tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6249786371319146092011-07-30T19:38:33.438-05:00TerryBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07606281045661975552noreply@blogger.comBlogger401100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-624978637131914609.post-78053144959733490852009-12-28T17:39:00.000-06:002009-12-28T17:39:38.242-06:00

25 December. 42°16'59"N, 087°57'11"W. At home. Merry Christmas. It’s been 12 days since the MV Explorer pulled into San Diego harbor, and I’m starting to get my land legs back. When I stand still—waiting in line to board an airplane, for example—the room still rolls a little, but the “swells” are getting smaller and will, I’m sure, soon be gone. That’s when I’ll know I’m home. In addition to

TerryBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07606281045661975552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-624978637131914609.post-16786620184716309282009-12-18T21:27:00.002-06:002009-12-18T21:27:25.882-06:00

18 December. En Route (by plane) from Las Vegas to Washington DC. After 4 days with daughters, son, and grandchildren, I’m heading to DC on the last leg of my re-entry voyage before returning home to Libertyville on the 20th. Waiting in Washington is Haley, who will be performing Saturday and Sunday as the newest member of the U.S. Navy Band in their annual holiday concert at Constitution Hall.

TerryBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07606281045661975552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-624978637131914609.post-34229942605450717342009-12-14T09:18:00.000-06:002009-12-14T09:18:07.040-06:00

13 December. 30°52’N, 123°43’W. Speed= 23 knots. Course= 070 “The storm of the century” never appeared. We’re now a little less than 15 hours before our scheduled arrival in Sand Diego harbor, and, other than a few gently rolling swells north of Oahu, the past 4 days have been smooth and relatively sunny. In fact, Thursday was a picture-perfect day on the Pacific: the sea looking like a massive,

TerryBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07606281045661975552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-624978637131914609.post-32315174519767821912009-12-09T19:39:00.000-06:002009-12-09T19:39:30.705-06:00

9 December. In port, Honolulu. We’re now in the middle of our 6th full day in paradise, “stuck,” you might say, waiting for the giant swells in the North Pacific to settle down before we depart on the last leg of our nearly-4-month voyage. We arrived on time Friday morning, 4 December, just beating the storm, if that’s what it was. And the local newspapers were forecasting the biggest waves in

TerryBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07606281045661975552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-624978637131914609.post-91293004747114477342009-11-30T15:28:00.000-06:002009-11-30T15:28:06.081-06:00

29 November (Sunday after our two Saturdays). 28°52’ N, 173°44’ E. Course: 107. Speed: 15 knots. Though we don’t cross the international date line until this evening, sometime between 1800 and 1900 hours, the ship declared yesterday as our fall-back day, when we lose all the hours we’ve gained over the past 3+ months and are now behind the U.S. Early yesterday, we were 18 hours ahead of Chicago.

TerryBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07606281045661975552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-624978637131914609.post-55815303648445593032009-11-25T06:08:00.000-06:002009-11-25T06:08:33.438-06:00

25 November. 33°17’N, 139°43’E. Course: 090. Speed 16 knots. We’re 18 hours east of Kobe, about 8 miles north of the Isu Islands, which (I think I remember this) are the peaks of the tallest mountains in the world. That’s true because (again, I think I remember this) we’re just about to sail over the Japan Trench, part of the Marianas Trench, which is the deepest point of all the world’s

TerryBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07606281045661975552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-624978637131914609.post-56304146106250034252009-11-23T18:48:00.001-06:002009-11-23T18:50:54.327-06:00

22 November. 33°18’ N, 135°50’ E. Speed= 11 knots. Course= 247° We’re sailing toward Kobe at a blistering 11 knots, scheduled to arrive at 7am tomorrow. Bob and Maria Chapel have been traveling overland between Tokyo and Kobe, and will rejoin the ship in the morning. Then Maria will go to Kyoto, and Bob I’ve-seen-all-the-temples-I-want-to-see Chapel and I will board a bullet train for the 75-

TerryBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07606281045661975552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-624978637131914609.post-23213377513528615432009-11-21T19:52:00.000-06:002009-11-21T19:52:40.035-06:00

21 November. Yokohama, Japan. What a beautiful city! I had expected Yokohama to be like so many of the other port cities we’ve seen: heavy industry, lots of cranes and cargo ships, trucks, containers, dust, dirt. But this is Japan. Yokohama gleams. The port terminal is an architectural work of art, with wooden platforms, grassy lawns, lots of glass and shiny aluminum. And the city is Asia’s

TerryBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07606281045661975552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-624978637131914609.post-42741999793501965402009-11-17T07:16:00.000-06:002009-11-17T07:16:03.404-06:00

17 November. 31°20’N, 121°33’E. Speed: 5.1 knots. Course: generally north We’re slowly plying our way down the Huangpu River enroute to the mouth of the Yangzi and, eventually, into the East China Sea. We delayed our departure from Shanghai for 20 hours because of forecast rough weather once we leave the Yangzi. Captain Jeremy feels we’d be better off going at close-to-top speed through the

TerryBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07606281045661975552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-624978637131914609.post-68189547199842017382009-11-14T19:55:00.002-06:002009-11-14T19:55:42.993-06:00

13 November. 30°39’ N, 123° 18’ E. Course: 343°. Speed 20 knots. The seas have been rough and the skies very grey ever since we left Hong Kong. Last night, in particular, the ship was rocking from stem to stern in 20+-knot winds and rain. And the temperature has fallen considerably. It’s now in the mid 50s (F) outside, and water temperature has fallen to just 70°. I remember: it’s November.

TerryBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07606281045661975552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-624978637131914609.post-75067287235225913422009-11-12T23:17:00.000-06:002009-11-12T23:17:00.840-06:00

13 November. 22° 38’N, 116° 38’ E. Course: 065°. Speed: 15 knots. We’re now en route to Shanghai from Hong Kong, and I’m 2 ports behind on my blog. Today and tomorrow are catch-up days . . . for many things. The three days between Saigon and Hong Kong were full of lesson prep and teaching (I’m now at those lessons that I didn’t fully prep last summer). The 2 days in Hong Kong were full of Hong

TerryBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07606281045661975552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-624978637131914609.post-31622761927764640322009-11-08T22:22:00.001-06:002009-11-08T22:24:51.478-06:00

8 November. 13 degress N, 110 degrees E. Course= 040. Speed= 15 knots. I don’t know where to start in describing the stop in Vietnam. So I won’t start there. Instead, I’ll make fast work of the trip from Chennai to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Chennai to Ho Ch Minh (Saigon) (28 October-2 November) The crossing from the east coast of India to the entrance to the straits of Mallaca was uneventful

TerryBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07606281045661975552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-624978637131914609.post-23863360380587573032009-10-28T02:27:00.002-05:002009-10-28T02:27:37.412-05:00

28 October. 11°43’N, 83°40’E. Course: 113°. 14 knots, En route (thank you, Bob) to Vietnam Where do I start to describe India? It is, indeed, a land of contrasts. Or perhaps a better way to put it is as the local tourist bureau characterizes the country: “Incredible India!” It is, indeed, hard to believe one country can be a place of such side-by-side abject poverty and tremendous luxury.

TerryBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07606281045661975552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-624978637131914609.post-65766291226164142082009-10-23T02:51:00.000-05:002009-10-23T02:51:11.967-05:00

23 October, In port, Chennai, India I woke this morning to the smell of India. We’d been told that Chennai, located in the state of Tamil Nadu on the southeast coast of the Bay of Bengal, isn’t exactly the garden spot of India. It was founded by the British only 350 years ago, named Madras (and is still called Madras by most residents), and has evolved as an economic and manufacturing hub of

TerryBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07606281045661975552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-624978637131914609.post-35774873602769171182009-10-17T13:00:00.002-05:002009-10-17T13:00:35.360-05:00

17 October. In port, Port Louis, Mauritius Lots to catch up on. Though, in another sense, not much. We sailed from Cape Town into the roughest seas we’ve encountered since leaving Norfolk. We were advised to batten down everything in our cabins that could be battened down, and this time, it was no false alarm. Almost as soon as we cleared the harbor, the ship starting rolling what seemed like

TerryBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07606281045661975552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-624978637131914609.post-2416361887981538212009-10-08T13:00:00.000-05:002009-10-08T13:00:31.079-05:00

7 October. Enroute from Johannesburg to Cape Town I’m sitting on a South African Airlines’ 737 flying back to Cape Town following our 3-day stay at Impodimo (im-poh-DEE-moh) Game Lodge. The last 3 days have been absolutely, the highlight of the voyage so far. After what seemed like months of back-and-forth among Shamim, Maria, Betsy, and me over where we should go on our African safari and which

TerryBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07606281045661975552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-624978637131914609.post-17024637975803467462009-10-07T15:31:00.000-05:002009-10-07T15:31:59.918-05:00

5 October. Impodimo Game Lodge, Madikwe Game Reserve, North-West Province, South Africa I’m sitting on the deck of my . . . I’m embarrassed to use the word, but it’s the only word that fits . . . chalet on the grounds of the Impodimo Game Lodge. We (Jim, Shamim, Bob, Maria, Betsy, and I) arrived here about 11:30am after an early morning flight from Cape Town to Johannesburg, and a charter flight

TerryBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07606281045661975552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-624978637131914609.post-54218602861628163992009-10-03T02:29:00.001-05:002009-10-03T06:10:45.599-05:00

3 October. In port, Cape Town, South Africa Words can’t do justice to this very beautiful city, sitting at the base of what they call Table Mountain. So I’ll post pictures on Facebook. Suffice to say that we’re docked adjacent to the Table Bay 5-star hotel, at the Victoria & Alfred waterfront, steps away from the low-rise, Dutch-colonial-style old city. And, as if custom ordered by SAS, the sky

TerryBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07606281045661975552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-624978637131914609.post-41020937724422734202009-10-02T14:35:00.000-05:002009-10-02T14:35:05.758-05:00

2 October. 29° 43” S, 15° 56” E. Course = 150°. Speed = 20 knots If territorial waters extended 250 miles offshore, I could say we just passed into South Africa. And, after 3 very cloudy, windy, cool, “lumpy” days at sea, the sun is finally out, the temperatures are going up, and the swells are beginning to unswell. These are good omens for the upcoming days in South Africa. I’ve spent these

TerryBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07606281045661975552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-624978637131914609.post-72718567226217342332009-09-29T07:33:00.000-05:002009-09-29T07:33:43.115-05:00

29 September. 13° 18”S, 08° 17” E. Course = 156°. Speed = 14 knots The sea swells are definitely larger today than they have been since the second day out of Halifax—maybe even higher. The captain, a Brit with 35 years at sea—someone who runs a very, very tight ship—told Nick Immarino, our executive dean, that we may be in for “a bit of a bumpy ride” over the next few days. A storm is brewing

TerryBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07606281045661975552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-624978637131914609.post-11903658378033718052009-09-26T07:19:00.000-05:002009-09-26T07:19:09.302-05:00

25 September. In port at Tema, Ghana Today, Bob Chapel, Jim Cooper, and I were joined by a student from Minnesota, Brett, for 18 holes of golf at what Golf Digest touts as “the best course in Ghana.” As Jim said, that’s like identifying the best hockey player in Equador. Jim’s comparison was spot on. The course, Achimota, was built by the British colonialists in 1934, and I can picture the

TerryBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07606281045661975552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-624978637131914609.post-28498594846797995802009-09-26T07:17:00.002-05:002009-09-26T07:17:56.914-05:00

24 September. In port at Tema, Ghana. When I think of West Africa in the future, I’ll think “red dust.” It’s everywhere: on the roads, surrounding the shops, on the floors of homes, in the gardens, on the front “lawns.” The red clay that must underlie this entire part of the continent becomes a rock-like foundation covered by a thin layer of fine sand-like dust during the dry season. And

TerryBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07606281045661975552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-624978637131914609.post-71890258897226824912009-09-22T05:12:00.001-05:002009-09-22T15:27:37.284-05:00

22 September. 5° 38” N. 00° 00.06” E. Speed = 0 knots We’re finally docked at the port of Tema, Ghana, barely into the Eastern Hemisphere by six one hundredths of a minute longitude—a few meters. The docking process took an unusually long time this morning. At each previous destination, we’ve watched the final feet of slack in the mooring lines tightened precisely at the scheduled arrival time

TerryBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07606281045661975552noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-624978637131914609.post-38258767199745065712009-09-21T14:58:00.000-05:002009-09-21T14:58:25.514-05:00

21 September. 04° 06” N, 03° 58” W. Course = 088°, Speed = 16 knots. We’re now about 300 nautical miles (NM) north of the equator and 300NM west of the prime meridian, which puts us about the same distance northwest of what the Ghanaians call “the center of the world”: the point where the two lines cross, dividing the northern from the southern hemisphere and the east from the west. The air

TerryBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07606281045661975552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-624978637131914609.post-83542620890403620492009-09-17T10:18:00.000-05:002009-09-17T10:18:39.223-05:00

17 September. 20° 41”N, 18° 3” W. Course= 182°. Speed= 15 knots. We’re off the coast of southern Morocco, 100 to 200 miles from the western Sahara, traveling south on what is a very busy ocean highway. Unlike the Atlantic crossing from Halifax to Cadiz, where seeing another ship was an event, here traffic is routine. We pass container ships almost hourly, each carrying a deck full of those

TerryBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07606281045661975552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-624978637131914609.post-45984174583428113832009-09-13T17:00:00.000-05:002009-09-13T17:00:35.673-05:00

13 September. 33° 56”N, 07° 36” W. Casablanca Not much to say about Casablanca except that’s it’s no longer the romantic city of Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. It’s closer to Pittsburgh . . . before the mills closed. I suppose the ambiance of the city wasn’t helped on Thursday, the day we arrived, by the overcast skies and incessant drizzle that varied between a heavy mist and a light

TerryBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07606281045661975552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-624978637131914609.post-87039647461001639732009-09-09T08:12:00.000-05:002009-09-09T08:12:06.370-05:00

9 September (09-09-09). 36° 8”N, 05° 10”W. I woke this morning after a very good sleep and went to the window to see that we were stopped, pointing east. My cabin is on the starboard (right) side of the ship, and I could see on the horizon several very large ships also stopped—a few cruise ships like ours, mostly container ships, and tankers. I showered, grabbed my camera, and walked up to the

TerryBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07606281045661975552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-624978637131914609.post-78206821097282542312009-09-05T12:39:00.000-05:002009-09-05T12:39:34.845-05:00

5 September, 36° 32” N, 6° 17” W, speed = 0 knots After a restless night, I woke just a few minutes before 0700 to the periodic flash of a light coming through the window. It was still dark outside, but the faint glow and the flashes drew me to the window, where I looked out and saw the lights of the narrow Cadiz peninsula slowly moving past, punctuated every 20 seconds or so by the sweep of the

TerryBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07606281045661975552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-624978637131914609.post-52139110133368004292009-09-04T07:47:00.002-05:002009-09-04T07:47:47.797-05:00

4 September, 37° 8”N, 11° 53” W, course= 114°, speed = 16 knots We’re now within 150 nautical miles (NM) or so from the nearest land, and a little over 300NM from Cadiz, Spain, where we’re scheduled to dock at 0800 tomorrow. We lost another hour last night. The drip torture of one hour per day rather than the 5-hour-plus change experienced in a flight from the U.S. to Europe hasn’t been making

TerryBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07606281045661975552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-624978637131914609.post-33125808291396359742009-09-02T09:45:00.002-05:002009-09-02T09:45:58.682-05:00

2 September, 40° 35” N, 24° 52”W, course = 108°, speed = 15 knots We’re about 300 miles due north of the Azores, heading now slightly southeast, at a very modest speed so that we don’t arrive in Spain before the 3rd full class day. This ship is the fastest cruise ship on the water—or so the SAS website says—but for now we’re ambling along on only one engine. The other one and its prop sit idly

TerryBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07606281045661975552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-624978637131914609.post-18948552540237801612009-08-31T18:04:00.002-05:002009-08-31T18:04:56.440-05:00

Monday, 31 August. 42° 24” N, 38° 44” W, Course = 096°, speed = 15 knots. According to the noon announcement, the water temperature here is about 68°F, and air temp is in the low 70s. It’s much cloudier today than it has been since we left Norfolk a week ago, and the ocean is choppier. But the swells are coming from behind us (aft) rather than from the side, so the ship isn’t rolling quite as

TerryBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07606281045661975552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-624978637131914609.post-10866219128754137142009-08-30T17:04:00.002-05:002009-08-30T20:04:35.456-05:00

Terry, the trip sounds great. Wish I were there. I'm thinking I may get to Shanghai when you are there in November. I need to go back before the end of the year to work on an Anderson design center in Guanzhou. Love the blog. It is a great way to keep up with your travels. Marco Polo should have had one. Cousin Don.

Don Finkellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14125129007263326475noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-624978637131914609.post-66420405959949086032009-08-30T13:07:00.000-05:002009-08-30T13:07:04.700-05:00

30 August (Sunday). 42° 41”N, 47° 25”W, Course 089°, speed 15 knots. At noon today (we’re now EDT+2 and, tomorrow, will be EDT+3), a voice from the bridge made the first of what I guess will be a daily information announcement answering the question on most voyagers’ minds: “where are we, and what are we doing?” The answer as of about 3 hours ago: 650 NM (nautical miles) east southeast of

TerryBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07606281045661975552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-624978637131914609.post-44491720109151106092009-08-28T19:43:00.000-05:002009-08-28T19:43:53.803-05:00

28 August. 43 degrees 48" N, 62 degrees 6" W, heading 116 degrees. The madding crowd has arrived! Starting at 8am (0800) this morning, 550 students arrived onboard, lugging backpacks and bottled water up the long, long stairway to the 5th-deck entry. I was up at 0730 to shower and grab some breakfast in the last few moments of luxuriant living that we'll enjoy for the next 109 days or so. Then

TerryBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07606281045661975552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-624978637131914609.post-3082269160286224112009-08-27T22:10:00.000-05:002009-08-27T22:10:15.418-05:00

I woke this morning as the sun was rising over, again, a very calm sea. It was about 6am (06:00), and the ship had slowed noticably--to about 9 knots--and we were now heading northeast, directly toward Nova Scotia. I rolled over to the window and pressed against the glass, looking forward, where I could make out the coastline of the island, very green even in the early morning sun. I lay in bed

TerryBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07606281045661975552noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-624978637131914609.post-13883482493205170412009-08-26T14:32:00.003-05:002009-08-26T15:20:42.266-05:00

After a wonderful night's sleep Monday--with the help of a little blue pill--I woke to a sunny morning, with the ship rolling very, very gently on calm seas. Waves aren't more than a foot or two.My cellphone, which was connected to the ship's system, did its duty and woke me at 7am, plenty of time for a shower, a leisurely breakfast, and a few minutes to prep before the 08:30 orientation began .

TerryBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07606281045661975552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-624978637131914609.post-23133088935738142242009-08-26T11:33:00.001-05:002009-08-26T11:33:34.048-05:00

Dodiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14612581210643596126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-624978637131914609.post-29526664200049102042009-08-24T19:14:00.003-05:002009-08-25T16:21:02.651-05:00

I arrived at the MV Explorer yesterday around 4pm (16:00 EDT). We drove from Charlottesville VA to Norfolk in an extended caravan consisting of Bob and Maria Chapel (Bob is academic dean for the cruise); Jim Cooper and his wife Shamim Sisson (Jim is retired dean of the UVA school of education; Shamim is retired associate dean of students at UVA and registrar for the cruise); and Betsy and Tom

TerryBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07606281045661975552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-624978637131914609.post-60521504088423885032009-08-23T10:22:00.001-05:002009-08-23T10:22:57.621-05:00

Dodiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14612581210643596126noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-624978637131914609.post-77786350961469117582009-08-08T13:32:00.005-05:002009-08-08T13:51:33.889-05:00

This is the spot. I'll be posting my observations, musings, delights, and regrets here--along with a few pictures and short videos--as I sail east on the floating college: Semester at Sea (Fall '09).We sail from Norfolk VA the evening of 24 August, so expect nothing here until then. For the next 4 days, I'll be aboard with only faculty and staff as we learn about the ship, the MV Explorer, and

TerryBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07606281045661975552noreply@blogger.com0