van wyk journeys October 23rd & 24th – Days at sea
The evening of departure at Albany, following the skilled and talented banjo player, an announcement was made indicating that the weather was going to be deteriorating and that rough sea could be expected along with some movement of the ship, yippee.
An update from the Captain at dinner (the 23rd) included a warning of possible rough seas ahead. Following this warning, while watching the local news, the local weather station was forecasting a high of 37C for Adelaide for the 24th followed by a major drop to 13C on the 25th with blustery conditions and potential rain. The forecast included a discussion about a major low-pressure cell located in the sea southwest of Adelaide which was heading in our direction.
The morning of the 24th was our second straight day where the time changed 1 hour forward, something unique to this cruise where while westbound the time changed across the top of the country and now it is changing back. Before we arrive in Burnie the time will be advanced another ½ hour. The last time change will occur before our arrival in Hobart on the 27th if we make it that far.
This morning (the 24th) the Captain announced that we were staying ahead of the low-pressure system out in the south of the Indian Ocean. He suggested that depending on how severe the system is it could change our itinerary, but that decision won’t be made until we are in port at Adelaide.
Well, the decision was made by the Captain and announced early on the 25th, so early that we had not quite docked yet and were still in bed. We are now staying in Adelaide an additional day and would not be going to Hobart due to rough seas, seems the storm has tracked easterly and would be crossing the Tasmanian coast around the time we would be in the area.
That changed our plans as we were going to head into Adelaide via a dedicated train, look around and then head back to the ship for a mid-afternoon sailing. As that was not happening we decide to go to Hahndorf to locate 20 minutes from Adelaide. To make this journey we took the bus, 864F, which took us to the center of the village. Historically this village was founded in 1838 by a small group of German settlers who arrive by ship. There are still a large number of original buildings.
