Northern Gannets

Today we got company, from a lot of Northern Gannets (birds). They can be 95 cm, and the young once like to fly south to the cost around Africa. And as you know, we are sailing between South Africa and South America - so they want to join us. When we are coming to Europe, we might meet their parents. Once for sure, it is not easy to catch them on a picture. It is probably easier for them to catch the flying fishes we also see here.

Vanessa had her birthday recently, and she has celebrated for a couple of days now. Vanessa is normally working as a Waitress and Stewardess, but on this crossing she is working all over the ship. As you can see on the picture, she was very happy to get this nice birthday cake from the guys in our galley. We all were singing for her.
Tonight we will continue with our chess competition and start our shooting competition.

Visit the bridge

On the Bridge 2nd Officer Sobers is checking the planned route to Lisbon. We want to get there as early as possible and at the same time use as little fuel as possible. To achieve this Captain Arnvid Hansen has taken weather and sea conditions into consideration when planning the route. He has sailed this distance many times before and is familiar with the area.

Betita and Johnny from Housekeeping are also on the bridge today. They are cleaning every corner of the bridge, floor, walls and roof.

The Captain is in his office answering emails and planning the upcoming Europe cruise. Outside it is around 40 degrees Celsius. So it is totally understandable that the Captain has put away his uniform and found his Hawaii shirt.

Now we are all very excited about the darts final that will take place in the gym tonight. Let`s see if the favorite from yesterday AB Wyne can win tonight.

Someone is always working

It is after midnight and some of the crew is still on duty. Engine room is always manned, 2nd Engineer Yadav is giving us a big smile as his duty is about to finish. 3rd Engineer Victor is probably at the moment being woken up from his sweet dreams. Tonight he is relieving Yadav at 01:00 instead of midnight as normal. This is due to that we are advancing the clock by one hour tonight, reaching Mid Atlantic Standard Time at position S 20’ 04” W 038’ 12”.

Shop Manager Rowena is also working at this time. AB Rey is passing by on his security round and is kind enough to help Rowena count postcard. From the picture it might look more like he is disturbing her than helping. And of course, myself Chief Purser Line, photographer and writer of the blog is still on duty.

Destroying bathrooms

It looks like our 12 Italian passengers are not happy with the service on board. They have been destroying bathroom floors all over the ship, starting on deck 6 and working their way down. But the reason for their behavior is not the service given on Fram, I think all previous passengers can agree on this. During this crossing we will replace the bathroom heating in 140 cabins. It is a lot of work, first they must remove the tiles, replace the heater cables and then finish with new tiles.

Yesterday the welfare arranged pushball and table tennis competitions in the bar. After many rounds of hard competition, the proud winners of the pushball were Headwaiter Elmer and Motorman Miko. Best table tennis player onboard was 2nd Cook Barry.

What a beautiful sunset

Today Sunday, we have been working with counting provisions, paper and pens.
Our newly hired blog photographer AB Arwin  managed to get some pictures of the hard working deck crew. Today they have been varnishing chairs and tables, and painting forward on deck 5.

The weather couldn’t be better, calm sea, nice temperature and a beautiful sunset.
Our Hotel Manager was walking around checking the preparation for our barbeque, when she saw the beautiful sunset. As the picture shows, the colors were amazing.

As mentioned, we are going to have a barbeque dinner tonight again. Today Barry and Brian are preparing lamb ribs, and of course there will be some salads, rice (always rice even for breakfast and lunch), toasted garlic bread (hmmmmm that’s so good) and some desserts. Our Waitress Lyn, Hotel Manager Else Kristine and our Nurse Janitza, are all looking forward to taste the food, and hopefully they can watch the beautiful sunset while eating.

15 days at sea..

Fram has started on the re-positioning cruise to Lisbon. At the moment we are sailing outside the coast of Brazil in good weather. Due to this nice weather Chef Johan-Ludvig has already arranged two successful barbeque outside on deck 7 and there will be many more to come. His plan is to serve dinner outside as long as weather is permitting.

The happy people of Fram now consist of 63 crewmembers and 12 Italian workers. We were also hoping for adventurous passengers to join us for this crossing, but nobody signed up for this. Now we are hoping to show you that we do have a lot of fun these next 15 days, so you might be tempted to join us for the next re-positioning cruise.

Here is MV Fram`s own inventive welfare committee planning competitions and big happenings. Tonight will be karaoke night in the bar.

Square Dancing Penguins

We had a mixture of sun and clouds today and relatively calm seas.  As we approach Buenos Aires, the temperature continues to climb and is now a downright balmy 70 degrees F. The humidity is noticeably higher. We will be pulling out the shorts and short sleeved shirts and packing away all of the cold weather gear!
In the afternoon we had the results of our creativity contest.  There were lots of entrants and a surprising diversity of material.  There was everything from a penguin square dance, to lots of stimulating poetry, drawings, paintings and puzzles!  Congratulations to all of the entrants.  Picking one winner was impossible.  In fact it was not about winning. It was about the spirit of participating.
In the evening we held a multiple choice quiz.
Camille stalked our crew members with her camera again today.  Here are a few more members of our  hard working crew.
Tomorrow we say goodbye. Usually new passengers arrive on our port days but not tomorrow.  Many crew members will be leaving and new crew arriving but Fram will sail to europe without passengers.
 We would like to thank you for travelling with us and we very much hope to see you again, whether it is in Europe, the Arctic, Antarctica, Greenland, Spitsbergen or the beautiful coast of Norway.  For those of you reading the blog  at home we hope that our adventures in Antarctica will inspire you to travel to the Great White Continent one day.

It's Getting Warmer!

First there was fog and rain.  Then the sun came out.  Nice!  Then more fog.  There is a new dampness to the air.  You can feel the humidity and temperature increasing as we steam towards Buenos Aires.  Even though we are several hundred miles from land we have been seeing lots of butterflies.  The seas have been calm throughout the day.  When not attending lectures most of us have been busy packing and sorting through our travel arrangements for once we leave Fram.  In the evening the Captain gave a nice farewell speech before dinner. For desert the crew marched out the baked Alaska replete with sparklers and real uptempo music.  The MV Fram choir showed their singing talents once again by singing several farewell songs.  It created a really fun atmosphere.

After dinner we met in the Observation Lounge for the charity auction.  This time the money was being raised to support Shackleton's cabin from his ship the Quest.  Fram will be bringing the cabin to the museum at Grytiviken next year. A well run ship only runs well if it functions as a team.  All of the departments on Fram work very well together.  It makes it a real pleasure to work and live here.   Here is a random sampling of some of our stellar crew members and officers as our photographer Camille Seaman roamed the ship today with her camera.

How Will You Possibly Remember?

It has been an epic journey and it is not over yet.  We have done and seen  many fantastic things.  To jog your memory of our voyage to date, here is a quick recap:

• Feb 23:  Ushuaia.  You arrived at the beginning of the most adventurous trip you have ever undertaken. You boarded Fram.  You didn't know what to expect.  You met us.  I hope we weren't too scary. What would life be like for seventeen days on board Fram?   The Drake?  Yeesh! You had heard the stories.   Remember the mandatory safety drill?  The Captain's welcome speech?
• Feb. 24: The first day on the Drake.  Uh oh.  The stories are true. A storm. Big waves. Who the hell decided it was a good idea to go to Antarctica?  We couldn't walk a straight line if our life depended on it.  The worst part was that we hadn't even been drinking!
• Feb. 25: Late on our second day we landed on Deception Island. Who will forget their first landing in Antarctica?  It was so great to set foot on terra firma.  I know that more than one person wanted to kiss the ground.   Dark and mysterious.  Remnants of whaling days.  Antarctic Fur Seals.  A Southern Elephant Seal.  Our first few penguins. Skuas. A large flock of Kelp Gulls. The first ride in a Polar Cirkle boat.
• Feb. 26: Port Lockroy and our first penguin colony.  Young Gentoo penguins were everywhere.  Pecking at people's pant legs. Underfoot.  Antarctic shopping at the gift shop in the small but excellent museum. Snowy Sheathbills and their ugly chicks (don't tell Manuel I said that).  A soft snowfall with bigg fluffy snowflakes. In the afternoon a landing on the actual continent of Antarctica! Almirante Brown and Paradise Bay.  You may not remember, but it snowed again.
• Feb. 27:  Cuverville in the morning.  It was a gorgeous morning. No wind. Brilliant sunshine.  We climbed a hill overlooking the largest Gentoo colony on the peninsula and had epic views of the Gerlache Strait, Rongé Island and Arctowski Peninsula. In the afternoon we cruised through Wilhelmina Bay. The water was like a perfect mirror reflecting the stunning landscape. It was jaw droppingly beautiful.   We saw many Humpback and Minke whales throughout the day. 
• Feb 28 -  you might want to forget.  On the heels of Shackleton we encountered a force twelve storm.  Right! All part of the grand adventure.  Through the mist we had brief glimpses of Elephant Island. Our last full day in Antarctica
• Mar. 1: A full day at sea.  The wind had abated but the seas were even larger as we were not sheltered by the South Shetland Islands any longer. A busy day with lots of lectures.
• Mar. 2:  More bouncing on the Scotia Sea.  The storm had abated but it was still somewhat on the rough side.  A day filled with lectures and documentray films and plenty of relaxation.
• Mar. 3: Riding on the coat tails of the storm we approached South Georgia Island.  High winds kept us from entering Drygalski Fjord. Undaunted we headed straight for Grytiviken. By 10am there was a big weather change.  The sun came out.  The wind dropped. Beautiful.  We had a full three hours on shore. We visited Shackleton's grave, the whaling station, the museum and the Church.  Most people hiked over to King Edward Point.  There was lots of wildlife.  Big Elephant seals.  Fur Seals. Our first King Penguins!
• Mar. 4: A day playing with katabatic winds.  We started at Fortuna Bay. Too windy.  We cruised by Leith and Husivik whaling stations on our way to Stromness.  Too windy at Stromness. Back to Fortuna.  Suddenly it was near perfect landing conditions.  There were cute Fur Seal pups everywhere.  King Penguins everywhere.  Reindeer. Amazing scenery with a fantastic beach.  Remember the kilometre walk to the King Penguin colony?
• Mar.5: A day at sea.  More big waves.  Lots of lectures. A great day for sea birds with Wandering Albatross, Black-browed albatross, Grey-headed Albatross, Southern Giant Petrels, White-chinned Petrels, Soft-plumaged Petrels and Wilson's Storm Petrels.
• Mar. 6: Second sea day on the way to the Falklands.  We finally had smooth seas but, with reduced visibility (fog). A great day to relax.
• Mar. 7: The Falkland Islands and Port Stanley.  Really great weather in Port Stanley.  It was warm!  Everyone headed off on different excursions or roamed about Stanley on their own. Peales dolphins were seen several times during the day.
• Mar 8: Another EPIC day!!  New Island in the morning. West Point Island in the afternoon..   We sat with Albatross chicks and Rockhopper penguins.  Both islands featured a great walk.  The tea and cakes were at West Point.  Striated Caracaras were like pets they were so approachable. More Peales dolphins. In the evening we had excellent whale sightings with many Sei whales.
• Mar. 9:  The day started out perfectly. Calm seas. Mild temperatures.  We joined the expedition team on deck for wildlife watching in the morning.  We were rewarded with more sightings of Sei whales and new sea bird species including Great Shearwaters, Atlantic Petrels and White-headed Petrels.

Whew!  What a packed trip and there is still more to come.  Don't worry.  We will be putting all of the daily programs, a chart of our journey, staff bios and some other goodies all into a Cd for you to take home with you - just in case you forget any of the details of this amazing journey.

The Essence of Wild Freedom

To sit and watch an albatross is to contemplate the essence of wild freedom. These free spirits induce a peaceful  introspective experience in the observer. They are magnificent, gentle creatures.

Close your eyes and imagine for a moment that it is you sitting quietly with an albatross. On second thought, forget about closing your eyes. You won’t be able to read this. Wild surf pounds on the shore. Wind sighs through the tussoc. There is a cacophony of albatross and penguin calls all around you. Watching, listening and photographing, you feel closer to nature than you ever have before. The contentment of the young bird is contagious. The stress of your busy life at home forgotten. You are at peace for the first time in a long time. In some small way you feel grateful to the young bird. The important things in life seem to come in to sharper focus.

That was our day today.

We had brilliant weather for two absolutely outstanding landings:  New Island in the morning and West Point Island in the afternoon.  None of us will forget this day.  Striated Caracaras were ubiquitous on both landings.  Their bold and inquisitive nature added some amusement.  Rockhopper penguins were mixed in amongst the albatross.  Most of them were moulting.  It was a beautiful walk to the albatross colonies and at West Point there was tea served with lots of scrumptious cakes and cookies.

When we left West Point we saw lots of whales.  Of particular note was a large group of Sei whales.

Port Stanley

I must say that Port Stanley has my favourite welcoming committee. Energetic Peale's dolphins greeted us as we entered the harbour.   Later in the day they frolicked around our lifeboats as the AB's (Able Bodied Seamen)  ran maintenance checks on safety equipment. They even chaperoned one of our morning nature walks!

Port Stanley in the sunshine is a cheery place.  Sparkling white houses with bright red and green roofs created a rather gay atmosphere. It was warm!  Everyone was in a festive mood and hell, they should be!  The Falkland Island group is a remote, romantic, exotic destination.  It has an interesting history and loads of amazing wildlife. We've come a long way to get here, bashing through heavy seas and thick fog. We're on an adventurous vacation on a beautiful ship. If you can't get excited about a place like this on a day like today then you have no romance left in you.

In town, Southern Giant Petrels glided down the sidewalk.  Upland Geese grazed on lawns.  Fat Flightless Steamer Ducks foraged along the water front.  Rock Shags nested on a broken down old pier.  Turkey Vultures spread their wings on roof tops, luxuriating in the warm sun. Happy blue-jacketed people scampered from shop to shop.
There were lots of things to do while in Port Stanley.  We offered a variety of excursions, most of which were full. If you didn't sign up for an excursion it was easy to explore Stanley and area on your own and an absolutely perfect day for it.

(By the way.  It's going to get even better tomorrow.)

It's About The View

Ha!  No More pitching, rolling or slamming!  It is a sweet gentle ride today.  And the view.  What can we say about the view!  It is a designer view engineered to generate feelings of peace and harmony.  What can be more relaxing than to sit and watch endless fields of featureless grey while the gentle motion of the ship rocks one into a serene state of tranquility.  Recite your mantra and contemplate communing with albatrosses and  penguins, because just behind that featureless wall lies the Falkland Islands, home of the largest Black-browed colonies in the world and the extremely cute, crazy, crested Rockhoppers with their punk feather-cuts.
Like all sea days on board Fram, today was filled with lectures and documentaries about our destination.  We are prepped and ready to go on our various excursions or exploring on our own in Port Stanley tomorrow.  The next stage of our grand adventure is set to begin!

The Forecast Calls For: Pitching, With A Little Rolling And Scattered Slamming.

Boom! Shudder, shake shake shake. One moment I'm light on my feet. The next, oof!  Heavy gravity.  That's the feeling of going into heavy seas.  Riding down a big wave there is a feeling of lightness. Freefall. The stomach flutters. A lurching stop in the trough of the wave is accompanied by a feeling of  heaviness as the ship climbs the next wave front. The stomach sinks to the floor.  For those prone to motion sickness it ain't a tea party. For those that have no trouble with motion sickness it means extra dessert.  

Traveling from South Georgia to The Falkland Islands usually means heading into the prevailing winds.  If we were going in the opposite direction the ride would be much, much smoother.  Of course we would never arrive in the Falklands.  I'm not sure, but we might go all the way around the planet until we hit South Georgia again.  There isn't much in the way of land down here.

Today we are feeling the after effects of yesterday's storm.  The heavy seas meant some juggling of scheduled onboard activities.  The Franheim and Polhøgda lecture rooms were closed for much of the day and movies were rescheduled. But that did not stop our intrepid Expedition Team from delivering a full program. The lecturers showed their flexibility by giving their talks in the cafeteria and the Observation Lounge on deck seven.

Today was a fantastic day for seabirds.  They were soaring around the ship all day long.   The most numerous were Prions.  There were also Wandering Albatross, Black-browed albatross, Grey-headed Albatross, Southern Giant Petrels, White-chinned Petrels, Soft-plumaged Petrels and Wilson's Storm Petrels.

By mid-afternoon the sun had come out again. The air was brisk on deck but we could all see and feel that the waves were getting smaller and the wind was dropping. There was light at the end of the storm.

South Georgia Blew Us Away!

Worrying about the weather won't stop the wind from blowing.  True, we do check weather forecasts on a regular basis.  We do make contingency plans in case of inclement weather but the word of the day is flexibility.  We had planned on an early landing in Fortuna Bay. A stouthearted group was also going to hike the leg of Shackleton's arduous journey that went from Fortuna to the former whaling station at Stromness.  But, the wind had other plans.  Strong katabatic winds raged down König Glacier, howled across the glacial plain and then screamed on out to sea.

  Okay.  Flexibility.  Plan B.  Cruise by two former whaling stations in the area, Leith and Husvik and then check the conditions at Stromness, our landing site that was planned for the afternoon.  Stromness blew us away too.  Hmmmm.  Katabatics are very localized and sometimes somewhat brief.  More flexibility.  Back to Fortuna in the late morning.  Phew.  Calm seas. Sunshine.  Brilliant decision!
By 11:30 landing operations were underway and there to greet us was an unending, waddling, trumpeting band of King Penguins.  Throngs of Antarctic Fur Seal pups cavorted in the sea, on the beach, in melt water pools, on the glacial plain, in the tussock, actually... everywhere.  Many of the pups were curious.  If I sat quietly they would timidly approach and then sniff my boot or touch my bare hand with their nose.  I will never wash my hand again.  Other pups would attempt charges that were all bluster and bluff.  It was a bit like being threatened by a Chihuahua. A Chihuahua with very large flat feet.  Many adult female fur seals lay about.  Some were nursing their chubby pups.

A memorable walk along the beach and out across the glacial plain brought us to the King penguin colony. Their bugling calls echoed off the mountain walls.  Chicks at every stage of deveopment, from egg to first moult, were abundant.  Reindeer roamed amongst the penguins.  How bizarre.

It was hard to tear ourselves away from this landing, to leave this South Georgia Fairyland and go back to the ship.

Once back on board it seemed strange that the ship wasn't moving. We were getting used to heavy seas. But not to worry.  The seas built up again quickly.  The ship is now pitching with a little rolling and some slamming.  We are plowing into westerly winds and waves.  As  my keyboard skitters across the desk, I see that things are back to normal.