Time for Plan B

We had an early start this morning, arriving into Visby, Sweden. We’d planned a tour of the medieval city and with a meeting time of 8.15am, went for a light coffee shop breakfast.

I’d looked out to see if we had far to go, just as the pilot was sailing alongside. We’ve not been to Visby before and were looking forward to discovering a new destination.

Coffee came with a smile as we puzzled over the Mensa challenge we’d just picked up and with an eye on our watches, my Hero went off to the theatre to pick up our tour tickets.whilst I stopped to chat to a friend. As I crossed the open atrium, an officer on the other side of the stairwell waved his hands in a “no way” manner. Something wasn’t quite right here. Almost immediately, the Captain made an announcement to say regretfully that it wasn’t safe to land in Visby this morning due to the wind .

We returned to our suite and looked out over the rail - my word, the waves were crashing around those concrete bastions at the end of the pier and it was clear how easily the ship could be damaged if it struck them.

The chaps on the pier looked up, waved and shrugged their shoulders. There was nothing they could do.

The bridge team had done all they could, but at times like this there’s no question; no risk can be taken. Having seen those rocks just up ahead of us too, if a mooring broke, the damage could be considerable.

So the chaps on the pier waved and walked back as we set sail for a slow ride to Helsinki with the bonus of an extra sea day.

So it was ‘bye Visby. We will just have to have another try someday.

As we went off to meet friends later, my Hero overheard someone say “Well, that was a waste of an early start, wasn’t it?”