Cruise equals holiday…right? If you said yes to that then please leave now because it is no fun anymore. “Mummy I want to come home”. We have spectacularly failed in avoiding the weather. It’s blowing force 8 or 9 and has been for the last 36 hours or so. I have to point out now for all those worrying at home, the James Cooks is an excellent ship to be on in this sort of weather and is far more stable and comfortable than most. If your only experience of force 8 at sea was a ferry to Europe…my sincerest commiseration. However, that does not necessarily mean it is all smooth sailing. We had been pre-warned of weather so I went to bed after placing my lap top in my desk and putting the deadlights down (steel porthole covers). The problem is that we have had fantastic weather so far and I guess everyone had got  a little lax about it. I got woken up mid-sleep by a 2L bottle of water landing on me. I knew it was bad when I wondered up to the mess to erm…find a mess. Our two Christmas trees and a couple of window decorations had taken nose dives, all laid out on the floor like a couple of corpses. A nice tinkle of rolling bobbles in the background. I had to resist drawing chalk outlines. I hope that is not symbolic of your Christmas celebrations.The big Christmas tree now looks like Joan of Arc being tied to a support post, just ripe for burning at the stake. Our little one is taking its ease still laid out on the floor .

The tally so far for appliances with suicidal tendencies stands at two telephones smashed beyond repair and one crew TV with minor scuff marks. For injuries, we have a bruise from a psychotic office chair attack (mine [bruise not chair]…those top heavy spinning chairs again) and another from wave assisted propulsion into a door handle. There are obviously a few green faces and the engineers have had to shunt unblocking sinks up the priority list. No one has had fresh air today as we have battened down the hatches and banned promenades on deck. The mere thought of attempting to exercise in the gym makes my toes curl. It is hard enough to walk. Pushing the heavy doors we have on ship uphill or stopping them flying away open on the down hill roll is a work out in itself. Even simple things like getting about the ship is a challenge. All cruise the water tight doors have been closed as part of icy seas procedures. The journey up one deck and over the top was never a problem. It is now!

Above photo is of force 8 from the bridge but we reached Force 9 = "Strong gale 47-54 mph winds, 7-10m wave height, High waves whose crests sometimes roll over. Dense foam is blown along wind direction. Large amounts of airborne spray may begin to reduce visibility." It is very hard to gauge the waves but if you look you will see than most of the water visible belongs to only three waves. (by Chris Sweeting)

Even life’s little comforts sometimes fail. All I want is a cup of tea. A nice cup of tea…please. Is that really too much to ask? Do I take the risk of making one? Can I get the lid on before the contents jump out at me? Adding milk should be a simple procedure …but no! Try pouring the right amount of milk into a cup while waving your arms around next time you make a cup. It goes something like  …wait for wave to pass….over pour milk with next wave…taste milky tea….discard….risk scalding to make another….splash milk on hand and floor….add some to mug and more to floor….cap mug and wipe floor….fall into cupboard while wiping floor….pick up mug….pause at top of stairs wondering how to descend with only one hand….chicken out and head to nearest amenable place to drink at this level….hop on one foot and flap wildly to retain balance around a corner….cringe as the door slams shut when you let it go with your one free hand….place mug on a table with non-slip mat….pick it up off the floor and take a sip….wedge cup in secure place….forget where you put it.

Well the Southern Ocean is renowned for being the roughest on the planet. Perhaps I’ll be an arm chair adventurer next time.

snap shot of the ship motion data. You can sea the weather deteriorate at about 22:50. The worst rolls take us through a 12 degree arc so uncomfortable but by no means dangerous. (by Chris Sweeting)

So what are we doing now? Well not science that is for sure. No kit could go over the side in this. We ride it out and all will be fine. On the up side we have lots of films to choose from and choosing is easier…they were spread all over the video room floor. Anyone want to start your working day with a film straight after breakfast? I did.. I’ve also passed the time with a snooze..bumpy days don’t make restful sleeps. I’ve had 5 games of scrabble throughout today…I even won one. We are getting into the knack of picking up the edge of the coffee table on the worst of the rolls to stop the pieces sliding off the board. “Who put crid down? Crid is not a word!” “It was cried, but the e slide on the board at some point and then got used in elixir…we decided just to leave it rather than work it out”

So with all this free time we must be getting a lot of work done? Nope…thanks to the digital age. Working on the computer or other close/fine tasks can only be done in small doses otherwise I’ll make myself seasick. Thankfully I’ve avoided that so far but this blog has been done in 3 steps so….

Dinner with non slip mats and the side rails up. Soup is the fun but even chasing food around the plate can be entertaining. (by Chris Sweeting)

I’m off to block a sink!

Chris