up for lost time in our attempts to stick to the original schedule. Maybe it was a cell of bad weather than the captain simply couldn’t navigate around (at least, not without throwing us that much further behind that same schedule). Whatever the reason, honey, we’ve finally gotten a taste of the sea that you always wanted to experience.
After crossing so much of the Pacific Ocean fairly uneventfully, even to the point where I wondered if the Serenade of the Seas might already be too big to ever feel the ocean the way you would have wanted to, we finally found ourselves in a position where it was rising and falling as it plunged forward in its lane through the Tasman Sea, pitching and rolling as it went along. I woke in the wee hours feeling the alternate press and lift being caused by the ship’s motion, and I had to tell you about it.
As I mentioned at the time, I thought I needed to tell you about it right then, when it was happening, as I assumed it would likely pass before morning – or that I wouldn’t be able to convey those same impressions to you once the moment had passed. It was almost a surprise to wake up to a similar amount of motion – and having to deal with the inconveniences associated with it, such as the difficulty of showering on such unstable ground. Not only does one have issues maintaining balance (thank heaven the stall is a confined cylinder), but the water on the floor of the stall doesn’t always stay in the stall, as it seeks the lower level – which causes it to flow over the lip of the door, and into the rest of the bathroom, soaking the towel I meant to step on to dry my feet.
I made sure to apologize to I Komang for that, as well as the fact that I wasn’t quite ready for him when he came knocking to make up my room.
The trip upstairs for breakfast turned into a literal trip, as the ship’s motion meant that at one moment, I was light as air, and the next, twice my weight. I learned quickly to move at the moments of lightness, and stand still when feeling heavy, if at all possible.
After watching the wake from the Windjammer for the better part of an hour, I had to show it to you; I’m afraid the lighting doesn’t let it show as well as I could see it, but this is what I managed to record.
I still can’t get over the fact that it took this long to actually encounter such swells that even I couldn’t ignore it; they had me wondering from time to time what sort of G-forces we were being subjected to. They would be miniscule, I realize, but I’m sure they could be measured; even on a calm day, I couldn’t use the scale in the fitness center, as the range would fluctuate by some ten pounds on either side of what I might presume to be my actual weight. So even a calm day could impose .05 Gs of additional force on us, leaving me curious about what today’s effects might have been.
Update: while it’s calmed down since this morning, there’s still a bit of roll to the ship. I did go topside for a walk, but after a mile or so, decided to visit the fitness center after all. The scale runs the gamut from just under two hundred pounds (oh, I wish!) to two-sixty or so (yikes! Then again, I was heavier that that when you had to go, so… yeah). So, since it’s adding or subtracting thirty pounds to me either way, that’s just a little under 0.15 Gs. Wild, isn’t it?
I wonder how long this is going to last…
I do wish you had the chance to be here to experience this; I don’t know how or if your spirit can travel with me. For all I know, you can watch and experience any event from any time in any place, now that you’re no longer confined to the dimensions we here are locked within. You might have set alongside the crew to Tarshish as they went to fetch Jonah, or sat beside John as Jesus stood up and read Mother Nature the Riot Act, so you might know the feel of a small boat in a large ocean – which my ride counts as but one out of two.
Or maybe you’re still asleep and dreaming for those days, when I can join you and we can do such things together. I don’t know, and I’ve no way to find out.
But until I can find out, I will continue to ask for you to keep an eye on me, and wish me luck; as always, I’m going to need it.
Letters to Rachel 