Unexpected Sea Day

We were supposed to make landfall at Fanning Island today, but the weather gods had the last say in the matter. The wind was blowing; the rain was falling; and the ocean was swelling and heaving...all conditions that YELLED it's not safe to leave the ship. Reluctantly, the captain called off the tendering operation and all excursions ashore. 

Fanning Island is an atoll, which means it's not very tall. It has a narrow inlet that leads into a calmer lagoon. Apparently, visibility was so poor the captain could not find the narrow inlet. 

These things happen. Low lying islands that do not have a port facility are subject to be "blown" off during bad weather days...and that's what occurred today. We might have a similar problem in Rarotango, Bora Bora and Moorea. When a port gets blown off, two things happen: folks get a refund on paid shore excursions; and the ship needs to slow down or it will get to the next port too early. To that end, we are moving at 16 knots per hour instead of our normal 21. 

Needless to say, it was not a good day for walking on the outside decks either.