One could not have wished for a more halcyon day as we moved out into the Black Sea. From horizon to horizon the water was totally still, giving rise to the illusion we were gliding over an immense pond of ...expand text.

One could not have wished for a more halcyon day as we moved out into the Black Sea. From horizon to horizon the water was totally still, giving rise to the illusion we were gliding over an immense pond of freshly poured tar. Strangely, one was imbued with a sense of the macabre as the rays of the sun fell on this singular phenomenon. The calm lasted into the next day's afternoon. Dark clouds rose up on the horizon. Shortly, little silvery ripples started ruffling that black surface, increasing to a multitude as the hours were lazing away. The general consensus was that we might be in for foul weather. Toward evening the sky was completely occluded and a stiff wind began to blow which within an hour intensified into a gale-force storm. Everybody was now below deck. The ship rolled and pitched, and with much clatter dishes were flying all over the place. A worrisome problem presented itself- a window shutter was missing on our starboard side, causing billows of water to swoop in. All around us sea sickness was prevelant with all it's ugly manifestations Close text