Yesterday was by far the worst day of weather I have ever experienced while at sea. 

I have experienced big waves and seas several times, as you can see from my previous blog in 2024.  I have seen torrential rain storms, again see my past posts. We have experienced winds over 100 miles per hour at sea.  

But until yesterday, we have never seen all 3 at once.  

When we woke up, the boat was violently pitching from side to side and end to end. We opened the curtains to see the spray from the waves had covered our windows and veranda. By 11 AM, the captain came on the intercom saying that we should not go outside because we had 60 knot (70 mph) winds with higher gusts.  

It was the perfect storm.  Later we found out that we were skirting a typhoon. I’m not sure if we were chasing it or it was chasing us. 

There were not many people moving around the ship at any time during the day. I did not take my usual position at the pool deck at 11 AM.  I too stayed in my room.   Fortunately, the motion of the ocean doesn’t bother Kim or me, so we were fine.  However, moving anywhere, like going to the bathroom, was a challenge.   

At 2:30, there was a biologist giving a “conversation” about fishes of the South Pacific and their ways to get along without getting eaten.  

I should have known from my years of friendship with my high school biology teacher that he would start with a pun. Arg. He was very informative and entertaining.  

I had to use my walker to get from our room to the grand salon.  It was dicey, but I made it.  After the 45-minute talk, I asked Kim to help me get up to the pool deck because I desperately needed some outdoor time.  

When we got there, the only people other than the bartender were the couple who we had dinner with the night before.  They were sitting at the only table that was marginally close to being protected from the weather.  We sat with them and visited.  Kim left and told me to text her when I was ready to leave and she would come to help me navigate the halls, yes, she is so wonderful, I’m the luckiest person in the world to have her.  

After a while, my friends decided it was time to go back to their room.  She told him if he wanted to stay out with me, it was okay with her.  He said he would go to the room with her.  It wasn’t 10 minutes later that he came back to the table and said the room was not a good place to be.  So, we continued to visit while being pounded by the storm.  Soon, a fellow Seahawk fan from Seattle came out and was thrilled to see we were out there.  It was a great way to ride out the storm.  

A little before 5, Kim sent me a text that she was ordering dinner from room service.  Well, if you have been paying attention to me, you should know that I just got permission to go to sushi bar at the club for dinner. Another great day in paradise.  

A little after 6, I grabbed my outrigger, aka walker, and headed down to the club for my sushi dinner.  I texted Kim so she knew what I was doing.

The club, like everything else, was pretty empty.  I sat on my favorite stool at the bar, you know, the one right next to the sushi chefs so I can watch them make the rolls and dishes.  Sitting on a stool in that weather was a bit difficult, but I managed.  After I had my fill of sushi, I again tasked my outriggers to take me home.  Once back to our room, we watched some tv, read from our books and went to bed.

We woke up to calm seas and grey skies that soon turned blue. It’s like yesterday never happened.  

What I will log as my worst weather day at sea will also be logged into my greatest memories of my life at sea.  

Tomorrow, we cross the international date line and lose a complete day.  No big deal you say?  Well, ask our friend Bernie, it’s his birthday, he will miss it.  I told him it’s like a fountain of youth.  You get to stay 84 for another whole year.  

Here’s our location now:

More later…….