Just after noon, out in the Atlantic, the captain announces we've lost power, however, 'We're in deep water, so no need to be concerned'. With ballast problems and inoperable stabilizers, the ship quickly develops a pronounced list.
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Maasdam rolls awkwardly as the captain comes back on the speakers to reassure passengers that, 'We're doing our best to get the ship upright'.
A lady waits calmly while the men anxiously study the lack of propulsion.
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In about forty minutes, the ship, which had drifted, is, as you can see, making a circle to get back on course.
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I suspect many were thinking - I know I was - of the cruise ship which, engines dead, helplessly bobbed about the Gulf of Mexico for five days last year. Conditions soon became unpleasant. Fortunately we're now underway and I can drain my tub after filling it in case supplies ran out.
Hint: in a blackout, fill your tub with water while you can. At home, that water and judicious use of a bucket can make life a little easier, a lesson learned in the great northeastern power outage of 2003. The ship has vacuum toilets, so tub water wouldn't have helped there, but would have allowed occasional washing with a facecloth. I assume the ship has plenty of bottled water for drinking.
Engines continuing to work, we should arrive in Santa Cruz on Tenerife tomorrow.
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