Rock 'n Roll Party aka "Screamin' 50's"

Our noon update from Captain Stig over the loudspeaker was as follows:

"Welcome to the rock 'n' roll party, Drake passage style. We have passed the latitude of Cape Horn so now south 56 degrees 18 minutes west 62 degrees 50 minutes, making a speed of 19 knots. Water depth is 13,100 feet. And of course, we are in Drake Passage. The closest land is behind us by 89 nautical miles. For this afternoon, we have a mixed forecast. Cloudy skies with forecasts of showers mixed between snow and rain. Wind is from the southwest 40 knots steady with gusts up to 55 knots. Earlier this morning we had gusts up to 90 knots (103 mph). We have rough seas around 6 meters or 20 feet. Air temperature down to 36 degrees. Sunset tonight is at 9:52PM and sunrise tomorrow morning is bright and early at 3:21AM. I would like to wish all of you a blessed and relaxing afternoon here on Serenade."

I should add that our friend Dapper, tells us 40 degrees latitude south is called the "Roarin' 40s" and 50 degrees south is known by sailors as the Screamin' 50's because the wind can circle the globe with nothing to stop it!

It's 4 o'clock as I add to the day's previous post. We spent most of the day in the solarium on Deck 11, and it was like watching fireworks. The ship would periodically meet with a combination of wind and water on the bow, making a loud thud, and minutes later an enormous spray would encroach upon the windows of the sheltered part of the deck, causing the crowd to erupt with "ohhs" and "ahhs". We are grateful for our captain's expertise (and his sense of humor). It's been quite a day!!