Travel // Going Around // South Pacific // En Route To The Wonders of Nature
Moments ago I was navigating at the bridge (from 12 midnight to 4 AM) as the ship sails quietly under the clear skies. Obviously, the ship’s over 500 guests and crew onboard are enjoying a very comfortable ride as gentle southeasterly winds and slight southeasterly seas barely cause the ship for some irksome motion. After handing over the navigation command to my relieving second officer, I did the safety rounds on the ship before proceeding to my cabin.
To some extent I considered this cruise particularly special one because for this cruise I am the officer in charge of the navigational stuff – laying out on the chart the track line for the ship’s passage and ensuring that the voyage plan for the cruise is loaded and executed in the ship’s radar/ECDIS or Chart Pilot System. Actually, I already prepared all these stuff while the ship was still at port so now that we are at sea, the remaining task that I and my fellow navigating officers should be concerned of is to closely monitor the presence of other ships or fishing boats that might get into our track line. The most innovative feature of the Chart Pilot System that gain my attention is that it navigates the ship by itself with less human intervention from point of departure to arrival and ensuring that the ship is always on the track line during the whole sea passage. I mentioned less human intervention because with this type of navigation system, human navigators seemed to be doing lesser part in the navigation process. My role only comes when the system asks for human confirmation before every course alteration.
This cruise will bring us farther up to two of the remote islands of the Marquesas archipelago – Hiva Oa and Nuku Hiva. The ship’s cruise to the Marquesas doesn’t occur regularly; let’s say it only happens once in a month but sometimes none at all. We will get there in three days time from today. I really miss the ambiance and tranquility of the Marquesas. Its remoteness from the rest of the world is an ultimate boost powering up my energy. I don’t anymore speculate why many of the passengers or guests in their 60s and up are here onboard for this cruise to the Marquesas islands. I engaged into a conversation with one of our passengers at the gangway today. She is in her late 40’s and a forklift driver from San Francisco. She does a yearly cruise with us and in fact this is her 8th cruise onboard the M/S Paul Gauguin. Out of curiosity, I asked her why she doesn’t do world cruise and visit some of the world’s most fabulous cities instead. Her answer was very simple – she just wanted to recharge her energy and be isolated away from the world for few days. Well, I got her point. Everyone these days are yearning (discreetly or conspicuously) to be isolated from the busy world even just for a brief period. A cruise with the M/S Paul Gauguin here in French Polynesia enthralls the passengers/guests deeper to the marvels of nature rather than the glittery of the modern world.
The ship left Papeete, Tahiti at exactly 10PM last night and is now on its course towards Rangiroa, the first port of call for the ship’s 11-day cruise. Rangiroa is part of the Tuamotus islands. It is the second largest atoll in the world and the largest in French Polynesia. Talking about scuba diving, well, Rangiroa outshines the rest of French Polynesia’s islands because Rangiroa exceptionally has one of the best dive sites in the world, the Tiputa Pass. Professional scuba divers spend substantially several thousand bucks just to get to Rangiroa to do scuba diving. For those who are not into scuba diving, snorkeling is the best option. Men don’t possess the passion like women have for black pearls but I am a bit nosy about how these first-rate gems of the Pacific are produced from the Mother of Pearl. So, a visit to the black pearl farm once the ship arrives Rangiroa obviously tops the list in the excursion. It’s almost 2AM here so I guess I have to end here for now. Staying awake beyond this time will obviously make me feel less exuberant for the mandatory drill for the passengers that will take place today just before the ship drops anchor in Rangiroa.
