Journey by Ship to Havelock

The Second Day;

As per original itinerary, second day we were to visit ROSS Island and North Bay. But as these two Islands remain closed on Wednesday, our tour operator changed the original plan and decide to send us to HAVLOC.  This change was informed to us on previous night and we were told to be ready by 5:30 in the morning as the scheduled departure of Ship was at 6:20. Car arrived in time and after a cup of tea, we left for the dock. While in car, we were reminded to carry our ID proof that was a must for entry to the dock. We took the tickets and went to the Gate. There was queue and people were allowed to enter one by one through the small gate. CISF personnel deployed there checked our tickets as well as ID and allowed us through the gate.

Our Ship named BOOMBIKA was placed on the other side of another ship and the entry to our ship was through that ship only. These two ships, which were parked side by side, were connected with a wooden plank. As we entered, we were guided to an air-conditioned cabin. We took our allotted seats, which were in the middle. The cabin had round windows sealed with the glass pane. I thought if only we were allotted window seats, we could enjoy the journey more. I took some photographs of people in the cabin. The ship started in-time.

Soon, I found that windows seats were empty now. I wondered where the passengers sitting in those seats had gone! To find them, I came on the lower deck. To my pleasant surprise, they were there in the open. I amused at my foolish thought of allotting window seats. When you were allowed on the deck, who would care for window seats! I immediately came back to the cabin that had a few people by now and asked my wife to come on the deck. She came out with me and was thrilled to be there. We found a place to stand at the back side of the deck. The Ship was cruising at a fast speed, faster than I imagined.  But it was stable. The shore was hardly visible now. There was water and water all around. As the ship was heading forward, it was leaving a trail of foam behind it. Watching it for a long time standing at the back, made us feel dizzy. We shifted to right side of the deck. My wife wanted to touch the water. But I restrained her. The Ship was displacing large amount of water by its sheer weight and speed. This displaced water was adding strength to the waves of the sea which were coming with a greater force and hitting the ship. At times, the force was so strong that water would come on the deck. We were enjoying the journey. We saw that some passengers were standing at the upper deck also. But I decided to remain at the lower deck as we were more close to the sea and its splashing water.  Suddenly, a big wave came and hit the ship with a roar. I found myself drenched cap-a-pie. Lot of water filled the floor of the deck but soon returned to the sea through big round openings that were made near the floor, perhaps for this purpose only. With a strong salty taste in mouth, I returned to the cabin and was feeling cold. My wife suggested that I should go to the upper deck and dry my-self in the sun. I needed the warmth desperately. I went to the upper deck. The chances of getting wet again were remote on the upper deck.  My wife followed and we both stood there. Soon the sun and the air dried my cloths.  I observed that big round plastics drums were fixed there on the specially designed stands. I inquired from the staff and was told that these were fold-able rafts to be used in case of emergency to save the life of passengers on-board. Once unfolded, one raft could accommodate as many as 15 passengers.  I counted and concluded that these were suffices for all the passengers on-board. I also read the instructions to use those rafts but found that to unfold and to launch those, required trained staff. The date of last service imprinted on the rafts showed that those were recently serviced and were fit for use. For the rest of the journey, we remained on the upper deck and enjoyed changing colors of sea water, which was now changed from blue to black. The sea water is seen in many colors. I do not intend to go into the science of changing colors of sea water here. Suffice would be to say that during this trip, we saw it in many colors - grey, azure, viridescent, light blue, black. This 57 KM long sea journey, we completed in more than 2 hours.  As the ship came to a halt, HAVELOCK was in front of us. Here we were made to alight from the upper deck itself. As we alighted, a little nausea and dizziness was there. This day was to be spent at HAVELOCK and the next day we were to go to NEIL Island before returning to Port Blair. The car was waiting for us. The second day of our journey was about to start at HAVELOCK.