NWP 8. Fogey freighter

22-Aug-24 Bering Strait

A bomb could have gone off last night and I would have slept through it. Jeez that was a long 20hrs yesterday. Cinnarizine helps obviously. But eventually wake at about 0700hrs. Can tell we’re stationary. Open curtains to reveal Nome still there. The 0600hrs departure has obviously not happened even though I, a non-sailor, can tell the sea is relatively calm.

In need of a morning brew. Head to the buffet restaurant. Would I like to share a table with a fellow traveller?

Well. Not unless they want their head bitten off. Being the sort of chap who needs at least three brews in him before anyone dare speak to him I’m best left alone for an hour with brew to wake up slowly.

There are three restaurants onboard. Aune is the main one. Fredheim is the secondary one which serves very good burger and fries type fayre. Lindstrom is the restaurant for suite guests. Not being a suite guest, I’m a Polar Outside Cabin, the Aune and Fredheim it is. Aune is buffet for breakfast and lunch. But a la carte waitress service for dinner.

Beer and wine included in your meal. But if you want drinks from the bar that is extra. The drinks package is about EUR48 per day. Not even I with my ability to consume alcohol thinks that is a good deal.

Food is excellent.

Breakfast is the usual array of pastries, fry up, smoked salmon, cheese/cured meats and fresh fruit to ward off scurvy.

Lunch is soup, salad, cheese/cured meat, variety of hot food. Puddings and fruit.

Dinner changes nightly but seems to include a starter, mains of meat, fish or veggie, followed by pud.

Not going to go hungry. Will have to watch intake otherwise it won’t be only the barrel being rolled out at the end. It’ll be a more rotund Touring Taurean.

Now had a chance to meet other travellers. Needless to say, I’m one of the youngest by about 30 years. There’s a few younger (including a baby travelling with young Dutch parents) but vast majority are the silver haired older generation. Primarily Norwegian, German and USA/UK. Relay this information to Miss Nottingham. Miss Nottingham relays to little sister. We’ll call her Bloss. Both avid travellers and hoping to do this trip at some point. You’ve got them to thank, dear reader, for making me do this blog. Bloss suggests it’s the, ‘Fogey freighter!’. Well, you might think that, but I couldn’t possibly comment.

As you will see in the photos below. Polar Outside Cabin on Deck 5 is quite large and luxurious compared to the Ocean Nova I travelled to Antarctica on. Lounge area with settee and TV. Bedroom area. Office area. Spacious ensuite. Ah yes. This will do nicely for the next 25 days.

Restaurants, reception, library, lecture room, science centre above on Deck 6. My cabin is chosen as it’s below the library. No clattering of dishes at the crack of dawn.

Explorer Lounge and bar is Deck 10.

Having obtained my 5XL Hurtigruten jacket yesterday to go over my Rab polar coat put it to the test as we finally depart Nome 12hrs later than scheduled at 1000hrs. Venturing out on deck there’s still a stiff breeze but the waves are substantially less than yesterday’s white horses.

Finally. Let the adventure begin!

Despite a leisurely day at sea I find myself very busy.

Breakfast. Upload blog photos. Write diary. Talk on the scientific research they do. Hoping to get involved with that. Lunch. Early afternoon talk on gold and the Alaskan Gold Rush in the 1800s.

After a lunch, another cinnarizine tablet and with the gentle motion of the ocean find myself listening to the gold rush lecture gently nodding off. Chairs have a soft flexible back. Ships movement on the waves means my back gently sways on the comfortably flexible chair. Left shoulder left. Left shoulder down. Right shoulder right. Right shoulder up. Left shoulder left. And so on. All rhythmic like. My back is gently massaged. And my eyes begin to droop. Fighting to stay awake now. Lecture over and decide an afternoon nap is called for.

I like to play sleep roulette. A dangerous game to play. My afternoon naps are hours. Not minutes. And doze off straight away.

Only a short two hour nap this time.

Just enough time to finish off blog. Then dinner. Sit adjacent American couple who are chatting with fellow Americans across the aisle.  Hear Hornby Island mentioned. It’s where Miss Vancouver lives.

I’ve not been able to visit Hornby Island this trip. Miss Vancouver is now Miss Victoria. Having relocated there for work last year. Due to my own business commitments needed high speed internet hence the reason for staying in Vancouver for so many days. She has no internet on Hornby.

Thinking American couple live on Hornby Island. But they don’t. It’s their architect who does. Overhear other American couple say that in England they don’t have guns but if they did it would be civil war now given the current anti-immigration protests. Hmmm. Don’t think so mate. We’re a bit more civilised than America. It’ll be pots of tea at dawn more like.

Another lecture on what to expect post-dinner. The sister ship has just made it through the icy waters of the Bellot Strait.

Yay.

But winds can block it again with sea ice.

Boo.

So it’s still a waiting game.

At about 2240hrs the ship crosses the Arctic Circle. A little celebration with a glug of Jamesons. Calm seas as we do. Hardly notice we are moving at 14kts (16mph).