CRUISING AROUND CAPE HORN ... and other places

satt_fs :
here are all the technical and other detais of the ms. rotterdam .
the maximum speed is given as 25 knots . the service speed , of course , will vary greatly depending upon the distance to be covered between ports .
usually the service speed is about 18 to 20 knots .
anchors aweigh !
hbg

...CRUISESHIP ROTTERDAM...

hamburger..
Thank you for the link about ms Rotterdam.

For your information, you can find an image of a very slow (11~12 knots) boat cruising on Biwa Lake, Japan in this link.

satt_fs : thanks for the link !
we have our own 'slow boat' here in kingston ; it's the ferry 'wolfe islander' connecting our city with wolfe island - the largest of the thousand islands( in lake ontario) .
it is a government ferry - considered an extension of the highway system - and there is no charge for traversing on it .
the picture shows the ferry passing "the royal military college of canada" which is situated within the boundaries of the city of kingston - an old military town .
we enjoy taking a ferry ride in the evening to see the sun set over lake ontario - and it's free .
hbg



sunset over lake ontario

What a beautiful sunset, the sign of a good weather next day.

Talking about ms Rotterdam again, I can understand the ship of the gross tonnage 59,652 grt. and of the length 780 feet, which is very large, would make such waves at the service speed.
I have never taken ships greater than 10,000 grt.

Nice pictures, hbg

Thank you

McT

ship's log :
thursday , march 23 , at sea - entering darwin channel
near gale , rough seas (waves to 20 feet)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
satt_fs : the waves - up to 20 feet - added to the waves created by the movement of the ship might give you some idea of the total wave action .
on the other hand there were also days when the atlantic was absolutely smooth - hardly a ripple on the water .

even our own lake ontario can have quite strong wave action ; when we have a south-westerly wind - coming from the united states side of the lake - , waves will easily rech 7-10 feet . of course , the ferry will shut down service if the wind and waves are excessive .
hbg

storm clouds gathering over lake ontario


many ships have sunk in lake ontario over the years , and divers from all over the world come to this area to dive and view the ship-wrecks .
this is a link to one of the "dive shops" in the area with many interesting pictures :
...DIVING IN LAKE ONTARIO...

On the net, one can find the path of HMS Beagle here.
Your cruise must have followed almost the reverse course of this.

satt_fs :
yes , the ms. rotterdam followed the course of the "beagle" in reverse .
the "beagle" progressed in a somewhat more leisurely fashion , and , being a
much smaller ship , could enter into many of the small inlets .
the ms. rotterdam - coming from puerto montt -entered the straits of magellan
(estrecho de magallanes) at "desolation island" and sailed towards "punta
arenas" .
the ship then moved back out to the south-atlantic , entered the "beagle
channel' and entered the port of "ushuaia/argentina" .
from "ushuaia" the rotterdam sailed again back out to the south-atlantic ,
cruised "cape horn" (cabo de hornos) and sailed on to the falkland islands .
btw many hardy sailors 'round the horn in rather small sailboats , but that's
not quite our style ( ) . we do like the ocean , but also enjoy a fine
dinner in the evening - and perhaps some nice entertainment thereafter before
settling down in our cabin .
we usually take an inside cabin on the promanade deck , it allows us to be out
on deck quickly , so we won't miss any of the sights .
while the cabins are rather small , about 180 square feet , it has everything
one needs :
two comfortable beds , a small sofa and an armchair , a small table , radio
and TV and a bathroom with shower .
there are plenty of wardrobes and drawers to store everything neatly - so
after a couple of days , it feels almost like a home .
while we prefer to have our meals in the dining-room , the cabin-steward is
also ready to serve "breakfast in bed" - or any other meal for that matter .
have you ever considered taking even a short cruise ?
we took our first cruise in 1986 - a seven-day alaska cruise - and while we
can't afford to cruise every year , we try to give ourselves a treat every few
years by going on a cruise .
one cruise i have "my eye" on (would really like to do it !) , is a 32-day
cruise from hongkong to taipei , shanghai , xingang , dalian , pusan ,
NAGASAKI (!) , OSAKA (!) , TOKYO (!) , HOKODATE (!) and on to the kuril
islands , alaska and ending in vancouver .
the cruise starts on april 19 in hongkong and ends in vancouver on may 20 .
have to save a lot of pennies :wink: :wink: :wink: before we can take that
cruise .
well , we can dream , can't we ?
hbg

The books, "The Journal of a Voyage in H.M.S.Beagle" and "Charles Darwin's Beagle Diary" are two of my most favorite books.


Well, if you let me know the date of arriving at Osaka, I might be able to wave at you.

satt_fs :
the largest cruise-ship - for long , i wonder ? - is currently the 'freedom of the seas' at 160,000 tons ! she'll carry more than 4,000 passengers - a little too large , i think .
i understand that she'll be doing 7 to 10 days cruises out of florida .
the ship can't pass through the panama canal !
i'll stay with the "small" rotterdam .
hbg


...LARGEST CRUISE-SHIP......for now...

hamburger..
Here is a satellite photo (google map) of the supertanker Knock Nevis (564,763 tonnes).
It is impossible for her to navigate not only the Panama canal but the English Channel She had better sitting still near the shore.

the "knock nevis" has quite a history !
i followed it through wikipedia links and came upon some astounding pictures >>>...knock nevis...
i believe the ship is now a 'warehouse' in a port .

hard to believe that in 1956 we crossed the atlantic from rotterdam/netherlands to montreal in a 1,500 ton freighter .
we sailed on the 'prins willem III' of the dutch oranje line .
hbg

not sure if it is a true picture , but our ship was in the same class