MANTA, ECUADOR – ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL! 2 (6 of 6)

As we left Pacoche Lodge & Reserve, the plan was to return to Manta’s new, modern Cruise Terminal to board the shuttle buses back to the ship. About 5 minutes from the Port, David got a phone call informing him that the Zuiderdam had just moved from the pier side to a harbor location and tender boats would be required.

The Cruise Terminal was packed as several Excursions before us had already “deposited” their guests at the Terminal. Rumors were rampant – we would be in the Terminal at least 2 hours; they were gathering lumber to build an addition to the pier to accommodate our tender boats. Not so! No one knew exactly what happened but lots of theories. The quick-thinking passengers “snagged” the seats in the Terminal (we had two briefly but gave them up as a que was forming – we weren’t exactly sure where the line was going but we wanted to be in it!). The Terminal staff were very efficient and brought in additional plastic chairs to accommodate the throng.

Kimberly Wells, the Cruise Director, arrived microphone in hand and gave the “official” line. Due to swells in the harbor, the Zuiderdam had broken several mooring lines in the course of the day and experienced some minor damage to the hull as it hit against the pier. The Captain made the decision to move the ship to save mooring lines (we’ll need them later for our next stop at Easter Island, at best a 50%/50% “crap shoot” due to the unpredictable waters) and to prevent the ship from being damaged.

When we left the ship that morning, John commented that the water seemed rougher pier side due to swells than any time at sea. The next day, the Captain explained that the swells had been caused by a tsunami off the coast of New Zealand. The same tsunami was bringing the big waves to Playa San Lorenzo.

Things move much more quickly than anticipated. We were on our tender only an hour after getting off the excursion bus. There had been some discussion of assigning tender boarding numbers but, but none were used. The line (remember that line we’d jumped in earlier) moved through security (screening machines like the airport), passengers boarded buses and were taken to the waiting tenders. HAL staff had counted “noses” as we boarded the bus, and each bus held about 1 ½ “tenders full.” We were lucky enough to be on an early bus so there was a tender waiting for us. The process slowed down a bit later as each of the four tenders had to load, motor to the Zuiderdam, unload its passenger cargo and head back to the pier. We heard later that some of the more experienced World Cruisers had gone to a nearby bar and enjoyed local beer and ceviche and plantain chips while waiting for the crowd to clear out.

Our tender was full capacity (probably over capacity as there were a number of crew members aboard trying to get back for work assignments). The water was a little rocky and we had to circle until the tender in front of us got all its passengers safely aboard. Then it was our turn. It took good boat handling for the “driver” of the tender to get us aside the rolling Zuiderdam. Even when the tender was tided alongside, there was 1 ½ to 2 feet difference between the decks of the tender and the platform on the Zuiderdam as the two vessels rode the waves. It was a potentially dangerous operation with no room for error. Henk Mensink, Hotel General Manager was on the platform supervising the tender transfer of passengers. Henk is the ships officer I mentioned earlier who is retiring after 31 years with HAL and 21 World Cruises. Having a passenger injured leaving a tender was not how he wanted to go out! He asked everyone to remain in their seats and we would be called one at a time to leave the tender. “Listen carefully, and follow the instructions” he said.

I’ve used tenders before but never in rolling waters (John has a good Navy story about tenders and rough weather). There were three crew members on the tender to hold on to each passenger and two crew members on the floating platform. “Don’t step until we tell you”, Henk said. When the platform and the tender were at approximately the same height (only for a second or two), he’d say “Big step”! Everyone was nervous, some looked terrified. One woman said, “I’m scared”! We watched the tender and platform do their “dance”, coming together, then moving apart. We watched the capable, well-trained crew assist each passenger safely to the floating platform. It was not an easy task; some were very frail, some were very large, one man wore a brace on his leg. In retrospect, the “watching” was worse than the “doing”! When it was my turn, I stepped up, a crew member holding each arm and one standing behind. I watched the boat bob up and down but when Henk said “Big Step” I went for it! No problem. Of course, John wasn’t fazed at all by the bobbing tender, he was just worried about me getting off safely.

Once aboard safely, we hit the Crow’s Nest at the top of the ship for a gin & tonic (even me). We figured we earned it!

The next day, when we saw two of the crew members who had assisted passengers on the platform, John told them he was impressed with the professional job they had done. They were pleased by his praise. One said his heart had been pounding! It was a tremendous responsibility, but all HAL staff involved, from Henk with 4 gold stripes on his shoulder, to seamen did an outstanding job and all passengers returned safely to the ship.