Half Moon Cay (2)

During the night, the ocean waves became very rough. They pitched the ship high and low. Fortunately, Sandra and Donita slept through the turbulence. Other passengers were not as lucky. Almost half of the people on board were seasick. The on-board doctor and nurses were kept busy through the night giving out medicine.

Sandra:       Wake up! You have to look at this. Look at the 
              size of those waves!
Donita:       Wow! Those are incredible; we better take our 
              motion sickness medicine before breakfast.
Sandra:       I want to go up on the top deck. Hurry up and 
              get dressed!

The women get dressed and take the elevator to the top deck. There are very few people watching the waves. A few attendants are serving coffee.

Donita:        I wonder where everyone is; what time is it?
Sandra:        (Looking at watch.) it’s 7:00 a.m. We better  
               have breakfast and get ready to go ashore. 
Donita:        Breakfast? I don’t think I want to eat       
               anything. Let’s eat when we get on shore.
Captain:       (Over the loud speaker system). This is your
               captain speaking. I regret to inform you that
               we will not be stopping in Half Moon Cay. The
               waves are to rough for the Tenders to safely 
               take passengers to the island. I know this is a
               big disappointment for you, back it is my 
               responsibility to keep everyone safe. Now here 
               is your activity director.
Dave:          I think I heard everyone onboard groan in    
               disappointment. However, there will be a 
               newspaper delivered to your rooms in about 30
               minutes listing all the fun activities to do 
               today. There will also be a lecture on Half 
               Moon Cay at 8:30.
Sandra:        That is disappointing, but the captain knows 
               what is best for us. 
Donita:        I’m going back to the room and lie down.     
               Come down after you eat.
Sandra:        Sorry you don’t feel well. Take your medicine 
               and I’ll see you soon.

After breakfast, Sandra returns to the room and finds Donita asleep. She quietly leaves the room again and goes to the lecture.

Lecturer:      Good morning, everyone. It’s too bad you had 
               to miss going ashore, but I’m going to give you a   
               little history and other information about Half 
               Moon Cay. First of all, does anyone know who owns
               it?
Passenger:     Holland America?
Lecturer:      You are absolutely right! Holland America    
               Line bought it in January 1997 and built the 
               private 45-acre Half Moon Cay resort. Now, 
               any ideas where they got the name?
Passenger:     Is the island shaped like a half moon?
Lecturer:      That is a great guess, but it’s wrong.       
               (Everyone laughs.) Actually, you are partially       
               correct; the beach is a perfect crescent. But 
               the name also comes from the antique ship, Henry
               Hudson’s “Half Moon”. 
Passenger:     Did the island have another name before it   
               was bought?
Lecturer:      Yes, it was called Little San Salvador       
               because it covers just 3 ¼ miles.
Passenger:     Who were the first people to find the island?
Lecturer:      Good question. It was the early Spanish      
               explorers who referred to the Bahamas as 
               “bajar mar” meaning shallow sea. The islands are
               in fact the peaks of a long steep undersea mountain
               chain. When the sea levels receded, a limestone
               foundation remained which formed the foundation of
               the islands.