Well the coffee didn’t last too long in the cup. One roll and she was all gone. I was soaked through to the skin, shirt, pants, socks and all. You’re probably wondering what on earth I am talking about and what just happened? I am on the ship at the moment and the weather has just taken a turn for the worst. The ship is rolling side to side like an un-mounted washing machine so placing your coffee cup down even for the slightest second it will end up all down your front. We as Deck Officers are used to this sort of weather and we are trained to work in these conditions and even worse. It’s the passengers though who we feel sorry for. They board the passenger ferry full of excitement expecting a fantastic calm crossing with the chance of seeing dolphins in the Sounds, but little do they know what awaits them outside the heads.
Wind against tide, swell against tide, basically everything was against us. The winds had turned to become a blowing gale from the south, heavy rain was now horizontal, seas were up to 7 metres in height and a temperature which couldn’t be read on the thermometer. Passengers resume the foetal position, faces buried in their laps. Children screaming, teenagers vomiting, the stench created a domino effect from one end of the ship to the other. All those who came on hungry and enjoyed a lovely lunch were now re-seeing all that they ate. The time eventually comes 3 and a ½ hours later when we arrive at the other side I have never seen such relief in peoples faces before when we have reached out destination.