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Atlantic X Polar Athena & Sue
  • Susan Finlay
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  • Susan Finlay

Atlantic X Polar Athena & Sue

What began as a 1 week work trip to Sweden to prepare a ship turns into 2 weeks Sweden and 12 days at sea crossing the Atlantic Rönnang, Sweden to NFLD, Canada. ⛴️🇸🇪⚓️🇨🇦 Read more
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    🌊 North Atlantic Ocean
    Susan FinlayAtlantic X Polar Athena & SueTraveler

    The final 24

    3 hours ago, North Atlantic Ocean ⋅ ☁️ 4 °C

    Today the ship was busy, bee hive of activity. Many last details to be ready for our arrival and to show off all we have done. Our welcome team will be waiting dockside to greet us. I mean I guess it’s pretty damn exciting when you have leased a real life ship!

    I photographed all the crew and made a new crew photo board. This was the last item on my checklist!

    The food situation is kinda crazy. We found out from Transport Canada that we have to get rid of everything fresh, meat and dairy products. This was not known when provisioning was done so we are all doing our best to eat up! Int’l ships are complicated!

    Tonight Captain Stephan gave us a tour of the engine room (2 floors below deck) and passionately “taught” us a lot about ship engines and steering that we will likely not remember let alone use! Again, never say never.

    Fog was heavy tonight so for a period we had the fog horn blasting every two minutes.

    We planned to have a fun last evening with our 5 girl crew in “The Knot” wish I had better internet to show you the final space. We ran out of wine, had the secret key and spent far too long in the bowels of the ship searching for it!

    Tmrw morning at 6:30am the St. John’s Pilot will be boated to us about 5 miles out and a rope latter will be extended, he will climb aboard and will steer us into the port. Several colleagues will be waiting and we have a wee Sea Shanty and some costumes ready for them! Work hard, play hard!

    Last night of a fabulous and unexpected adventure!

    xo    Read more

  • Susan FinlayAtlantic X Polar Athena & SueTraveler
    222

    3 more sleeps til NFLD

    June 14, North Atlantic Ocean ⋅ 🌬 7 °C

    We haven’t made it outside in the last two days, surprisingly, I’m not feeling stir crazy. The ship has its own rhythm and really does feel like a little world unto itself.

    Really enjoying the art projects. Part of what I’ve been trying to do is help create a warm and welcoming atmosphere on the ship, while being respectful of the cultures and backgrounds connected to the different expeditions.

    The first expedition on the Polar Athena, under SOI’s lease of the ship, is called Innu Nation. Some wise people have helped me understand what is appropriate and respectful. I’ve attached a clip of the front entrance, where I created “Welcome Aboard” signs in six languages: Innu, Inuit, English, French, Swedish, and Filipino/Tagalog.

    I also made some artwork using an old frame and a set of ship signal flags. Tonight, the Captain came by with the International Code of Signals and spent time teaching me what all the flags mean and how they work so I can create a poster to go with the flags. (See picture)

    We’ve had some 4.5 to 5 metre swells, which mostly means you sit, hang out, and let the ocean do what the ocean does. We’ve also been playing Euchre and Bananagrams, and there have been a lot of laughs.

    🎤The biggest highlight of the last three days was probably a full “girl crew” (Filipino & Canadian) karaoke night, fuelled by boxed wine and absolutely no restraint. It was full throttle and an absolute riot.

    We’ve also been spending a fair bit of time on the bridge (where ship is controlled), asking lots of questions of whoever is on shift, the Captain, Chief Officer, or Second Officer. Everyone has been generous with their time, and I’m learning a lot.

    I’m definitely thinking of home, but I’m also loving this experience and trying to fully lean into it. I don’t think I’ll have another adventure quite like this one although, never say never!

    🫶😘    Read more

  • Susan FinlayAtlantic X Polar Athena & SueTraveler
    11

    Surfs & Swells

    June 11, North Atlantic Ocean ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    We are about ½ way now and I def have my sea legs. We are south of Greenland! 🌊Today we were loving the swells and standing over the bow felt like a rollercoaster the ship’s bow would go way up and then dip way down and your stomach wd drop just like on a rollercoaster - we were actually wanting bigger swells!

    Sitting in the lounge now the windows on the sides dip down for full ocean filling the windows and then tip all the way up for full sky and back and forth . It’s a ride. Still taking gravol at night but otherwise all good. It is constant motion!

    We don’t get outside as much as you might think but when we do it’s awesome and the fresh air is so needed! One of my jobs is artwork for the entire ship - can you imagine hanging artwork on a ship as it sways?! It’s comical. I have re-used many old pieces, re-framing along with all the new. I also used an old frame to display some old nautical flags I found. Digging deep into my creative side with freedom is amazing.

    It seems the captain has averted the worst of the pocket of weather we were watching. Swells today were 3.5 - 3.8 and maybe 4 overnight but right now looks like we are going to successfully skirt around the 5 meter area.

    🫶    Read more

  • Susan FinlayAtlantic X Polar Athena & SueTraveler
    2
    712212

    South of Iceland North West of Scotland

    June 9, North Atlantic Ocean ⋅ 🌬 11 °C

    Day 4 at sea.
    Wish we could stop in Iceland!

    Just when routines start to settle in, the ocean reminds us who's in charge. Rising swells have made some jobs impossible, left some people feeling rough, and forced us all to adapt and pivot.
    Never did I imagine I'd spend my days discussing ocean swells, wind patterns, and knots but it’s fascinating.

    Yesterday was bittersweet. I missed Savannah's Master's graduation, which was hard, but we found a way to celebrate from afar. We made a hilarious video rewriting What Do You Do With a Drunken Sailor? into What Do You Do With a Master's Graduate? One of the girls even crafted graduation caps from barf bags, while ties were fashioned from blue blankets. Resourcefulness at sea is next level!

    This morning we managed to get some fresh air on deck. It felt a bit like a roller coaster, but the views were incredible. By this evening, though, we've been asked to stay away from the outside rails.

    Sleeping is an adventure. The ship rolls unpredictably, tossing us in our beds and naps have become a regular part of the day. Sea sickness comes in many forms, and drowsiness is one of them.

    One thing that never stops amusing me is watching everyone's sober but drunken looking hallway cruising.

    Today's highlight was firing up the new onboard sauna, a welcome treat in the middle of the rolling seas.

    The forecast for Thursday and Friday is looking more intense, with swells expected to reach at least 5 metres. Yikes.

    Thankfully, our Fab Five are holding up well, although a bedtime dose of Gravol has become a fairly regular ritual.    Read more

  • Susan FinlayAtlantic X Polar Athena & SueTraveler
    1

    Day 2 North Sea

    June 7 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    Tried to convince Captain Stéphan to make a pitstop in Scotland for a Scotch! He pretended to consider.

    Yesterday was a bit of a low day, stressful situations, more delays and a medical emergency requiring a helicopter evacuation. Was just amazing to see the calm, efficient team work to handle the situation and how quickly the helicopter arrived (good to know!). It was a good call and the person is recovering very well.

    We are sailing on one engine to be more fuel efficient, travelling at 11 Knots, swells are about 2.5 metres and increasing to 4-5 metres tmrw. We saw several oil fields which was cool, searched for dolphins but no luck yet. We have some good rocking and swaying going on and we look like mild drunks cruising the hallways. One hand for the rail!

    Today made up for the hard ones ten fold. After a good days work we got some fresh air, sunshine and endless ocean. A deck dance party, followed by Bananagrams.

    Ship life for the win! I love this girl!    Read more

  • Susan FinlayAtlantic X Polar Athena & SueTraveler
    1

    Seas the day!

    June 6 in Denmark ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

    Departure has happened! 7-8 hours later than expected with a few bumps in the road (waves in the ocean?).
    Currently passing Denmark and seas are smooth and the sun is shining!
    Captain just completed our safety training and every time he says “abandon ship” my heart does a wee blip. To be noted he has never ever had to do that.
    The actual Atlantic crossing adventure has finally begun almost 3 weeks after I left home (for a week!).    Read more

  • Susan FinlayAtlantic X Polar Athena & SueTraveler

    Twas the night bf X the Atlantic!

    June 5 in Sweden ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    ’Twas the night before sailing, and all through the ship, Not a crew member stirring not even the Captain.
    The zodiacs secured on aft deck with care, With excitement for morning alive in the air.
    The artwork was mounted, equipment strapped tight, Every latch double-checked for tomorrow’s first light.
    For 2.5 years she was rebuilt piece by piece, Through long days of labour that never did cease.
    Now 5 a.m. calls and adventure awaits, This ship is finally ready for a glorious fate.
    And though the ship rested in silence tonight, You could feel the excitement building for first light.

    We had to capture a pic of all of us making the crossing, one big family for now,

    Thank you for making it thru my poet attempt!

    And get this, customs came to the ship to clear us. My clearance seemed to be the most difficult and my fingerprints don’t work (future career criminal next gig)! Please enjoy my enthusiastic jump for joy!

    Must close eyes alarm set for 5! Love hearing from you all!    Read more

  • Susan FinlayAtlantic X Polar Athena & SueTraveler

    Awaiting the Captain’s Nod

    June 2 in Sweden ⋅ 🌧 16 °C

    ⛴️ Still docked in this gorgeous rock shielded port of only 2 ships! Departure delayed. Everyone is making sure all systems are tip top and all safety and procedural measures are checked and in place. Last minute and unexpected twists are better on shore than during crossing!

    Going with the flow. Ship is a bustle of activity and team work! I pretty much know my way around the neighbouring towns and have regained my status as qualified to operate a manual vehicle.

    🇸🇪 We have had some time off ship exploring with the highlights being Marstrand Island and Skärhamn. I suggested heading back to Marstrand for some recently joined staff and explained the hour drive then ferry etc… Björn looked at me and said “why do you make things so difficult? Do you see the 5 zodiacs, it is a 10 min. ride!”. Silly land girl! Hopefully tmrw if we work extra hard today. 🤞

    🌊 Departure is now Friday June 5th (initially 2nd). Fairly high winds and rocky waters predicted, we cleared the pharmacy out of the Swedish version of gravol. 🤮 Est. sailing time 11-12 days but nothing is predictable in the world of ships/boating. We go when the captain decides! 👨‍✈️

    ⚓️ Excited to sail but will be sad to leave this magical area of Sweden.    Read more

  • Susan FinlayAtlantic X Polar Athena & SueTraveler

    Tjörn Island with an Oyster Finale!

    May 31 in Sweden ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    The last 24 hours are
    going down in the books!
    Yesterday’s 7 to 8-hour sail was smooth. The captain and owner were both pleased with how well the ship is running. By evening we arrived at a stunning bay, surrounded by small islands and jutting rock formations. Watching the docking manoeuvre was impressive. What looked like it should have been incredibly difficult was executed with calm precision. With the backdrop of a beautiful sunset,

    Today was a rest day for me. No plan no problem! We found the magic. We asked Björn for a ride into Skärhamn on his way to the office, he first took us there for a tour, the office, perched on rocky hills dotted with wild flowers had gorgeous views overlooking the ocean and scattered islands, Inside it was filled with treasures. I learned that he is a collector of art and ship models.

    We walked along the coast to the watercolour museum in Skärhamn. Every turn revealed another postcard-worthy scene. We wandered for hours around the harbour playing tourist. Eventually we found ourselves at a little bistro called Port Sud, where we had delicious mussels, shrimp, fries, and a lovely rosé. Afterwards, we strolled back up the hill to the boss's office feeling slightly giddy from our day.

    Björn handed me the keys to a company car for the next few days - it was standard!
    It has been SO long since I've driven a manual but I’m proud to report that it all came back! Not a single stall 😁

    Little did we know that the best part of the day was still to come.
    When we returned to the ship, we were greeted warmly and made our way to the mess, where about ten crew members were gathered. They excitedly showed us enormous oysters that the first and second officers had collected while swimming right beside the ship.

    They boiled them and prepared a Filipino sauce and loved that we joined the Oyster party and took lots of pics & videos.
    They were delicious!!!
    As we sat there eating, some of the crew began playing guitar and singing, I love so much how the Filipino’s love to sing and dance and no one has to have special talent or skills you just do it because you enjoy it.

    All the feels for this day! 🇸🇪⛴️🫶

    Tjörn (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈɕœːɳ]) is the sixth largest island in Sweden,[1] located on the Swedish west coast in the province of Bohuslän.    Read more

  • Susan FinlayAtlantic X Polar Athena & SueTraveler

    Testing the waters (and ship!)

    May 30 in Sweden ⋅ 🌬 15 °C

    Today we left the shipyard in Falkenberg to sail to Rönnäng. This was a big deal as the ship has not been formally sailed in 2.5 years since being taken over by new ownership. At that time the vessel was in very poor condition and the new owner (Björn) has spent the last 2.5 years re-building the ship mechanically (can’t find the fingers crossed emoji!).

    I have been doing a stellar job of looking like I know what is going on and making myself useful and have asked a total of zero more dumb questions! Have been working and learning many new things from compressors for the science/dive team, winch plates and l’attitude lines to IT and of course shopping for all things a ship might need while being set up for expedition life (never want to see an IKEA again!).

    Feeling very comfortable on-board, figure I have now collectively slept 21 nights on this ship! Captain Stéphan Guy and 1st Officer arrived yesterday from Canada and having worked/sailed with Stéphan previously on Canada C3/Polar Prince is quite comforting.

    The staff both from SOI and the crew who are primarily Filipino are stellar, lots of hard work, team work, laughs and Tik tok videos! There is even a karaoke room (stay tuned for that!).

    We are very well taken care of and it is amazing how much you can do in a day when everyone has there set areas of work (no cooking, cleaning or laundry for me = heaven).

    The MV Polar Athena (previously Polar Pioneer) is described as Ice breaker strength, small ship charm.
    With the highest 1A super ice-class rating, she’s built to slice through heavy sea ice, while still being somewhat compact in size.

    We will be in Rönnäng until June 3rd when we will se sail for Canada and the trip is expected to take 10-12 days. I am excited and a tad nervous AND I miss my family and my dog!    Read more

  • Susan FinlayAtlantic X Polar Athena & SueTraveler
    1

    Varberg

    May 28 in Sweden ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    Yesterday was off ship touring with only a small side of work.
    Joanne is here and before we fully put her to work, some Swedish time! Good for the soul, people are no stress, helpful and so many good takeaways. Went to shipyard office to figure how to get to a car rental (small city and on outskirts) one of the Shipyard Managers calmly stands and says I will take you (15 min) away, waits, helps with language and gives us many tips.
    We head to Varberg, very pretty seaside town. We can’t figure out the parking and how to pay, we ask some people and then the parking guy, both tell us to just put a note in our window saying what time we arrived and we have four hours for free! Trust and honour system.
    The pace is simple, calm and easy. We ended the night with an Aperol Spritz and traditional Swedish toast with shrimp, dill, pickled onions and fish roe - SO good!
    Back on the ship feels like coming home to family now. One of the crew gave me some spray for my sore knee from the Philippines that is supposed to be magical. Then I made some Tik Toks with the “girl crew”! lol

    More ship talk later. Tomorrow we sail to Rönnang to test “her” out as the Captain arrives today!

    Miss my fam., my dog and missed an awesome backyard bbq at home yesterday that I had organized - seems much fun was had despite! 😂    Read more

    Trip start
    May 27, 2026
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