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*Report from the Voyage of the Spammed*

RevNeal

By RevNeal,
in Holland America Line

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AlohaPride

AlohaPride

Posted
Posted

Hello everyone!

 

It's been a VERY long 24 hours!! As you all know, at about 7:07 am HST there was an earth quake of about 6.6 magnitude. At first, our door started to shake (I thought our kitty wanted to come in the room), then the mirror on the wall started, and then the bed. That's when we got worried. It was a gradual thing and the shaking was really bad only for about 15 seconds, then it gradually went away. I called my dad to make sure I wasn't dreaming and he was checking the news - all our radios and TV stations were down. Then we got off the phone and the second quake started. It was only a 5.8, and shorter than the first. Then the power problems started. I did feel one of the after shocks later yesterday afternoon. The last count I heard as far as after shocks was 21. Our Governor was awesome (she was in a Hotel in Kona) and within hours had taken an aerial tour and declared the island of Hawai'i a disaster area. She also called Clear Channel Radio many times throughout the day to keep those of us in the dark informed.

 

Immediately after the second quake, the power went off and then came right back on. Then it was a brown-out where we had power, but the amps were low. Then the power slowly went out. And that's how it stayed state-wide for many hours! Our HECO (Hawaii Electric Company) representative explained that when the earthquake occurred, it made their frequencies unstable. That condition can bring down the whole grid permanently, so as a remedial measure they manually took all the generators off line (which is why all the power was out island-wide). They then went through the long and tedious process of bringing each generator on line manually, determined that the grid was stable, fix any problems associated with that zone, and then moved on to the next one, etc. until everything was again back on line. They are still not finished and there still are pockets of people without power this morning. We are among the lucky ones as we had power off and on from about 9 pm last night. The street lights are not working in our area though.

 

Thank you, everyone, for all of your concern!

 

Oh, did I mention that I had the stomach flu all day yesterday too??

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grannynurse

grannynurse

Posted
Posted

I'm so glad that Mary posted and that all is getting better.

 

Here's a weird attempt at humor, Ruth will understand,

Are we sure Greg is the culprit? Actually he has a really good sponsor, BUT Ruth, that's another story, hurricanes, rogue waves, fouled stabilizer, lots of broken crockery, man she has a history and a half; funny, no one mentioned any broken glassware on board but maybe they're not telling. I guess it could be an unhealthy combo of the BOTH of them, or someone gave more attention to the chocolate goddess than to the earthquake mother...OOOO the possibilities. Ruth, I now consider you a bi-coastal power, and don't give me hiccups like you did last time.

GN

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sail7seas

sail7seas

Posted
Posted

Mary........

 

Thanks for posting to let us know you and your DH are okay. We were worried about you.

 

Stay safe and keep checking in with us.

 

 

GN........

 

ROFL ........ :D Wait until Ruth reads That!@!!@#@@#

 

You think the rogue wave and earthquake were a bit much.......oh my goodness, wait until the chocolate goddess gets wind of that post!!!

 

Did I say Wind???

 

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HeatherInFlorida

HeatherInFlorida

Posted
Posted

Mary, so glad that you're okay and thanks so much for the update and the extremely impressive explanation of getting your power back!!! I'm impressed.

 

Grannynurse, you have an excellent (and hysterically funny:D ) point there! As a matter of fact, I'm thinking now that maybe they forgot to put chocolate on Ruth's pillow again!!!

 

It's not nice to fool with Ruth! Remember she also had a problem with her toilet flusher???

 

Do you think her wrath caused the quake??? Very possible!!!:D :D Love you, Ruth!!!!!;)

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SDHALFAN

SDHALFAN

Posted
Posted
Hello everyone!

 

It's been a VERY long 24 hours!! As you all know, at about 7:07 am HST there was an earth quake of about 6.6 magnitude. At first, our door started to shake (I thought our kitty wanted to come in the room), then the mirror on the wall started, and then the bed. That's when we got worried. It was a gradual thing and the shaking was really bad only for about 15 seconds, then it gradually went away. I called my dad to make sure I wasn't dreaming and he was checking the news - all our radios and TV stations were down. Then we got off the phone and the second quake started. It was only a 5.8, and shorter than the first. Then the power problems started. I did feel one of the after shocks later yesterday afternoon. The last count I heard as far as after shocks was 21. Our Governor was awesome (she was in a Hotel in Kona) and within hours had taken an aerial tour and declared the island of Hawai'i a disaster area. She also called Clear Channel Radio many times throughout the day to keep those of us in the dark informed.

 

Immediately after the second quake, the power went off and then came right back on. Then it was a brown-out where we had power, but the amps were low. Then the power slowly went out. And that's how it stayed state-wide for many hours! Our HECO (Hawaii Electric Company) representative explained that when the earthquake occurred, it made their frequencies unstable. That condition can bring down the whole grid permanently, so as a remedial measure they manually took all the generators off line (which is why all the power was out island-wide). They then went through the long and tedious process of bringing each generator on line manually, determined that the grid was stable, fix any problems associated with that zone, and then moved on to the next one, etc. until everything was again back on line. They are still not finished and there still are pockets of people without power this morning. We are among the lucky ones as we had power off and on from about 9 pm last night. The street lights are not working in our area though.

 

Thank you, everyone, for all of your concern!

 

Oh, did I mention that I had the stomach flu all day yesterday too??

 

 

Aloha Mary and Keaka,

 

So glad to hear that you and yours are all okay, and I'm sorry Mary about the stomach 'flu and hope that you are over that now also.

 

I must say that I am very impressed with the aplomb with which you handled the earthquake and the aftershocks. Do you realise that, should you wish to relocate to the mainland, you are now eminently qualified to be a Californian? I thought that we were the only ones who would consider a 5.8 aftershock to be not that bad. Oh, and we also know all about brownouts and electrical grids, etc.:D (By the way, even we Californians would consider a 6.6 to be a pretty major earthquake).

 

Seriously, I'm glad that no-one was killed and that most of the injuries seem to be fairly minor and non life-threatening.

 

Stay safe and well,

 

Valerie:)

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AlohaPride

AlohaPride

Posted
Posted
Mary, Glad to hear that you, husband, and pets are OK.

 

Weird about the stomach flu. Coincidence or a six sense?

 

Not sure. Both DM and DDad were nauseous yesterday. I was the only one in the family who actually got SICK. Today I'm still feeling under the weather...Thanks for all the concern!!

 

Brian, WOW! I hadn't even seen the pictures. My poor DH had to clean everything up because I couldn't move :(

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HoneyGV

HoneyGV

Posted
Posted
Have a wonderful time, Spamdammers. So, what's the official drink of this voyage - the Spam-tini? The Blue Spam? The Spam-hattan? The Spam-o-politan? The Frozen Spam-arita? The Spama-colada? I could keep going. :D

 

May your seas be choppy (for Ruth), may your drinks be plentiful, may you never break a glass - here's to gorgeous weather & fair winds. :)

 

Will the official breakfast be Spam n Ham?:D

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Lynne Myrna

Lynne Myrna

Posted
Posted

Mary.....happy to hear that you & your husband are fine....sorry that you had a stomach flu......this was something you could have done without...your report was appreciated....I feel as if I already know you...what a great group of people on this thread.....all are so caring...hoping that all you spammers are having a great time...take care all.

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HoneyGV

HoneyGV

Posted
Posted
Mary.....happy to hear that you & your husband are fine....sorry that you had a stomach flu......this was something you could have done without...your report was appreciated....I feel as if I already know you...what a great group of people on this thread.....all are so caring...hoping that all you spammers are having a great time...take care all.

 

Just got onto this thread and am hoping everything is ok in the Islands by now. God Bless all.

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serendipity1499

serendipity1499

Posted
Posted

This also has been my first chance to post..But so glad to know that all the spamdammers are OK & AlohaPride is also OK except for the flu..Mary, hope are resting & drinking plenty of fluids..We wish you a speedy recovery..Take care everyone & enjoy the rest of your cruise..:) Betty

 

P.S. Glad to hear the chocolates are back!

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RevNeal

RevNeal

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Good afternoon from the Zaandam at anchorage off the coast of Lahaina, Maui. Yes, we were able to ashore and they attempted to run at least some of our shore excursions. However, we were not able to visit several of the tour sights. It was pretty much a sorry waist of time and money. :( They should have cancelled excursions.

 

It rained and rained and rained buckets all day long, and there were mud-slides and rock-slides which blocked off several roads, making it impossible for our tours to do all the sites we were supposed to do. :(

 

We're in the last couple of hours of our stay here, and then we'll up-anchor and head for the mainland. Ah ... 5 wonderful days crossing the Pacific remain ahead of us! After these hectic days, I'm looking forward to the quiet of an ocean voyage! :)

 

Susan ... Copper10-8 is correct. We first stopped at Hilo, then went to Honolulu, then BACK to the main Island and Kona, before heading on to Maui today. :) It was a strange, but also neat itinerary. I would have loved to have gone ashore at Kona, but that simply wasn't to be.

 

Mary, sorry to read that you've not been feeling well! But, I'm VERY pleased to read that you and Keaka are ok and were not hurt in the quake.

 

I'll post tomorrow with some more photos as well as (I hope) a couple of short video clips of some of the fun we've been having during the evenings. :)

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jhannah

jhannah

Posted
Posted

What a disappointment to miss some stops on your excursions. But that's Mother Nature for you! News reports were talking about how wet ground and shaking of that ground weren't a good combination. Let's hope the damage doesn't get worse.

 

Enjoy your sea days back to the west coast.

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LHC

LHC

Posted
Posted

Rev. N,

I was working diligently at home all weekend with some weekend warriors who came 200 miles from Nolensville Methodist Church to help me get some much needed tasks done at home....that said I did not even see about the quake until Monday morning, when Greg's nurse came in and had the paper with her. Immediately got on line to see how all was going.

Sorry about the excursions, did they give back monies to those who had booked excursions, or did you all try and just give up?

Nice to know you will have 5 sea days back to enjoy the beautiful Zaandam and staff.

Praying for the Hawaiian people and the beautiful country.

Linda

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HeatherInFlorida

HeatherInFlorida

Posted
Posted

I was just wondering .............

 

......Has anyone seen Mother Nature and RuthC together???? I haven't. So............

 

Greg and everyone, it's such a shame that this had to happen at all and particularly while you were on this cruise planned for 18 long months. Some disappointments for all of you, but hopefully the fun enjoyed together will overshadow that.

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