Is it…? Is it not…? Yes, it is, the ship is actually moving…! Quite a few of us might have had this little train of thought in the morning, eyes still closed. But there's no doubt, the soft heaving of the hull gives us - for the first time on this trip - the impression of being on a seagoing vessel. Finally! In addition to this the grey clouds of the last two days vanish slowly, and by mid-day we are cruising under open skies. Seabirds are circling round the ship, the air is mild. Again it is quite a struggle to go inside and listen to lectures. At some stage, however, everybody's attention is undivided: Karin and Corinna give the landing instruction, because tomorrow at the small islands there's no pier for us. That means disembarking with the Polar Circel boats, that means also learning about the basic necesseties, like putting on a life west and taking someone else's arm with the "sailor's grip".
Boats and wests are still sitting neatly tied up and caged on deck 2, while the sun sets spectacularly in the West. When it comes up again, there will be action!
Until then, we can witness the remarkable skills you can develop, having nothing but a sharp knife, enough imagination and the eyes of an artist: Our crew demontrates the creation of their most beautiful fruit-and-vegetable sculpting, while Brian shows us that ice is not just frozen water but actually a handy material for a master carver, while FRAM is slowly making round the corner and heading for that narrow passage where England, France and Belgium meet. Good night, Bretagne!
