Not Much Sleep

Some who went to bed early caught a few winks until violent rocking and shaking jolted passengers to alertness. Night owls might as well explore the ship and study this phenomenon known as Tehuantepecer. Named after the Nahuatl term for Jaguar Mountain, we were reminded that these fierce felines have teeth. Most outside areas were closed, but determined passengers who knew where to go could experience firsthand what 60 kn sustained wind can do. At its peak, wind pressed 500 tons of force which heeled the ship to port. The captain compensated by shifting water into the starboard tanks which helped as we encountered mountainous waves of 17 feet at a 90 degree angle on our beam. The ship motion calmed once we completed our transit around 6 am and afforded a few precious hours of rest.

From Wikipedia:
Tehuantepecer, or Tehuano wind, is a violent mountain-gap wind that travels through the Chivela Pass in southern Mexico, across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec… winds reach 20 knots (40 km/h) to 45 knots (80 km/h), and on rare occasions 100 knots (190 km/h).

Tehuantepecers can be felt up to 160 kilometres (100 mi) out to sea in the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean… Its effects can appear similar to a tropical cyclone, though the sky is usually clear.Читать далее