Smooth seas

Smooth seas!!!! Praise the Good Lord we have smooth seas!  (So far that is!)

I've been thinking a lot about the fact that we are sailing, and how to best help you share in the experience.  Last time we sailed I posted pictures of animals.  This time... well in the first few days the most exciting things seen have been one very small turtle and a couple of flying fish.  Really, really nothing to see right now.  But here's a few things I've noticed while we've been sailing....

1.  You get rocked to sleep.  Sometimes a good thing, because it is soooo soothing.  The bad side?  Well, there's the threat of falling out of bed as you get rocked side to side.  The people in the 2 and 6 berth cabins actually get to be rocked head-to-toe which is the safest rock.  I on the other hand am now on the top bunk in my 4 berth (small shuffle within the cabin to suit personalities better), and so have the VERY slight chance of falling fantastically in the night.  Luckily, I can't recall EVER in my life falling out of bed.  Barring extremely rocky seas, I'm sure I'm fine.  The other bad side to getting rocked to sleep... is how sleepy the rocking makes you during the day.  Seriously... I think everyone who can has been taking multiple naps a day!

2.  Weaving down the hallways.   Yup.  It's kinda hard to walk straight.  If you don't concentrate you can hit both sides of the hall as you walk, and it's a lot easier to accidentally walk into people.  I timed the rocking this afternoon by staring out the window and timing from when the horizon dissapeared above the window to when it went below the window and then returned to it's starting point above the window... exactly 10 seconds.  It's slow and gentle, but stilll noticable.  Sometimes more than others.

3.  Bumper cars in the office.  hehehe!  Okay, not REAL bumper cars.  We just... decided to see what would happen if we stopped bracing ourselves on our wheely chairs when the rocking got a little stronger at one point.   They moved (we moved).  Alot.  I'll try and get video next time.  Or we won't do it again.  We'll see.

4.  Community changes.  People get more relaxed.  We're stuck with the same 350 or so people for 5 days straight, and there's no "strangers" coming on board.  It's different.  Families come out more.  Young people can't leave the ship so they hang out in communal areas more.  People willingly find all kinds of fun things to do onboard.  It's probably one of my favorite things about the sail.  It's almost like a bonding time.

5.  The flat, neverending sea and sky.  There is something so amazing about being surrounded by... well... a bunch of nothing.  Makes you feel small.  Insignificant almost.  The stars spread across the sky in a brilliant display, garnished by the milky way that reminds me of a poor imitation of northern lights, minus the colors and the movement.  The vastness around you... nothing to see but sky and sea... as my friend so succinctly put it "we're really alone out here".  It's just us, on the ship.  But really, I love the view.  Really really do.  I'm soaking it all in.  (I like flat... I grew up in the prairies after all.  There's nothing to block my view of the sky!)

6.  Did I mention how fresh and clean the air is?  It's lovely.   No pollution out here.  Just fresh ocean air.

7.  Sitting on the bow.  I could spend the day there.  It's peaceful.  People like to gather there for the view and the fresh air and the fact that it's the best place to watch for sea creatures.  It's a place we go to worship, to read, to stand and stare out over the water.  It's community.  And it ONLY ever open during our sails/voyages, so it's unique and special.

Hmm.  That's it from the top of my head. 
Hope it paints a bit of a picture!