Day 23 Sunday 6th October 2019: Atlantic Ocean
We were woken up at 9 am with our last batch of laundry arriving. From the A/V system Sapphire was now running at 22 knots and was still avoiding storms. There was another sale taking place in one of the restaurants off the Atrium. We had a good look at the T-shirts from other cruises and picked up two from the Baltic which were under a 50% off banner. At the till the price was back at the price on the label – the banner it seems it was not for the T-shirts. $6 it was okay for the thin T-shirts but not $12 so I passed.
We had a late breakfast in the buffet before we went back to the cabin to add layers before going outside.
Here is an image of the storm
Walking around the promenade deck on the port side we were covered in spray and on the starboard side it was sheltered with patches of sun breaking through the clouds. We picked up our books and went back to the starboard side to sit in the fresh air catch a little sun and read.
After the noon Captain’s talk, the Sun went behind the clouds and it became quite cold. Our lunch was again from the International café where we had salad and a toasted cheese sandwiches.
Later we tried the Internet café in the afternoon; both for somewhere to sit and be quiet and for a change of sitting in our cabin and watching films. After a while we gave up and went back to the cabin to watch yet another film!
Evening meal in the Steakhouse followed by Bravo
At 6:30 we could see the queue for the Theatre already stretching around the corridor. We stopped for a quick drink in the Piazza and then went onto our meal in the Steakhouse on the 14th floor.
Our starters.
Our mains.
And our desserts.
The meal was excellent and well worth the extra dollars off our account. By the time we had finished we were lucky to get a seat in the Theatre to see the ship’s singers and dancers perform Bravo.
Back in the room we started yet another movie. The clocks were going forward again by an hour overnight.
From the Cruise Log
At Sea— Sunday 6th October 2019
Sapphire Princess maintained her east northeasterly course of 078° during her 5th Sea Day, proceeding at an average speed of 21.5 knots overnight and during the morning in an attempt to maximize the distance between her position and the developing cyclonic (low pressure) system astern of her. The depth below the keel in Sapphire Princess’ noon position was 4,043 metres or 13,264 feet.
Throughout much of the afternoon and into the early evening, Sapphire Princess crossed the Porcupine Abyssal Plain, which has some of the deepest waters in the eastern North Atlantic Ocean, with charted depths exceeding 4,700 metres or nearly 15,500 feet. These distances can also be quantified in nautical measurements as just over 2500 fathoms, with one fathom being equivalent to 1/1000 of a Nautical Mile or 1.852 metres. Alternatively, 4700 metres equates to 6.85 Nautical Leagues, a unit of measure made famous by Jules Verne’s classic novel ‘Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea’. The title of the book is commonly misconstrued to imply a depth submerged, whereas the title actually makes reference to the distance travelled by the fictional character Captain Nemo. One Nautical League is equivalent to 3 Nautical Miles or 5.5 kilometers.
Noon Position: Latitude: 47° 34.32′ N • Longitude: 014° 04.8′ W
Wind: S’ly Gale, Force 8
Sky: Overcast skies
Seas: Slight to Moderate Seas + Average Low W’ly swell
Pressure: 1019 hPa
Air Temperature: 18°C / 64 F