Weather report: a bit chilly but not too much wind and mild seas. Decks are open, so I walked for a while - twice around Deck 7 is one mile.
Captain Wells announced about 8 AM that in the middle of the night Falmouth, Nova Scotia Sea/Air Rescue had contacted QM2 asking for assistance in locating and saving a stranded yachtsman. This was the reason we had turned south and were now 250 miles off regular course joining a rescue attempt with a Liberian oil tanker, an Italian car carrier and a Hercules airplane from Falmouth Base. The skies were a bit cloudy but no fog.
I watched a. bit of fencing and chatted with Sheila/ who has the Cunard Croup and is feeling sluggish and grumpy. The croup occurs every so often to folks who never venture outside but breathe recycled air for days on end!
A couple of hours later, Well announced we were within 18 miles of the yacht's last reported position and crew members were on the port decks with binoculars. A bit later the cry of "There he is!" echoed throughout the ship. I was standing in the corridor and snapped a shot through the window as passengers were asked to stay off the deck walkways until the situation had been resolved.
About an hour later, the Captain announced the completed rescue of the solo sailor and the scuttling of the broken yacht as the man had opened the sea cocks to allow the boat to sink. The Hercules flew circles around us while the car carrier hovered less than a mile away, just in case. It was exciting! Sheila was in the Lower Deck 3 corridor when the yacht slammed against the our hull as the man was being taken aboard. No wonder all passengers were asked to off decks. I wondered why we didn't launch a tender so the yacht never had to come close to the ship, no one could answer my question. The yacht Tamarind was in an annual Royal Western Yacht race.
Late lunch with Scott and Dianne. We were all speculating about the rescue. Here's a link so you can review the specifics of the yacht and her sailor from the London Daily Mirror story.
Bayley's second balloon lecture was about extreme ballooning and the people he referred to as "balloonatics." My favorite four anecdotes included the brothers who attempted to tightrope walk between two balloons and the balloon that got caught on a construction girder. The third story described the man who flew a one-man balloon (a hopper) into a cave in Croatia so he could be the first ever to prove you could balloon in a cave. He basically went down 206 meters into a dry cenote hovered for a bit then went up again; whole deal lasted about 25 minutes, but, hey, he garnered the recognition he craved. The final story involved a Russian Orthodox priest who had ballooned around the world (11 days), across the Arctic (4 days) and across Antarctica (5 days) ... each a solo endeavor.
I skipped the Faberge lecture and the submarine war in the Pacific talk. The crew's boat drill was cancelled as the real thing occurred. Chatted with Paul and Janet Sinclair from our late night rendezvous in Kings Court.
YoYo gave an enlightening and instructive talk on the meaning of the various stateroom codes so we could refine our future stateroom requests. It included details such as which balcony cabin never got an direct sunlight due to overhangs above and which rooms were the recipients of kitchen smells, of rock band music from the disco, of rumblings from the elevators or of wind noise.
Enjoyed afternoon tea with Sheila, Diane and Carol. Declined seeing the film about the witches and wizards operating in the underground NYC culture.
Had a pre-dinner drink while listening to Fiona McGee on the harp. Soothing music, though I wish she'd played Greensleeves! perhaps I'll request it if she plays again before we dock.
Speaking of docking, Captain Wells assures us that despite our rescue detour, we will arrive in Halifax on time. No further big storms are on the radar scope and the wind is with us. His announcement reminded me I need to acquire Canadian money tomorrow.
Dinner was Sheila, Daniel, Aywood and myself. I received an email from Rosemary apologizing for not saying goodbye last week and wishing us well. I am continually awed by how quickly folk become attached just because you share a dinner table.
Enjoyed the Big Band night orchestra until the ghastly adenoidal singer returned and I retreated to 8077.
A full day. Heading for the sheets.
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