At the opening of the curtains at 07:30 we were approaching Pelican Point on the sand spit that provided the original safe anchorage at Walvis Bay. We are at 22S 14E and will dock in about an hour. Many ships are at anchor, waiting on the tide and spaces in the port which handles Namibia’s …
At 17S 11E it was 17⁰C, bright and cloudy with white topped waves during breakfast. We are nearer to the coast than anticipated, either because of the weather or the events during the early hours. Sleep for everyone was interrupted by a medical call for help. A passenger needed an emergency blood transfusion, and the …
At 08:30, from our cabin window on the starboard side of the ship, it appeared to be an overcast day. However, whilst we ate breakfast the sun was beginning to appear. We were making good progress southwards and it was a little cooler at 24⁰C. At noon the Captain updated us on our progress. We …
This was our first full day, on this voyage, in the Southern Hemisphere. At 08:45 we were experiencing a moderate breeze, a slight chop with 2m waves, a temperature of 27⁰C and a position of 3S 7E and making good progress towards Walvis Bay, Namibia. The ocean is 30,000ft deep here and we are 170 …
At 08:00 we were anchored off the port of São Tomé which is the capital of the island with the same name. The Portuguese discovered the island in the 15th century and the remains of their long ownership are to be found in colonial buildings along and behind a broad curving bay and promenade. Unfortunately, …
At 08:30 we were at 3N 3E heading southeasterly across the Gulf of Guinea. The eastern end of the Gulf was known as the Slave Coast. To our east is Nigeria and what is left of Benin, a civilisation from 900 – 1897AD that stretched along the coastline of the Gulf and was known as …
We had an early start today because of a morning tour. Just before breakfast we were on approach to the port of Lomé in Togo, just east of the Greenwich Meridian and still a little short of the Equator. We docked in the modern container terminal and because of its deep water is capable of …
By breakfast we were docked in Takoradi. It was very humid and hot, in fact, the lenses of the camera misted over because we are closer to the Equator today. This is the biggest port so far with container ships and bulk carriers being handled and smaller bulk carriers feeding the giant ships with minerals …
Opening the curtains before breakfast revealed another clear sky and our ship on the flat, calm sea heading east, with sun on the bow for the first time, to Takoradi, in Ghana. We had 266 miles to go to the next port and have covered 3392 miles from Lisbon. Our arrival tomorrow will be at …
At 08:30 we were still in the Doldrums with a flat calm sea, though on the horizon were big cumulo-nimbus clouds in the Equatorial region that we are approaching which means someone is going to receive rain today. This tropical region is where essentially the trade winds peter out because of the motion of air …