At Sea from Barbados to Dominica

We boarded the Sea Cloud II at 4:30PM in Deep Water Harbor of Bridgetown, Barbados. There was great expectation as we came into the dockyard by coach and suddenly caught sight of our ship. She rode majestically in her berth and not far off in the same harbor was its namesake the original Sea Cloud. We had a great berth and anyone boarding one of the large cruise ships had to pass by the graceful Sea Cloud. We knew at a glance how lucky we were.

Tom O’Brien welcomed all at 6PM and gave a thorough introduction to the history of sailing on a hand sailed full rigged ship. The Lindblad Expeditions staff then introduced themselves and spoke about their expertise. Cocktails and a lovely dinner followed. We departed from Bridgetown at approximately 12:15AM. The sea was a bit choppy, but I suspect most had a restful night.

The sun remained behind a decent cloud cover on this, our very first full day at sea. It was raining and the water vapor provided us with a number of great rainbows. I was privileged to see a twin rainbow off the port side at 7:30AM. The ship’s crew was called to muster at 9 and we hoisted sails for the very first time, even in the wet!

Tom O’Brien and Captain Nemerzhitskiy provided a running commentary of what the crew was doing as they set sails. As the wind caught the sails the ship heeled over ever so slightly and sliced the sea. In fact the sails acted to reduce the movement of the ship through the sea. We were managing to make about 6 knots per hour. Imagine sailing with a technology that first began millennia ago, doing it with no power other than that of nature, and moving a vessel of 117 meters (386’), which weighs almost 3,500 tons, up to 11.5 knots, the Sea Cloud II’s top speed.

We had our lifeboat drill and had a chance to hear the officers explain procedures to take in case of emergency. It is a comforting feeling to know that we are in the hands of such competent sailors. During the Chief Officer Segei’s safety talk on the Lido deck we sailed between Martinique on the starboard side and, in the distance off the port side, we could see St. Lucia with its two prominent pitons rising from the southern end of the island.

Our first lunch of the voyage was served in the dining room and “oohs and ahhs” echoed in the room. Sea Cloud II is like traveling with a starred Michelin restaurant. Tom Heffernan gave a talk on the “Magic of the Caribbean Languages: their Evolution from Aboriginal, Indo-European and African Languages” on the Lido deck at 3 and later in the afternoon we watched the sailors furl the sails for the evening.

Tonight, Captain formally introduced his officers and we celebrated the Captain’s Dinner, a tradition dating back to the 17th century if not earlier.

What a wonderful day! We sailed with little sound, just that of the wind in the rigging. Tomorrow, Dominica.