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Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024

Sailing in the Tasman Sea

I’d always heard about the crossing of the Drake Passage as being wild, but the Tasman Sea is not for the faint of heart! Our Captain informed us there is a low pressure storm that would affect the sea conditions after we left Milford Sound, but his mild-mannered admonitions to take care when walking was an amusing understatement. We’re like the proverbial drunken sailors: staggering, swaying, lunching and stumbling, grabbing for the handrails as we transverse the decks. Jerry loves it — a great fun adventure. I’m less enthused as the waves have reached 6.2 meters. A meter equates 3.28 feet, so you do the math!

Fortunately, I’m not prone to seasickness, but I can’t look out at the whitecaps for long without feeling a little queasy. This gives new meaning to the expression Batten down the hatches, as we try to secure anything in our cabin that could become a flying projectile when the ship lurches and bumps.

Apparently the Tasman Sea has a reputation as one of the most turbulent seas with high winds, swells and waves and unpredictable weather year-round. Hmm, they never mentioned that in the sale brochure! ;-) Well, we signed up for a big adventure!