Sabin’s on the Sea 2023 - Day # 19 - Sea Day (English Channel)
by Nina Sabin - Travel Blog
Since we left Rotterdam we have been cruising around 17 knots through the English Channel.
The new captain announced that since Boston we have been 4700 Nautical miles. What a journey in 18 days!
We are excited about the new staff coming onto the ship. One of the officers, the hotel manager, Henk, is the same manager on the Zuiderdam on our 50-day French Polynesian cruise last fall. Looking forward to the opportunity to catch up once he has settled in.
The dynamics have changed a little since the new passengers have come on board. They are filled with excitement and newness as this is their first full day on the cruise while it is most of the other passengers eighteenth day of the voyage and eighth sea day. Those passengers have established routine while the new passengers are finding their way around.
I was thrilled today as I found a cruising duck. The lady I play bridge with and her husband have found five. They hide them again for other passengers to find. While chatting with them, they gave me hints where one of them has been for 24 hours. I was so excited to find it.
The duck did not have a note with it. So before hiding it again, I added a note.
A few hours later we walked by the location we hid it, the statute of King Neptune, and the duck was gone. It was fun to be part of this silly but fun activity.
The “hide and seek” game of cruising ducks has been around for five years and has grown in popularity.The idea started in 2018 by a young girl named Abby Davis. She wanted to bring a smile to others. So, she gathered 50 toy ducks and randomly hid them during her 7-day Carnival Breeze cruise. The fad took off in no time at all, like a duck to water!
Some guests leave a few a day while others hide 100 ducks per cruise, earning the name “ducker.” Duckers usually attach a tag or passport with their name, date, and vessel’s name. The note allows the finder to “keep or hide, you decide. We find it more fun to hide it and encourage others to do the same.
The weather turned very quickly to thick fog. One moment we can see the horizon, other boats and sailboats, and then nothing. I don’t think I have ever seen fog come in so quickly and take over. The fog horn is once again being blown by the captain every two minutes.
Tonight we had dinner at one of the speciality restaurants called The Pinnacle. They are known for their clothesline bacon which I replicated after our last cruise. Besides the bacon our meal consisted of shrimp cocktail, 12 ounce New York strip steak, a 5 ounce lobster tail and two wonderful desserts, John’s was key lime pie and I had a Baked Alaska with sorbet instead of ice cream. So much food, we definitely couldn’t eat it all but it was delicious.
Before going to bed we found another cruising duck. This time John plans to hide it.
Tomorrow we will arrive in Cobh, Ireland. It is only a 20-minute train ride to Cork. We are looking forward to another great exploring day.