Tropical Cyclone Larry

[keith61]

Synoptic Situation

Tropical cyclone Larry :eek: with central pressure 975 hectopascals centred at 7pm near 17.0S 154.8E, which is 520nm east of Cairns, and moving westwards at 11 knots. Position good. The cyclone is expected to continue intensifying as it moves in a general westerly direction. The core of the cyclone is expected to be near the north Tropical Coast early Monday morning.

The passengers on the Pacific Star are in for a rough ride!

[keith61]

[Painter]

Synoptic Situation

Tropical cyclone Larry :eek: with central pressure 975 hectopascals centred at 7pm near 17.0S 154.8E, which is 520nm east of Cairns, and moving westwards at 11 knots. Position good. The cyclone is expected to continue intensifying as it moves in a general westerly direction. The core of the cyclone is expected to be near the north Tropical Coast early Monday morning.

The passengers on the Pacific Star are in for a rough ride!

 

 

OH NO! Keith.

This ship didn't go well when I sailed on her in smooth waters so I wouldn't want to be onboard in rough seas. I do feel for everyone on this cruise.

[firstimercruiser]

I've been airing cyclone updates all morning, and from the reports, it looks as though there will be 170km/h wind gusts in the Whitsunday's by this afternoon. I think she might as well turn around and go home, or head off to New Caledonia and Vanuatu :)

[keith61]

If you go to the cruise cam you can see how rough the sea is. From what I can see I reakon the waves are 3 to 4 meters and the ship has a nice roll and pitch judging by the horizon in the picture when it refreshes.

The sick bags will be out! A good friends mother is on board and is a first timer, no a nice experience. 20 years ago I was on the Oriana in a force 7 gale and storm and couldn't stand in the shower without falling against a wall. The ship also had an enormous amount of leaks, dont know whether it was rain or sea water leaking through the ceilings. The crew had buckets and blankets throughout the corridoors soaking up the water. I was only 20 at the time and the alchahol made up for the discomfort howver I would not be impressed if I was a passenger now and this was happening.

 

Keith

[Kiwi Kruzer]

I think you would not have any trouble finding a seat in the dining room or the buffet at the moment.The only trouble would be keeping your plate on the table!!!!!!!

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Here is a link to the weather cam at Townsville if you are watching now

(where Cyclone Larry is heading).The sky looks pretty cruel .

 

http://www.shane-williams.net/webcam.htm

[Skyrules]

I don't want to wish rough or unhappy sailing on those currently on Pacific Star, but hopefully mother nature will get this all out of her system this week, and we can experience smoother sailing on our cruise departing Brisbane next weekend.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Hopefully the Captain will just turn the ship around and head well away from it.Perhaps the passengers may end up going on a Mystery cruise.

I think they do that in the Caribbean during the hurricane season.

[chaz cruiser]

Hi All from Townsville,

 

Yes it is pretty crazy up here. Just to let you all know though the web cam you are looking at must be of fairly poor quality cause it is not that bad yet. The sky is getting darker and darker and we are all preparing for what is expected to be a category 4 or 5 cyclone. I have been told that Virgin flights into Townsville tonight and early tomorrow morning have been cancelled and assume this is also for Qantas.

 

For those interested it is currently expected to hit the coast at Cardwell which is about a 1.5 hour drive from Townsville and a little under half way between Townsville & Cairns (closer to Townsville). These things are very unpredictable.

 

I have just come back from the supermarket where I had to go to get more rubbish bags for us to wrap all the electrical equipment in our office. I was amazed. The line for those with trolleys circled the entire store with people waiting over an hour to get to the checkout. The express lane snaked down an entire aisle and is a little quicker at about 20 minutes.

 

For those interested there are no baked beans or bottled water left at the Townsville Woolworths!! Not that I eat them anyway but it is a funny thing that everyone just says when we talk about a cyclone, "had better go get some baked beans!".

 

Hopefully I will be able to get on tomorrow and tell you all it completely missed us and we had no problems. If not, it will be an even more exciting report!!

 

Cheers,

Chaz:)

Roving CC reporter direct from Townsville!!!

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Many thanks to our ...

"Roving CC reporter direct from Townsville!!!."

We will be thinking of you all tonight.

I am just about to ring friends in Townsville to see how they are getting on.

All the best......

[Rallo]

Good luck Chas, hope it blows over without too much damage. Being a fellow Queenslander I know a little of what you may be feeling but being from the Gold Coast we don't get nearly as many as you folk from North Qld do. You are all old hands at it but I'm sure every cyclone is still scary and very unpredictable. All the best!

[Rallo]

Good luck to Tropical Showers too in Cairns!

[rockie]

Their web cam doesn't seem to be working today. Any further news on where the ship is and if they are going to turn away from the storm?

[firstimercruiser]

To all those living in FNQ, please stay safe and I hope things turn out ok for you all. I have been following the cyclone since yesterday morning through all the Cyclone Warnings and have seen the pictures coming out of Cairns and Townsville "firsthand". I can understand what you must be going through, my thoughts and prayers are with you all.

 

Take care, Trevor.

[Brushtail]

Like others, we are looking at what is happening in FNQ and wondering what the ship will do.

 

We also wondered if the ship will turn around and head to Vanuatu etc, but then remembered that you do not need a passport to cruise Queensland but you do for all other cruises.

 

A lot of passengers may not have passports.

 

Watching with interest.........

 

Jenny

[firstimercruiser]

Like others, we are looking at what is happening in FNQ and wondering what the ship will do.

 

We also wondered if the ship will turn around and head to Vanuatu etc, but then remembered that you do not need a passport to cruise Queensland but you do for all other cruises.

 

A lot of passengers may not have passports.

 

Watching with interest.........

 

Jenny

 

I'm led to believe that on QLD Coastal cruises, on all cruises that visit Willis Island, you need a passport (maybe it's only duty free you can buy, that's why I'm thinking you need a passport???) As this cruise is supposed to visit there, all passengers should have one. I hope for their sake they do and can head off to Vanuatu or New Caledonia. Although, the cyclone is about to cross the coast, so things might clear up a bit out at sea up there. The Whisunday's are looking ok too, so they could just stick around there.

 

Trevor.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Just checked Pacific Stars cam.Blurry with rain and there appears to be land in front of her,which would suggest she is in the Whitsunday Island group and has perhaps taken shelter in one of the many harbours or inlets.Cid harbour would be ideal.It is protected from the sea swells and from the winds in almost all directions.

I am sure we will hear more as the day unfolds.

[maxx]

What a horrible experience. I hope everyone will be safe. Maybe passports should be mandatory on all cruises given the inevitable.

[jessica3152]

Passports are mandatory for all cruises except Tasmanian coastal cruises and the Melbourne Cup cruise out of Sydney.

 

Qld coastal cruises require passports as they cruise to Willis Island.

 

As I understand it, this visit to Willis Island, which is located is int'l waters is solely so duty free shopping can be sold onboard the ship and so onboard grog etc is GST free.

[Skyrules]

Webacam is now (8.25am QLD time) showing as "At anchor off WhitSunday Island"

 

 

I don't think she'll go much further north. Townsville and Cairns ports are both closed, and according to the news this morning they are expecting a storm surge all the way up the coast from Townsville through to Cape tribulation.

[Creeky]

I'm led to believe that on QLD Coastal cruises, on all cruises that visit Willis Island, you need a passport (maybe it's only duty free you can buy, that's why I'm thinking you need a passport???) As this cruise is supposed to visit there, all passengers should have one. I hope for their sake they do and can head off to Vanuatu or New Caledonia. Although, the cyclone is about to cross the coast, so things might clear up a bit out at sea up there. The Whisunday's are looking ok too, so they could just stick around there.

 

Trevor.

 

Hi Trevor - On Qld Coastal Cruises - Passengers only need Photo ID and not a Passport - So there would be a lot of people without Passports

---------------------------------------------------------------

 

PASSPORTS AND DOCUMENTATION

Passports are required on all cruises except the following: Tropical Queensland 7-night Delight (page 47), Runaway to Sea (N610), Tropical Treats (N617), Dash of Blue (N623), Spring Racing Bliss (N633), Blue Interlude (N710), Golden Getaway (R608), Aqua Gold (R708) and Lush Retreat (P705); however, some form of photo ID is still required on these cruises. If you hold other than an Australian or New Zealand passport you should check with your travel agent about visa requirements. All passport and visa requirements are the responsibility of you and your travel agent. Passports and visas must be valid for a minimum of 6 months beyond the date of the cruise return. To comply with Australian Government Immigration Department requirements, it is essential that the full name (as shown on passport), date of birth and nationality of each passenger is given to P&O Cruises at time of booking.

 

Peter & Cheryl

[chaz cruiser]

Hi All,

 

Sorry I have been very busy and unable to get online to post a report!

 

As I am sure most of you are aware the cyclone crossed the coast at Innisfail which is about 2.5 hours north of Townsville. According to all reports it has been fairly devastated. Enjoy the bananas in your supermarkets as these may be the last you see for a while. The majority of Australia's bananas come from this region and early reports indicate that at least 75% of the crop has been destroyed!

 

Here in Townsville we have just had heavy rain and reasonably high winds. I must admit the channel 7 coverage this morning was great (sorry Trev!). Grant Denyer (Sunrise weather reporter) was in Townsville this morning and had regular crosses plus the last hour of the Sunrise program was entirely focused on the Cyclone with News following! I must admit my first question was how will they handle Grant's absence for "Dancing with the Stars"!!

 

I guess the best thing about this for Townsville residents is that it is a reminder of what Cyclones can do. One of my friends was happy because it finally caused her husband to get rid of some palm fronds from their yard which have been there for ages! We also have another cyclone building in the Coral Sea (coming from where the other one was). At this stage it is still a long way off and moving relatively slowly so we will have to see how it goes.

 

Cheers,

Chaz:)

Direct from Townsville

[Skyrules]

Chaz,

 

Pleased to hear you weathered the storm

 

Pacific Star has left the Whitsundays, and still seems to be heading for Carins (the QLD Transport ports website still shows Pacific Star as arriving there at 9am tomorrow morning), what's the sea situation like around Townsville tonight? Is it very rough?

 

 

Kym

[firstimercruiser]

Hi All,

 

I must admit the channel 7 coverage this morning was great (sorry Trev!).

 

It's ok Chaz, I totally agree with you. I saw bits and pieces of Sunrise this morning (shhh, don't tell my boss :D ) and what I saw was great, but, to NINE's defence, there's not a lot they can do at the moment with all their resources tied up with and their commitments with the Commonwealth Games. Had a big 12 hour day there today, started at 2am, just to play cyclone warnings so you lot up there knew what was happening and could stay safe, and the thanks I get is you switch over, sheesh :p ;)

 

Anyway, I hope you guys are safe and well, and Wati doesn't come anywhere near you.

 

Trevor