ALL PARTICIPATE IN A LIFEBOAT DRILL
By Bob Van Leer

  (AT SEA OFF HAWAII, FEB. 28, 1993) - Today was spent at sea getting organized on the ship and engaging in a few activities.

  One was a lifeboat drill required by the Coast Guard. We all put on life preservers and trooped to assigned lifeboat stations to be counted. Lifeboats were partially lowered to the level of where we would board in case of an actual emergency. Our assigned lifeboat appeared to be about 30 feet long with 1500 cubic feet of space and the painted sign on it said its capacity is 150 persons. If actually loaded to that capacity it would look like the pictures we have seen on TV of boatloads of Haitians. Still, if the ship was sinking, the lifeboat would look pretty good.

   Most of the day we cruised around an area of ocean southeast of Honolulu.

  This area was protected waters mostly surrounded by the islands of Maui, Kahoolawe, Lanai and Molokai. Part of the area is known as Pelican Banks, a shallow bank much frequented by whales. We saw a number spouting and rolling on the sea.

  Maui is almost two islands. It is two volcanic mountains connected by a land bridge not many feet above water.

  Almost an hour was spent briefing us on side trips available at each port of call. Tomorrow, Monday, we will be at Kauai, northwest of Honolulu and we signed up for a tour of the island and visit to Waimea Canyon, the deepest of the islands. Tuesday we will be on Maui and signed up to take a motor tour and to go to a luau.

  Brother-in-law Lou and I toured the bridge and were told by the first officer we had changed course toward Kauai and would pass south of Honolulu about 6 p.m. As we left the protection of the islands that had been screening us the ship took on more of a roll. We will arrived off Kauai at 7 a.m. and enter port. According to the first officer, regulations require entering and leaving the port in daylight hours only.

  In the evening the captain, Ricardo C. Araiza, invited all passengers to a cocktail party. Because of the number of persons, the party was held in two shifts. I asked one of the officers what kind of man the captain was to work under. The officer thought he was a great man to work for. She said, "He's very strict - but as long as we keep the passengers happy we're okay".

  Dinner followed the party and one thing they specialize in its keeping us fed. The food is excellent and it is difficult to keep from overeating.

  After docking tomorrow we will take a tour of the Kauai and see how well the people have done in recovering from Hurricane Iniki.