Capnpugwash is finishing his season of crossings July 20 2011

[missfrankiecat]

Update No 2.

 

 

We had a great meeting this afternoon and 26 of the 35 members attended, I have not experienced such a large gathering before and it was completed when Julie Rynd and the Commodore both attended as well. He was unfortunately called away after half an hour but Julie stayed until almost the bitter end. We all had a great chat as usual and it was good fun. We finally ended the meeting at a little after 4pm.

 

 

More later.

 

The Commodore's preparedness to mingle with guests outside the 'programmed' events is a real plus and Mrs Rynd's sociable informality is a great asset to the company. I would imagine that they may well be gaining a much better idea of how staff and systems are actually performing than previously was the case.

[Cosmic Rays]

Update No 2.

 

After this sojourn I walked along deck 7 but it was cold so I returned to my cabin to prepare for the first formal dinner, the table host was Brian Watling who arrived at the table at 8.45pm and took his seat without any explanation or apology. The meal progressed very nicely and afterwards I headed up to the Commodore Club followed closely by G32 as we gain another hour this evening,

 

More later.

 

Jim,

 

Of interest is your dining table at night always hosted, and if so what is the criteria for this? Is it because you and others are travelling singly?

[capnpugwash]

Jim,

 

Of interest is your dining table at night always hosted, and if so what is the criteria for this? Is it because you and others are travelling singly?

 

No, it is hosted by someone from the Engineering Department on the four formal nights, we are left to our own devices for the other three. I have no idea on how the selection process works concerning who sits where. I believe that the Maitre D' sorts it out.

 

Update No 3

Today is Friday July 22 and we are proceeding along a great circle across the North Atlantic, we are sailing a very northerly course this time in order that we can avoid tropical storm Cindy which is currently sitting just to the north of Bermuda.

I had breakfast in the buffet this morning and afterwards took a walk along the deck, it was soaking wet and the ship is shrouded in a thick mist, the foghorn is not being sounded for some reason, probably the vision from the bridge is much better than from lower down. I certainly hope so anyway!

The sea is very calm and the air temperature is 57/14 degrees accompanied by 92% humidity. We are crawling along at just 17 knots and we have a force 3 north easterly breeze.

As has become my habit I went to the spa and had a lovely soak in the warm aerated pool, I still can’t bring myself to use the hot tub although I believe that the water is changed each night, I just keep imagining the things that come off the bodies of people who soak in it combined with the warmth of the water making a germy soup. It is not for me I think. It may be me but again there was a spa sight this morning when a 60 year old man was using the pool and he was only wearing a pair of white Y fronts. They preserved his modesty to an extent, at least they did until they got wet when they became very baggy and almost transparent, not a pretty sight really.

The weather continues to be very damp and misty, it is quite eerie really almost as though we are cocooned in wispy cotton wool on a glasslike sea, someone should write a poem about it maybe.

We continue at a snail’s pace and have reached a position due north of The Azores, the temperature has increased slightly to 60/15 degrees and the barometer is falling.

More later

[Cornus]

I ventured onto deck 7 to bask in the warmth, which was a big mistake as the wind combined with the early sun meant that it was quite chilly, too chilly to remain in the open.

 

Enjoy that chilly weather while you can...we're in the midst of a heatwave and the temps in NYC are expected to reach 100 today and predicted to last for several more days!

 

Enjoying your posts and looking forward to my crossing in October.

[Summergee]

You have certainly had your share of "sights" in the spa this year!

[William Dean]

I went through this in 2009 and 2010 when almost every person that I spoke to would open the conversation with the immortal phrase, “well, it’s not the QE2 is it”. I had hoped that those days were in the past but perhaps I was mistaken.

 

Well, to be fair she isn't QE2 and will never be. She simply does not have the soul of QE2.

 

WD

[Salacia]

... a 60 year old man was using the pool and he was only wearing a pair of white Y fronts. They preserved his modesty to an extent, at least they did until they got wet when they became very baggy and almost transparent, not a pretty sight really...

 

 

Hey Cap, maybe he thought the dress code was white tail :eek::D

Oh the cool ocean air sounds absolutely delightful! (The temp here is over 100 degrees F.)

 

Have you heard any further info about the plans for QM2's dry dock?

 

Hope you have a great time tonight :) Cheers, Salacia

[capnpugwash]

No news on the dry dock.

 

Update No 4.

 

The noon announcement has been made to update our course and position, we have 2135 nautical miles to travel to arrive in New York, and we have a forecast for rougher seas possibly accompanied by force 8 winds which might be interesting.

 

I went to the pub for lunch and I had a very nice Indian meal, a Chicken Jalfrezi which was nice and spicy, without being too hot. It was quite a small serving so I should be ready for dinner this evening.

 

I spent a quiet afternoon in my cabin trying to catch up on work but the Internet was playing up and I couldn’t get a signal, I went down to see “the man who can” in Connexions and the place was packed as was the area outside so I believe that was the reason with so many people trying to share the limited amount of available bandwidth. So I thought that patience is a virtue and if I waited until later the problem would disappear, and it has.

 

Tonight is the second formal evening and I am just getting dressed to start the festivities. It remains foggy, the sea is slight, our speed is 17 knots, there is a force 5 breeze blowing from the south west bringing warm moist air along and when it encounters the cold sea, fog results. We have 2039 nautical miles to go.

 

More later.

[capnpugwash]

Update No 5.

 

I went to the Chart Room before dinner and the Jazz Trio followed the harpist and they were joined by a young lady called Jennifer Krupa who is a trombonist trained at the Juillard School in New York, she was absolutely wonderful and really made her instrument sing. She only did a short 45 minute set but it was a very nice diversion from the normal performers. She is a distant relative of the famous jazz drummer, Gene Kruga.

 

We had dinner this evening and the table was hosted by the Chief Electrical Officer who is a fairly young man in his thirties named Liam, he was great company and we were still at the table at 11pm. After the meal I retired to the Commodore Club and was chatting to a couple from North London. He is an American who has lived in London for over 30 years and works as a guitar teacher for the wealthy people who live in St John’s Wood and its environs. He is married to a lady who drives a tube train on the Jubilee Line in London. They were a very interesting couple and admirably demonstrate the diverse nature of the QM2 passengers.

 

Today is Saturday July 23 and as I woke the cabin was moving from side to side which is very welcome as it shows that the sea state has increased to Moderate which has waves up to 7½ feet high which we are heading through at 16 knots. The south-easterly wind is designated a near gale being force 7 on the Beaufort scale. The fog persists and the air temperature is 61/16 degrees with a falling barometer. The sea temperature is 55/13 degrees which as I mentioned earlier doesn’t help the fog to disperse. We have 1798 nautical miles to go until we arrive in New York, and have sailed 1325 already. If my maths is right we will reach the halfway point some time this evening.

 

I am sitting here with a big smile on my face as the ship gently rocks in the early morning fog. It is so nice to have a little ocean motion on this great ship after the virtual calm seas that have been endured on the recent crossings. I sound a little mad I suppose but it does clearly demonstrate that we are on a ship rather than sitting in a plush hotel.

Geoffrey Howe, the politician is on board to lecture on his life experiences as Foreign Secretary, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Deputy Prime Minister in the cabinet of Margaret Thatcher. In reality he is touting yet another book which he will gladly sign for you after you buy a copy from the library. Obviously he has led a very interesting life and I listened to his first lecture yesterday. He comes across as quite an old man, which of course he is, but he also seems very ponderous as he reads his lecture from a series of cards which he has on the lectern. I had hoped for much more than that but perhaps that is his style when he is called upon to perform.

 

More later.

[Froxfield]

Cap'n

 

Having met you however briefly on the QV Cruise to the Canaries earlier this year, I follow all your exploits with great interest: most enjoyable. I remember hearing "Geoffrey Howe Live!" much earlier in his political career and, from your description not a lot has changed. He has never been an exciting speaker. Didn't Dennis Healey once liken an attack from GH as "like being savaged by a dead sheep"? (I am sure I got that wrong, but someone will correct me!). In any event, it was always content that was his strong point (and a lifetime of achievement). And it was partly his style that made his final resignation attack on M Thatcher so deadly?

 

Enjoy the rest of your cruise, Capn'n, and keep writing!!

 

Richard

[capnpugwash]

Update No 6

 

Returning to Geoffrey Howe briefly and to give a balanced view, he did hold a Q & A session after his lecture in which he performed much better answering unscripted questions off the cuff, as it were. I believe that he was born in Wales in 1926 which puts him in his mid 80s.

 

I thought that I would try something different for breakfast this morning so I had some bacon and eggs in the buffet; it was quite delicious and certainly made a nice change. It could become a bad habit so tomorrow I will revert to my more healthy option. I went to the spa which as usual was very pleasant although with the fore and aft pitching, the water in the pool did bear more than a passing resemblance to a washing machine. Having made myself presentable and showered I walked back along the promenade deck for a little fresh air. It was quite windy and although the sea has calmed a little, there were still a couple of puddles of pavement pizza on the open deck; it seems that not everyone shares my enthusiasm for rougher waters. To be honest I have never seen that before on this ship, and quite frankly I don’t wish to repeat the experience either!

 

I have booked to have lunch in Todd English today, as it is a semi formal dress code this evening. I must say that thinking about that makes little sense as the food quantities are identical whatever the dress code is. It made more sense to me when I booked it but that might be because I would remember the day for the lunch as it wasn’t a formal evening. With the benefit of hindsight this probably wasn’t the best day to have a fried breakfast but, of course, I didn’t consider that earlier.

 

There are two jewellery presentations in the Chart Room this morning explaining and pushing both diamonds and pearls and we are advised how amazed we will be by the savings that are available for on board purchases! I can hardly wait.

 

More later

[RJChatsworth]

Hi Cap'n

 

Enjoying your encounters as always, but you never mention the art auctions - nor the quality of their free champagne! Perhaps you've previously purchased all you need. As for me, I never buy their stuff and taking into account their overheads and seemingly (!) knocked down prices I am unable to understand how they survive. One auctioneer boasted to having been a waiter on the ship for many years!

 

Jolly ho!

[Crzn-Life]

Cap'n,

 

We are enjoying your posts tremendously. We'll be boarding in NYC for the westbound and are looking forward to being back on board.

 

We like the jazz club and go there every evening after dinner. Is the trombonist going to remain on or are we going to be disappointed?

 

Last year Muddy Water Chardonnay from New Zealand was on the wine list and we really enjoyed it. Can you tell us if it is still on the wine list? If it is, then we plan to spend a lot of our on board credits on it; if it isn't, then will have to readjust our expectations and bring a bottle or two of our favorite on board.

 

Have the slots in the casino been updated to accept cruise cards so slots are now cashless?

 

Also who is the captain this cruise?

 

Thank you. We are looking forward to seeing you in the Commodore Club next Thursday!

[lannp]

Capn, thanks for the reports. I envy you seeing some wave activity. There was little of that on my two crossings. I hope the lunch at TE was enjoyable and I'm drooling thinking about that Black Bottom Tart.

Linda

[vannerhawk]

The slots still use cash.

[capnpugwash]

Cap'n,

 

We are enjoying your posts tremendously. We'll be boarding in NYC for the westbound and are looking forward to being back on board.

 

We like the jazz club and go there every evening after dinner. Is the trombonist going to remain on or are we going to be disappointed?

 

Last year Muddy Water Chardonnay from New Zealand was on the wine list and we really enjoyed it. Can you tell us if it is still on the wine list? If it is, then we plan to spend a lot of our on board credits on it; if it isn't, then will have to readjust our expectations and bring a bottle or two of our favorite on board.

 

Have the slots in the casino been updated to accept cruise cards so slots are now cashless?

 

Also who is the captain this cruise?

 

Thank you. We are looking forward to seeing you in the Commodore Club next Thursday!

 

The Master is Commodore Rynd, I will look into Muddy Waters.

 

Update No 7

The noon announcement informed us that the wind has abated to a force 4 with a slight sea, and that most of the other weather conditions are unchanged. We are about 600 miles due south of the southern tip of Greenland. Our speed is 17 knots as we continue on our great circle course.

I went for lunch to TE at 1pm and it was very nice, as usual. I had the fig and prosciutto flatbread and then a small portion of ricotta ravioli followed by peppered salmon. I asked for extra gorgonzola cheese on the starter which might have made it a little greasier than normal. It was still nice but in a slightly greasy way. Accompanying these dishes I had a couple of glasses of Chilean Riesling which was perfect. I had intended to skip dessert but I settled for Black Bottom Tart and just had to sample a small glass of Sauternes to assist in the digestion. Two cups of coffee and I was done, literally.

Half way through my meal two elderly Americans arrived and sat at the adjacent table to me. They were the stuff that sitcoms are made from. I would guess that they were from New York or Florida or perhaps both. They were in their mid 80s and just so funny. The man sat about a foot from the table and the conversation went like this. “Move closer to the table or you won’t be able to hear me”, “what did you say, I can’t hear you”. Moving closer he said “what are you having?” “Squid followed by salmon”, “what’s squid?” ”Fish” “that sounds nice”. The waiter turned up and the lady ordered squid and salmon, he turned to the man” What would you like sir?” he replied” salad and salmon” and then turning to his wife said”did you not want a starter?” she said “I already ordered squid”. “What’s that?” “Fish”. “Oh ok”. Their starters arrive and he says, indicating the squid, “what’s that?” “Squid, here try a piece”. “No I don’t like squid”. They then started talking about what they were going to do this afternoon, it all involved sitting in either Illuminations or the theatre to listen to a play or a lecture and clearly this man was as deaf as a post, or possibly he had his hearing aid turned down low so that he couldn’t hear her.

Another first for me is that I am only 10 yards from the deck 10 laundry so I decided to wash my small in the machine. It will save me 8 dollars and I will get it back on the same day, so really the saving is 12 dollars. Not to be sniffed at is it. It is enough for a good sized martini.

Tonight, the dress code is semi formal requiring a jacket and tie, I will go to dinner but I am only going to want a salad and possibly some soup., that is the plan at the moment.

More later.

[capnpugwash]

Hi Cap'n

 

Enjoying your encounters as always, but you never mention the art auctions - nor the quality of their free champagne! Perhaps you've previously purchased all you need. As for me, I never buy their stuff and taking into account their overheads and seemingly (!) knocked down prices I am unable to understand how they survive. One auctioneer boasted to having been a waiter on the ship for many years!

 

Jolly ho!

 

I have never been tempted to sample their wares although the Art Company is now Clarendon Fine Art rather than Daubs are Us. I believe the fizz is Pol Acker so I have never attended. they have relocated to the mezzanine deck between the Chart Room and Queen's Room so the Winter Garden is not cluttered with their wares.

[durangoscots]

Actually, your "sitcom" couple probably had his hearing aid off to save the batteries.

 

Susan

[lannp]

Black Bottom Tart - I've attached a picture.

[ColumbiaSC]

Black Bottom Tart - I've attached a picture.

 

Nice photograph. But not exactly what I had anticipated.

 

 

Lord Kay of Shandon.

[Aquaphobic]

Nice photograph. But not exactly what I had anticipated.

 

 

Lord Kay of Shandon.

 

Is that what they serve at the Tarts & Vicars Ball in the Queens Room?

[capnpugwash]

Update No 8

It is almost 6pm and the weather conditions remain basically unchanged except that the fog has cleared and we have a reasonably pleasant evening, albeit on the chilly side at 60/15 degrees but the humidity has reduced slightly leaving the atmosphere as fairly sticky but tolerable.

We are approaching, if not over, one of the deepest parts of the Atlantic at 4500 metres which is a touch shy of 3 miles, in contrast we will be passing a very shallow area called the Flemish Cap which is barely 102 metres deep later this evening.

I went to the Chart Room as usual before dinner and the jazz trio was playing, they were ok but it is really not my favourite music style. Arriving in the restaurant for dinner I was delighted to find a clam chowder on the menu, so I ordered that followed by a Caesar sald which really hit the spot.

After dinner, in spite of my antipathy to the shows and because I enjoyed her playing last night, I went to Illuminations for 10.15 to see Jennifer Krupa play her trombone. By 10.25 I was in the lift heading up to the Commodore Club. The room was only 25 to 30% filled and in my opinion it was far too large a venue to show her at her best. Yesterday, in the much more intimate setting of the Chart Room, she was marvellous but tonight she sounded mediocre. It was such a shame as I was really looking forward to the show.

I met a young man in the bar who is a nurse in the British army and is on honeymoon on here. His wife is an intensive care nurse in the RAF. He has just returned from a 6 month tour in Afghanistan and she is scheduled to deploy there in January, next year.

The weather is 62/16 degrees with a steady barometer; we have a force 3 breeze from the south west and a slight sea. We have passed the halfway mark having sailed 1638 nautical miles leaving a balance of 1485 to go.

More later.

[capnpugwash]

Update No 9

 

Today is Sunday July 24 and the time is 6.30am. We didn’t need to adjust the clocks last night as we are already only two hours ahead of New York or Eastern Daylight time. There is no adjustment tonight either which means that we gain an hour on each of the final two nights of this crossing.

 

We are due east of the south eastern tip of Newfoundland and we have a slight sea, a north easterly light breeze at force 2 and we are making 18 knots in the decidedly chilly 56/14 degree air. The barometer is steady as we are now in the relatively shallow waters of the Grand Banks. We only have 1368 miles remaining on this voyage.

 

One of the on board lecturers is the maritime historian Bill Miller, I realise that it is difficult for him to vary his presentations but they are absolutely identical to those that he gave a month or so ago. It is a great shame but in my humble opinion he doesn’t hold a candle to the lectures about similar subjects by John Maxtone-Graham.

 

I had my normal buffet breakfast of muesli and then I went to the spa where absolutely nothing happened. As I returned from the buffet I did bump into Geoffrey Howe and his wife, we exchanged good mornings in standard British fashion and I went to get changed. He was wearing a shirt and tie as he is lecturing later this morning on the UK House of Lords, I will try to catch it later on TV.

 

The foghorn is being sounded as visibility is severely reduced and it is a very grey day. It is 11.15am, we have 95% humidity, a falling barometer, smooth seas with 18 inch wavelets, air temperature of only 52/11 degrees. We have a gentle force 3 breeze from the north east, our speed is 18 knots and we have 1280 nautical miles left to run.

 

More later.

[Bell Boy]

Capt'n, as usual enjoying your blogs .... Give Dragana a big hug from me and ask her to point out Iris & steve who have a message for you from me.

 

 

Bellboy ;)

[capnpugwash]

Capt'n, as usual enjoying your blogs .... Give Dragana a big hug from me and ask her to point out Iris & steve who have a message for you from me.

 

 

Bellboy ;)

 

Hi, I have the message but don't really understand it, my email is on my signature and I could do with some clarification. Thanks