The best laid plans of mice and men often go astray. I woke up this morning in a daze but thinking that the sailaway last night was sure smooth as well as the time on the sea. But then I looked out the stateroom window and saw we were still moored in Shanghai. About that time the Captain came on the PA system and announced that due to weather conditions at the mouth of the river along with tidal conditions, we would not be sailing until at least 2pm today, but that was not guaranteed. So we were able to go ashore but had to be back on board by noon.
After breakfast, Angela and I took the shuttle to the drop off point in the Bund and then walked up to the Peace Hotel to visit the museum there. When we arrived, the museum was closed until 10am, and given that it was 9:45, we elected to walk around the hotel and then visit the museum. It actually opened just before 10, so we were able to visit it briefly before walking back to the ship in time for me to facilitate the Cruise Critic Meet & Greet at 11AM in the Crow's Nest. I had to miss Master Kam's lecture on Chinese history, but I had heard that talk before. It was well attended and the attendees lingered on longer than any prior such gathering. By now we all knew that our next port of call, Quingdao, had been cancelled so there was more than a bit of sadness in the air over that as it was a new port for all of us.
I ended up talking with several participants after the gathering but was able to get a quick lunch before attending the 2pm Upcoming Port talk as well as Jeremy's talk on Beijing and Tianjin (which was once again excellent). As it was Good Friday, a special interdenominational service was on the calendar and I prepared for and led that in the King's room which adjoins the Main Dining Room. Afterwards, Angela and I walked down the street adjoining the river to a grocery store to purchase a supply of Coke Zero to last us the rest of the trip. On the way back we met Master Kam and his wife who were looking for a Chinese dinner. Back on board, we ate a quick dinner and then watched the 4th showing of the cast show "Variations" on the Main Stage.
Since the fog was lifting, we went up to the Crow's Nest to watch the ship traffic and lights before returning to our room. Back at the room, there was a detailed explanation from the Bridge Team on the factors that go into the decisions to be able to leave our berth. The key factors are the visibility at the mouth of the river some 14 miles away and another 52 miles on the Yangtze River for a total transit time of 7 hours. Currently the port is closed and no ships of our size can go in or out. Add to this that we have to go out on a high tide and be able to back into the turning basin at times of low tidal enfluence by the moon and the sun, we only have two times per day that we can do these maneuvers. If the pilot association and the maritime association close the waterways, we don't move! Fortunately we are a priority ship to be disembarked and with a now 24 hour hold on the port sailings, there is quite a back up of vessels trying to get in or out since Shanghai is the busiest container port in the world. Add to that that only 3 pilots out of 350 are licensed to pilot the Volendam. There are certainly some challenges.
Will we be at sea tomorrow? Stay tuned.
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