By Bob Van Leer

  (AT SEA, INDIAN OCEAN, Feb. 12, 1995) - All day we traveled southeast on the Indian Ocean without seeing another ship or plane. The only other thing we saw moving on the water was occasional schools of herring-sized flying fish which look like dragon flies from the deck of our ship.

  Our speed was just over 13 knots so the 42 nautical mile trip to Anjouan, Comoros, takes 36 hours. The water on our route is deep, 2500-3500 meters, over a thousand feet. The color is a cobalt blue.

  Our ship, the Renaissance V, is U.S.-owned by a Florida company. It is an international project. The ship is quite new, built in Italy in 1991, and registered in Liberia. It is beautifully finished with wood paneling and carpeted floors. The cabins are not quite the size of motel rooms, but spacious for shipboard. There is a full bathroom and even a walk-in closet.

  The ship is 297 feet long with a beam of 50 feet and draws 12 feet of water. It has a passenger capacity of 114 with a crew of 72. The cruising range of the ship is 3800 miles. All the marine officers are Italian. The captain is Luciano Lullia and he is being reassigned after this voyage.

  The rest of the crew is a polyglot mixture. The tour director is a United States attorney, as is his wife, the shore services director. They are about 30 years old and dropped out of law practice to cruise in tropic waters. (But they keep their bar licenses current.) The ship's doctor is from Poland. Many of the deck and serving crew are Filipino. The cabin stewardesses seem to be mostly Norwegian. I was told 17-18 nationalities were represented on the ship.

  The ship feeds well with a lot of local seafood and some exotic meats. I tried ostrich (so-so) and kudu (excellent). There is even a tiny gambling casino open when we are at sea. The casino has one blackjack table and four slot machines. I heard today a woman passenger had to be taken off the ship at Lamu for medical reasons. She had severe abdominal pains and nausea, which were not seasickness. What a way to have to cut short a vacation - seriously ill and halfway around the world from home.

  Tomorrow we are scheduled to arrive at Anjouan, Comoros, at 8:00 a.m.