and rolling!

Friday January 22nd

No-one should be envying us right now! We have had one of the worst nights I have ever experienced at sea. In fact before going to bed I laid out a warm sweatshirt, my runners and socks, clean underwear....and a hat! Why? Former SAS-ers will know why. Yes, I thought it entirely possible that we might hear the seven emergency blasts during the night.

The Captain would no doubt pronounce that a terrible over-reaction on my part but I was a girl guide once and it can't hurt to be prepared. The weather was dreadful...HUGE swells and waves The ship rocked badly all night. I have discovered that even Ronnie the head waiter did not sleep and you know if the waiters don't get any shut-eye things are unusually disturbing. I imagine if you were on board one of those incredibly gigantic liners which are cruise ships these days you might not feel the motion as much but this is a light ship built for speed.

Everything in our cabin moved including the bed: George has stated "Beds should not move on ocean going vessels!" and he's right because it leaves nowhere to feel secure. There is six inches between the bed and bed-side table on each side so we glided that 12 inches back and forth all night. Everything else apart from this lap-top moved the whole length of the cabin and from the bathroom came a series of thumps as secured plastic blottles of shampoo fell into the bath and everything remaining on the tiny shelves ended up on the floor or in the hand basin.

It is very little better this morning so we have now been rolling badly for over 72 hours. I rushed (like climbing Everest) to the dining room at 7.30 for an 8 am class and there were students with pale faces, obviously exhausted and there were a few faculty secretly hoping that no one would show up for lectures....but we all did! I think carrying on life as normal minimises the fear and discomfort.

Our theatre class uses the Union so we sat on risers and the floor not daring to sit on the all too moveable chairs. (In a talk in one of the classrooms last night someone fell heavily off one of the typical classroom chairs (with annoying trays that mean you have to be pencil thin to sit down) and broke some fingers.) George said all his class turned up but were so sleepy he had to do all the talking.

As I write the mouse keeps sliding off the desk and I have had to put my mug of tea in the hand basin to save spills. I keep thinking as I did during the night 'It's getting better' but we have all discovered that a short period of wonderful calm precedes a crashing roll!

According to our theatre prof. we are to do street drama in Cape Town....I'm so glad I'm going to be in Franschhoek! I would hate to compete with the street drama that already happens there. We are also to be making masks again....help!

I haven't seen Liz and Audrey yet today I imagine they got up at a reasonable hour. Their cabin is more amidships on the 5th deck and I find that one feels more 'contained' there with less movement but Audrey said it had been pretty bad yesterday.

I'll write more later..........