60-Foot Monster..

Strap yourself in and hold on for dear life. Whoa!! I was kind of awake this morning around 7:00am. I was dreaming about being around the ship in rough weather and jumping up and down catching some float time when the ship would drop while I was still in the air. We were in elevators, outside, and just all over enjoying the large waves. The announcement finally woke me up saying we were now turning to port and moving south of Cape Horn and that this turn might involve some listing. Basically warning us to hold on. At that moment I decided to put some clothes on and go up to a window area upstairs to see if I could see this ever so famous Cape Horn. At that point I ran into a fellow crewmember that was saying that a few other crewmembers and one of our singers were out on deck taking pictures when the wind caught them. Our singer was down and injured. I went to the front of the ship to discover that our leading man had fallen due to the strong winds and slick deck and bashed his kneecap into the stair railing. He couldn't move his leg. We took him to the infirmary to get checked and the others were okay. Why they were OUTSIDE in such high winds who knows? We were lucky to have them still on board. That was the morning ordeal and when I went to get some breakfast in the Lido it was closed because dishes, cups, and food had spilled everywhere. It was even difficult to stand up at times due to the swells in the ocean. So we head downstairs and discover the carnage of tipped over displays, potted plants, shop shelves, and anything not bolted down. These waves were serious. Well, I decided to go back to sleep for a while during this rough time. I woke up and decided to have a little lunch. Now everything was being served on paper plates. They could really only scrounge up a few lunch selections since it was so rocky. I finished my lunch and the battle of keeping things from sliding off the table. My fellow crewmember and social hostess even had trouble staying planted in her seat. She went gliding across the floor. Then out of nowhere a huge wave hit our ship. I'm told it was a 60 footer. A 60-FOOT SWELL!! It tipped our ship at 45-degree angles each side. Before I knew a wave even came I was on the receiving end of the food slide so I tried to catch all the plates and cups. Next thing I knew my chair went gliding and I had my Poltergeist moment. The next uncontrollable slide happened shortly after when the ship went the other way. I was headed right back toward the table. I caught myself at the table but was sent right backward at the next tip this time toppling over into the carpeted hallway. We all grabbed hold of railings as the ship tried to level off in these huge swells. Several guests had fallen on each other. Plates, cups, food, chairs, and tables were overturned. The piano in the Ocean Bar did a summersault. A GRAND piano. Huge pottery displays toppled over. Tables and chairs and dishes doing flips all over assaulted the crew mess room. I was told that in 15 more degrees of tilt, we would have flipped the ship. On the other ships only 5 more degrees would've done the job. The ship is in tact structurally and she's taken quite the beating, but the stores, bars, restaurants, and our stage have all suffered. Sets turned over, instruments strewn over the stage, china and glass of all kinds broken, products in the stores in one huge pile of T-shirts, liquor, cards, and broken glass. We've helped out a little to help pick up the pieces. Passengers are injured to broken bones to minor injuries. We've even helped out the infirmary since they got bombarded with all these people in need. Some I've talked to LOVE it. They live for the Cape Horn journey. I never thought it'd be this rough. I was truly scared. We may not go to Antarctica now for excessive interior damage, injuries, and product loss. It all depends on the weather. We're sailing at the whim of ole Mother Nature. She's giving us gale force winds right now and a hurricane between Cape Horn and us. We were told we'd go back to Ushuaia, but with the weather between us that will be difficult. We'll see.