We just got back yesterday, 30 Oct. We sailed out of Bayonne, NJ on 21 Oct. Then at sea on 22 and 23 Oct. diverting out path a little because of TD Alpha. Spent 24 Oct. on Labadee, Haiti, and 25 Oct. on Ocho Rios, Jamaica. Was supposed to be at Georgetown, Grand Cayman the next day, but Wilma upset those plans by doing too much damage to their beaches and tendering facilities, so 26 Oct. instead was spent at sea. Next day, 27 Oct. we were at Nassau, and 28 Oct. in Freeport. On 29 Oct. we were at sea for return to Bayonne arriving on 30 Oct. As we were passing latitude just south of Cape Hatteras we were encountering 12 to 15 ft seas and about 25 knot winds with white breakers rolling on the sea. Nothing really to write home about in a ship that size, but we did get in almost 2 hours behind schedule. Had few extremely clear, moonless nights out there. To me it is amazing if anyone could see anything much beyond a ship's length or two on the sea in front of you at night with no moon. The location of the horizon can only be imagined. Anyone that says you could see an unlighted object at more than a couple of thousand feet away has never been to sea under those conditions. Spotted the lights of a few other ships at night and the only thing you can clearly see are its lights. I had 7x35 binoculars with me. One thing is certain, glasses are useless until you find the object first by the wider field of view of the naked eye. Then you can bring it in with the glasses to get a closer look. Even with glasses I was only able to make out the lights, no hull or superstructure. During the day it was a completely different story.
