Tuesday 21 – Thursday 23 March – at
sea
Our first sea day and the first of
three in a row. We had a leisurely breakfast and went to the solo meet but
clearly these had not really taken off and I didn’t bother again. On the
Tuesday I had arranged a Cruise Critic meet in the Uganda Room for noon. There
was a reasonable turn out and everyone got chatting nicely.
My sea days took on a similar
routine of breakfast, a little bit of sunbathing, usually on the terrace behind
the Horizon Restaurant where there was a breeze, a very light lunch of salad
and fruit and then sitting on the promenade deck in the shade watching for
ocean wildlife. The excessive (to me) heat and humidity precluded anything approaching activity outside the chilled air-conditioned confines of the ship but to stay inside was to miss the serene beauty of the Indian Ocean at its best.
The world was blue - deep blue ocean, clear blue skies. There was very little shipping. We were transiting the Malacca Straits, passing the Andaman and
Nicobar Islands, through the Bay of Bengal. I saw flying fish, dolphins and
turtles. The dolphins were doing acrobatic spins and backflips that I have
never seen them do before – such joy and freedom was magical to watch. On the 22nd we had
our official Welcome Aboard party where, chatting to an environmental officer,
I was told about the Aurora Bird Sanctuary!! OK, April 1 is days away yet I said!! Seriously, he told me exhausted migrating birds
often find their way into the mooring deck and the Indian deck hands had built
a cage where they got food and water to build up their strength to carry on
when they were released.
On the 23rd we all had to undergo Pirate Drill. Since
Aurora would be crossing the lower left corner of the At Risk area, we had
high-pressure hoses rigged along the promenade deck, a Royal Navy liaison
officer, armed security and a passenger safety plan. On a given signal those of
us in inside cabins had to return to them and shut the door. Those in outside
cabins had to sit in the corridors and not in front of their cabin doors. This
I felt offered us a unique business opportunity - £5 to use our toilet, £2 per
cup of tea…………!
 |
| A tanker practising their pirate drill |
At night the ship was darkened with all curtains and blinds
drawn and external lights off, save essential ones. The promenade deck was out
of bounds from dusk to dawn and we had the rare and exhilarating experience of being on a ship doing close on her full speed of 22 knots.
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