Sunreef appoints Indian dealer

By IBI Magazine

Polish catamaran builder Sunreef Yachts has chosen Miramar Marines Private Limited to be its exclusive dealer for India.

Miramar Marines will officially represent Sunreef Yachts for the first time at the Mumbai Boat Show in 2010. The newly appointed dealer claims to have potential buyers for the 70 Sunreef Power, a model launched a year ago by Sunreef.

Sunreef’s sales director Maciej Stompor said in a statement: “India is a country with a fast growing interest in boating and increasingly strong economic growth. With the popularity of this leisure activity rapidly spreading all over the country, Sunreef Yachts wants to take an active part in this process from the very beginning and become a strong player in the future.”

Miramar Marines is based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu in southwest India.

Sunreef Yachts has a worldwide broker network covering countries including Spain, Italy, France, Greece, Israel, Qatar, the US, Australia and China.

http://www.ibinews.com/ibinews/newsdesk/20091017131850ibinews.html

The St Francis Bay area is set to become a major hub in the international boat building industy with Nexus Catamarans announcing the launch of their first product, a 58 foot adventure cruising catamaran, called the Nexus 600 in Port St Francis, South Africa.

The Nexus about to be launched at Port St Francis. The new Cat is remarkable for the luxurious finishes and is suitable for all ocean condions

Based in the Sea Vista industrial area in St Francis, Nexus began production on the catamaran in 2007 with a full time team of seventeen artisans and workers, all locally employed from the surrounding area in St Francis. Owned by directors Mark Paarman , a former Springbok surfer and John Henrick, Nexus was conceived by Mark following a surf trip to Indonesia in 2002 when he observed the inadequate facilities available with existing surf charters. On his return home, he initiated plans to develop a state of the art, luxury catamaran that would not only appeal to adventure sports enthusiasts such as keen surfers, deep sea fishermen and scuba divers to name a few, but importantly would also provide all the necessary onboard facilities to ensure a high standard of living when sailing around the world.

After joining forces with keen fishermen and fellow squid boat operator, John Henrick, Nexus Catamarans was born in 2005 and legendary surfer and boat builder Jonathan Paarman was secured as the Head Designer along with General Manager Roger Paarman who has ensured this seven year project has come to fruition. With a collective marine and boat building knowledge of over 30 years, Nexus’s management team expects to continue building low volume, high quality and exceptionally innovative catamarans to order.

The Nexus crew: From L-R: Johnny Paarman, Roger Paarman, John Henrick and Marky Paarman. The Paarman family is regarded as surfing royalty in South Africa while Henrick is an extreme fisherman of note.

Some of the key innovations of the Nexus 600 include the following:

Currently designed with four cabins, a total sleeping capacity of nine passengers and carrying capacity of six tons, the option does exist to extend the cabin space to five cabins if necessary, thus increasing the sleeping capacity to twelve passengers overall. The shower and water closets are contained in separate areas, which is highly unique for standard catamarans and specific attention has been paid to improving interior air flow and ventilation which has a unique advantage when sailing in tropical and humid areas. This is in addition to the on-board air conditioning

Importantly she has been designed for South African waters which are considered to be amongst the harshest in the world and can be sailed by both engine power achieving a cruising speed of between 10-12 knots, and under sail with a cruising speed of 20 knots expected.

The Nexus afloat in Port St Francis and former Spingbok surfer Marky Paarman's dream becomes reality

One of the key innovative features of the Nexus 600 is the location of the girders inside the boat and not outside as usually practiced, thus dramatically improving on efficiency and performance. In keeping with innovation, a  great deal of attention was also paid to improving the structural integrity of the boat with the Nexus 600 being a 98% composite, epoxy boat and the use of wood been reserved mainly  for shelving and doors.

The excellent visibility from inside the saloon, allowing passengers to have panoramic ocean views even when seated is also a key feature along with the vastly upgraded cabin spaciousness (hull width of 2.2m) and headroom allowing passengers to walk unobstructed through the catamaran. Attention has also been paid to significantly increasing the headroom space in both the saloon and cockpit, adding significant value to passenger comfort and ease.

Naturally the Nexus 600 boasts the onboard inclusion of all modern facilities and appliances such as a washing machine, tumble dryer, microwave, deep freeze, DVD monitor, data cabling, etc. And of course being an adventure catamaran, provision has been made for the storage of scuba tanks, surfboards, wetsuits, bicycles, fishing rods and kayaks.

And last but not least, the Nexus 600 has an astounding carrying capacity of 2600 litres of diesel,   enabling its occupants to travel for extended periods of time. This particular feature alone is expected to hold enormous appeal to potential buyers and interested parties!

The Nexus 600 is currently in Cape Town having her mast fitted and is expected back in Port St Francis within the next two weeks where she’ll be moored for most of December. So if you haven’t already seen this magnificent boat, treat yourself to a day at the Port where you’ll be able to view one of the most spectacular and innovative catamarans ever produced in South Africa.

Nexus Catamarans can be contacted via Roger Paarman on 042 294 0321 or on 083 252 6548 or visit the website www.nexuscatamarans.com for a full specifications list.

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Well, as previously reported, I just returned from a vacation to Maui.  It was, without a doubt, the most beautiful and enchanting place I have ever been in my whole life, and I cannot wait to return there someday soon.  In the meantime, allow me to share a little bit with you about our Hawaii adventures.

Day 1 – Thanksgiving

We spent most of day 1 in the air.  We flew from St. Louis to Dallas-Fort Worth, and from there to Kahului, Maui.  The flight was mostly uneventful, although we had to switch planes due to “technical difficulties.”  I’m just thankful they figured that out before we got in the air.  Anyway, we landed in Maui around five or so, and the sun was just setting so we really didn’t get to see much of the island.  Our hotel, the Sheraton Resort on Maui, was on Kaanapali Beach, which is about 30-40 minutes away from Kahului.  We got our rental car (a dark blue Chevy Cobalt) and drove over to the hotel.  After being greeted by the very friendly staff, and given a quick rundown of things by the bellhop, we freshened up a bit and walked down the beach to a small shopping and dining area called Whaler’s Village.  We ate at a restaurant called Cane and Taro.  It wasn’t bad, but wasn’t anything to write home about.  We headed back to the Sheraton and went to bed.

Day 2

Day 2 we decided to just hang out around the hotel and beach.  We took most of our tips regarding where to go and what to do on Maui from Andrew Doughty’s great guidebook, Maui Revealed.  He gave high marks to both Kaanapali Beach and the Sheraton, so we figured we’d just explore our surroundings a little bit.  One thing to note.  We were informed upon our arrival that they had upgraded us to an ocean view room at no additional charge.  So when we stepped out on our lanai (sp?) in the morning, we were greeted to this view:

Yeah…it was pretty amazing.  Even more amazing was when you turned to your right and got this:

So we had no complaints about the view.  And we spent a lot of time standing outside our room.

Anyway, we walked down to the beach and played along the shore for a long time.  The Sheraton is near a place called Black Rock, which is like a huge rock outcropping from which people dive, snorkel, and other fun activities.  It was a very pretty place.  The ocean in Hawaii is gorgeous, so blue.  And the surf comes crashing in a lot higher than in places like Florida or California.  It was definitely the best beach I’ve ever been on, and while I’m no beach expert, I have been on multiple beaches on both the Pacific and Atlantic side.  We really enjoyed hanging out there.  Also, the Sheraton had an amazing pool that wrapped around the resort, although it was always crawling with kids.  But the grounds were just a great place to hang out and relax and really enjoy yourself.

Early in the afternoon, we had reservations with the Teralani 2, a dinner cruise catamaran.  I have to give props to the Sheraton…the concierge was extremely helpful and even got us a $40 discount on the dinner cruise.  Although our “activities coordinator” tried conning us into attending a time share meeting.  Anyway, the dinner cruise was amazing….the crew were a lot of fun, the food was good, but the best part was tooling along the coast of Maui watching a gorgeous Hawaiian sunset.  We got to see a full rainbow, which doesn’t happen too often where we live, and I was absolutely blown away by watching the beauty of Maui while off her coast.

To be continued….

Belize City was not nearly as difficult as I feared. In fact, I really enjoyed the day. We began the day carrying the bikes to the tenders which were not NCL vehicles but private boats from the Belize City fleet. There were several different kinds of boats and we found ourselves on a large catamaran which seated about 100 people. The boat crew loaded our bikes for us and handed them to us on the pier in Belize City when we got there. There were four large cruise ships anchored 6-8 miles offshore from Belize City served by about 20 tenders. The trip to shore took almost 20 minutes at relatively high speed, about 25-35 knots. I saw dozens of seabirds and gulls and a few large brown pelicans flying low over the water or floating between the low waves. Those of us who didn’t opt for NCL excursions had to wait until after 9am while the dive boats and tour boats came directly to the ship to pick up their customers. We made it off the tender and through the maze of the tourism shops to the outside where we ran another gauntlet of t-shirt salesmen, artists, and hair braiders to the Belize City’s narrow streets filled with hawkers, cruise passengers, tour buses picking up passengers, and vehicles ranging from trucks to taxis to horse carts.

I was looking for Orange Street which turned into Cemetery Avenue and the Western Highway for our trip to the Southeast to see what Belize was all about. I knew that the inland blue hole was probably not reachable because it lay almost 30 miles out, but I was willing to see how far we could get while we studied this part of Belize. Unfortunately, I found out after only 50 yards that Orange Street was one way in the wrong direction and we had to walk against traffic for a block or two before I thought of moving over a block to find a street moving in the right direction. The cars on the streets accepted our ignorance and allowed us to move at a comfortable pace past a succession of third world shops selling items I opined to be of barely adequate quality. The buildings were one and two story cinderblock construction and reminded me of those I had seen in Hanoi ten years ago when I visited.

We moved carefully across a bridge and road into a gas station where I asked first an employee and then what I presumed to be the owner where I could find Western Avenue. He seemed confused at first and then corrected me that the street was called Western Highway. He gave me directions and then asked what I was looking to do. He suggested that I ride out to “Old Belize” and visit the Marina and try the restaurant. That sounded good to me and we headed a few blocks down the street to a stoplight, turned left to a roundabout and headed right onto Cemetery Avenue as the blighted city began to transition into homes with yards and businesses ranging from auto parts stores to architect offices, dentist offices, plastic fabrication businesses, and bus barns. The potholed city streets also changed to a two lane paved road and the cars immediately began speeding up to as much as 60 mph. Yet we still felt safe riding in the occasional traffic. It seems as though the people in Belize know that tourism is critical to their survival, and they are careful to ensure tourists safety. After a few miles we entered the namesake for Cemetery Street with crypts above ground like I have seen in New Orleans. Most showed crosses over them and many had stone versions of open books with names and stories of the dead. The cemetery was several blocks long on both sides of the street and a block deep on both sides. Beyond the crypts, I could see some newer buildings which looked like two story apartments and I saw several people taking short cuts through the cemetery as they apparently returned from their early morning efforts—probably some had jobs and some had been shopping.

Cemetery Road quickly transitioned into the Western Highway as the businesses on the side of the road became further apart and I could see miles of black water-filled ditches lining the Highway in front of Mangrove forests. This was perfect bike country for Marilyn—flat as far as the eye could see with just enough room on the side to allow her to feel comfortable as big rigs approached from the rear tooting their horns and passing as they accelerated to 60mph.

I didn’t see any passing of vehicles until our return trip but I’m sure the drivers were all opening up their vehicles as they tried to make good time getting to wherever they were going. Does Belize have a speed limit? I think not, which is kind of nice, actually.

Above, a variety of large birds circled, ranging from Hawk-like birds to narrow-winged seabirds. Most were dark in color but I also saw white egrets in at least two sizes, usually walking or wading on land. We passed a large iguana venturing to within 10 feet of the road in short grass before skittering back to the safety of the deeper brush. We saw a sign indicating tapirs nearby, and I began to think we might see a crocodile or two because the habitat looked like the Louisiana alligator habitat on the roads between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. But I never saw one, although the signs indicated there was a crocodile park on the Northern Highway 25 miles out of town. Perhaps we’ll try that route next week.

The day was hot but the sky cleared from the haze of the city to a perfect cloudless blue. Looking back, I could see the quartet of cruise ships on the horizon behind us as we pushed through many miles of this forest and business habitat. I was impressed with the variety of businesses which led me to believe Belize was close to digging out of the present near-squalor. I don’t know whether there are enough trained workers to staff some of these businesses properly, but they indicate someone is interested in the future and planning for bigger things like better construction and export industries. I saw a lot of what I thought to be unemployed young men and women but I hoped they would soon find a better future.

We stopped after about 1 ½ hours of riding at the Old Belize shop and Marina area. Marilyn had some trouble navigating the potholed entrance but we moved on through a large open parking area past a few dozen boats in the marina and locked the bikes to one another at a rack in front of a museum-like 1 to 2 story wooden building and found the bar-restaurant looking out over a beach with a simple amusement park.

We planned to replenish liquids before taking off for another hour or so before returning for something a little more substantial. This time we each had a “light” coke ($1.25), and shared a yummy key lime pie. It looked authentic—it wasn’t green. The rest felt good. The menu seemed encouraging.

We took off for another bit of riding but Marilyn began immediately indicating this was not going to be a full hour out and back. She suggested a half hour out and I agreed. We passed a short stretch of road improvement and a bridge while I looked for a lagoon or lake I saw on the map when I was searching last night. First I only spied some rivers or drainage ditches carrying water to the ocean from the lowlands inland and then I actually saw what the map was indicating. Apparently it is a salt water lake. I was reminded how low this entire area really was and how susceptible it was to hurricane-blown surges of the salt water. I realized how much it took to build here, first filling in the land to mitigate the near-surface water table, and then constructing with hurricanes in mind. The place looked a little like Guam which frequently gets hit by 200 mph typhoons, blowing the tops off all trees reaching up too high. Here in Belize I saw few trees stretching more than 10-15 feet high. I had heard that this place has been decimated several times in the past ten years and now I could believe it. I saw several homes built or being built on cement columns stretching at least 10-15 feet above the surface. This is reasonable planning for Belize weather.

At one point, I called back to Marilyn that we might turn around at a red and white radio tower off in the distance. But less than thirty minutes out from our rest stop we passed the tower and I kept going. After about 1 or 1 ½ miles, I looked back and found no Marilyn to be seen. Quickly I figured out she probably stopped and I made a u-turn, explaining to a couple waiting at a bus stop that my wife seem to have been lost. Seeing the red and white tower, I figured out what had happened and eventually spied Marilyn’s bike standing along the road. As I approached, I could see her waiting under another bus shelter talking to someone waiting for a bus. As I approached, Marilyn broke off her conversation and mounted her bike heading back toward Belize City.

We returned to “Old Belize” after a half hour ride. Marilyn seemed to be slowing down and I was concerned that she was getting dehydrated under the hot sun. When we reached the restaurant, I made sure she took in plenty of cold liquids, and she agreed that she felt much better after the drinks. I ordered a diet coke and a Belikin beer and Marilyn also had a diet coke. The Belikin beer, which is advertised throughout the area, is small, just 9 ounces. Odd. We ordered an appetizer of ground fish and corn meal called panades along with the special of whole fish with coconut topping. They brought a bowl of tortilla chips and a bowl of beans for dipping. This really hit the spot. When the waiter brought the food, he apologized that they were out of panades and set down the fish platter.   We have to get better with the pictures.  Here is the residue of our meal.    We’ll try to have a before picture in the future.  It looked and tasted wonderful. Served with rice and beans, this fare rivaled whole fish I have had at some of the best restaurants in Hawaii. The outside was crisp and the flesh moist. The food was accompanied by a duo playing a marimba and a turtle shell. The music fit in perfectly. As we were ready to leave, Marilyn visited the rest room and I looked out to sea just in time to see a brown pelican diving into the ocean offshore. I thought that this combination of music, food, and nature was just what I was looking for in Belize—perfect.

We remounted our bikes for the trek back, refreshed and satisfied. On the way back through town, we stopped to see if Marilyn could find a replacement for her riding/running shoes which were dangerously close to their end of life. Yesterday, the heal came off. We had seen a few shoe stores in Belize City on the way out and decided to try one. We got a suggestion which took us off the original route but needed two more sets of directions before we found a lane of shoe stores. Marilyn tried first one, then another, but couldn’t find anything to her liking. I must admit they seemed to have a limited selection of women’s shoes and an even more limited set of sizes. She actually tried on shoes at a second store while I watched over the bikes. A tall man who had suggested the first store began a conversation with me and I felt comfortable telling him about Hawaii and our bargain on the cruise package. I think I would have been comfortable having dinner with him, although I was reminded of my earlier searches about Belize and unsavory characters offering help to travelers. I think my good impression was much closer to reality than the bad impression left with the commenter.

We returned to the cruise ship tender area and found several persons interested in our bicyclecruising. These people ranged from security guards to vendors and many cruse ship passengers. In the tender and back on the ship, the interest in our bicycles and our use of them continued, leaving me with the impression that several people may try this their next time out. I hope they check this blog!

Pete Cumming et ses hommes sur Masirah continuent leur moisson de victoires sur le catamaran monotype Extreme 40 en s’adjugeant la première étape du circuit asiatique, courue à Hong Kong.

©Guy Nowell/OC Events

Le bateau britannique BT termine à la seconde position devant China Team skippé par le français Thierry Barot, Shirley Robertson, habituée du circuit européen comme Pete Cumming et Nick Moloney (BT) termine 4ème à la barre de Rumbo Almeira. Suivent The Wave/Muscat et Team Red Bull.

la seconde étape aura lieu à Singapour du 11 au 15 décembre.

Le trimaran de BMW Oracle a terminé ses essais à San Diego, le multicoque devrait être gruté avant d’être envoyé par cargo à Valence où devrait se dérouler la prochaine Coupe de l’America selon toute vraisemblance,  l’équipe américaine semble extrêmement satisfaite de son aile rigide installée il y a moins de 3 semaines.

L’équipe d’Alinghi continue de son côté sa préparation dans les Emirats, le catamaran suisse est désormais pourvu d’un bout dehors nettement plus long que le précédent, la surface des voiles d’avant devrait donc croitre lors des prochaines sorties.

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“Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.” – Carl Sagan

Caribbean islands tend to have similar geological features, but Barbados is so well-known for its pristine white sand beaches and tranquil waters on its south coast, that each year visitors are being attracted from not only the neighbouring islands but those from colder climates, like myself.

However Barbados is so much more than its white sand beaches and one of the best ways to experience the natural beauty of the island is to see first-hand the picturesque seascape of underwater reefs with the abundance of marine life swimming in and around.

From personal experience the best way to sample the delights of the shimmering blue waters of Barbados is by taking a relaxing sailing cruise from one of the many catamarans that harbour in Bridgetown.  

The catamarans are all designed with comfort, safety and enjoyment in mind to cater for all generations and tourist types. But with an open bar filled with an endless supply of Banks, rum and wine they definitely provide unrivalled holiday entertainment, and find the perfect equilibrium between relaxation and ‘merry’.    

Catamaran Cruise Recommendations:

Cool Runnings is a unique charter company specialising in personalised cruises, ensuring the utmost in comfort, service and enjoyment. These elegant, custom-built catamarans sail with a limited number of passengers, to guarantee a superb day of sailing in an uncrowded atmosphere.

The captain and crew are a good-humoured group of well-trained, experienced sailors who know how to look after and entertain their guests. Sail, swim with turtles, snorkel over a shallow shipwreck, swim in a secluded bay and enjoy a delicious lunch and open bar. Sunset cruises are also very popular and private cruises are offered for a more flexible itinerary.

My Thoughts - Cool Runnings was the most enjoyable four hours on my recent visit to Barbados. On past catamaran cruises I have been largely disappointed by the lack of close encounter turtle swimming on offer, but Cool Runnings ensured we were all in the thick of the action.

Before booking this trip I read a lot of articles mentioning the excellent service onboard Cool Runnings. I have to agree that the crew were absolutely amazing and extremely interested in making sure that everyone had a great time – which included the females of my group who pretended they could not swim to gain extra attention.

Rubáiyát is a classic Peter Spronk original with a unique schooner rig. At 50 ft long, she is sleek, comfortable and fully equipped for day chartering. Rubáiyát is skippered by owner and well-known Barbadian Eddie Cheeseman, who has over 20 years professional sailing experience as captain and has been sailing his own boat since 1998.

My Thoughts – I knew this would be a great day for my first Catamaran cruise as I was joined by a host of Virgin Atlantic air-cabin crew taking advantage of their day off, courtesy of Richard Branson. This automatically gave me a high perception of the catamaran knowing that it was the first choice booking for such a prestigious airline.

My perception was not altered throughout the day with great reggae music being played and the staff providing endless entertainment. In particular the shipwreck in the shallows was a sight to see on this trip with schools of multicoloured fish darting through the vessels. 

Both of these fantastic catamaran cruises offer breathless views of the Baijan coastine as you sail under the gentle breeze of the trade winds, and if you could only take one trip while in Barbados then I stongly advise a Barbados Catamaran Cruise

Scott Hurley
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More On Barbados

Select Resorts have revamped their Barbados Villas webpage and have some great offers for the Crane Resort in Barbados.

Planet Solar ha comenzado la construcción de un catamarán presupuestado en 13 millones de dólares, impulsado con energía solar y diseñado para dar la vuelta al mundo. La financiación ha sido proporcionada por la empresa suiza de energía limpia, Rivendell Holding AG.

Se espera que la navegación dure 120 días navegando a 10 nudos. En la cubierta están instalados 470 metros cuadrados de paneles solares que abastecerán a la nave de la energía necesaria para cubrir todas sus necesidades.

Como curiosidad, entre los participantes se encuentra el nieto de Julio Verne, Jean Verne.

Más información e imágenes en Wired.

Living in Alaska is a blessing and one of the most fun, exciting and beautiful places I’ve ever seen. A lot of people, both friends and family, want to come up and visit. To which I say, COME ON OVER!!! However, there are/were a few people that may not understand Alaska’s awesome natural beauty and ferocity.

Which brings us to Mr. Mark Ringuette. A great friend and a man of MANY words (hints the nickname “Mouth”). Since I’ve been in Alaska, his goal has been to live the life of a crabbing deckhand. Some of you may know this through the show “Deadliest Catch” in which a variety of crab boats leave Dutch Harbor, AK, during the months of late October and November, to catch the lucrative and elusive Alaskan King Crab.

During my stay in Boston, MA in September, Mark repeatedly asked to go “Deadliest Catching,” insinuating his strong will and fearless agenda in “The Last Frontier.” On Friday, the day before his wedding, Mark treated his groomsmen to a day trip on a 20+ foot catamaran sailboat. With 10-12 foot squalls and a stormy weather pattern approaching, Mark was in for his very own Deadliest Catch show. Aside from getting a little wet, because of having fun with the waves, it was a great time on the catamaran. Mark, on the other hand, had quite a time getting his sea legs under him. To spare you the details, let just say Mark didn’t talk about the Deadliest Catch anymore…

The Calm After the Storm

P.S. I love ya Mark and miss you buddy. It was a great time and I loved the wedding!! I hope you enjoy this post as much as I did writing it and if you’re still up for it I have two tickets to Dutch Harbor whenever you’re ready!!

Note: the picture is in black & white because if Mark’s skin was colored he’d look like the Incredible Hulk!! HAHA

Note: Just a bit of a break from pictures to share what was, to me, an amusing part of our catamaran trip out to the sea that day.  And a warning that if you don’t have a strong stomach, you might want to skip this post!

Just before the catamaran departed for our day’s trip to Morse Reef, the crew began their instructions to the passengers.  Before finishing, they kind of glossed over the fact that there were plenty of bags placed strategically all over the ship, in case we needed them for seasickness.  They said if and when this happened, we were to use the bags, and raise our hand and a crew member would come and take the bag from us.

I thought it interesting that they didn’t dwell on it.  I knew from previous boat trips that the odds were a good number of the passengers would get sick.  I hoped I wasn’t one, although I wasn’t too afraid of that because I have not ever been seasick during any of the boat trips I have taken.  I hoped Tony didn’t get sick but feared he might.  I found a big dish of ginger tablets that were marked as an aid for seasickness.  I grabbed some and gave them to Tony.

Less than fifteen minutes out of Cairns harbor, the “entertainment” began.  I shouldn’t laugh at any of them but it was funny.  As if on cue, the catamaran began to rock back and forth and side to side, very violently.  Those that were up and walking around found It very difficult to stand or walk and at least ten people began to get sick all at the same time.  Then there were more and more, until most of the passengers were truly miserable.  I must say that the crew was on hand, watching and usually, before the person actually got sick, there was a crew member there with a bag, a paper towel, and a cup water.  For the next hour and a half, everyone on the ship got sick over and over and over again.  To the crew’s credit, they were right on top of it.  Every crew member, regardless of their job, participated in helping those that got sick.  They were constantly there with ice chips for everyone and even sat by those that were most sick and held their hand and rubbed their back and held their hair out of the bag.  Even I took my turn at handing bags to those that weren’t near them when they needed them.

No, I didn’t get sick.  No, Tony didn’t either.   We were probably among the one percent of the passengers that did not get sick.  Yay!  We were the first to be served when the buffet lunch was ready!

It was a wonderful trip but I think if I had gotten sick, I would have asked them why they hadn’t told us ahead of time that so many would get sick so we could prepare ahead of time by getting something at the drug store!