Sea day heading towards Nome, Alaska

Paul was on Foxtrot, Oscar, Golf duty (um... fog watch) during the early hours of the morning, after getting a call at midnight to come to the Bridge.

He crawled into bed after 5am and woke up when his alarm went off. He had to go to a meeting at 10am, which went on for a good hour. There was no point him going to bed again because he was needed for duty at noon. Yes, Foxtrot, Oscar, Golf is set to stay for quite a while. The seas are calm, and there is no wind to blow it away.

I've been reading and then attended 2 lectures in the afternoon. One was about what to expect in Nome tomorrow, and the other was "Ice, The Arctic Circle & Westerdam". The first speaker, Emma, was a geologist who talked about the types of ice and icebergs we would come across and how - especially - sea ice is formed. The Captain gave his part of the discussion - the weather forecast and what we can expect as we head up further North into the Bering Sea, and what the ship can and cannot do as and when we encounter icebergs and sea ice. Paul had some input as an ice pilot and had ice charts, but unfortunately, they didn't come up on the screen during his presentation. He could see it on the laptop, but the projector couldn't handle the file.

During the Q & A session, one guest angrily asked why the 28-day Alaska Arctic Solstice Cruise is being sold, especially if we might not be able to get much further north than Nome. Emma, the geologist, gave a very nice answer, which was very well received by the audience. I can understand the guest's frustration, but I can also see the other side of the coin. Nature does what it does. Paul has seen both clear and icy seas in June.

The fog horn is still going. I call it the fog horn's "fart" 🤭.

Ohhhh! I see the horizon is clearing. Paul might be relieved from his duties if all goes well.Read more