As we move westwards and a little north, the water and air temperatures slowly but steadily begin to climb. The temperature range of this trip will be between 40˚ and 50˚ C. We had temperatures of less than -10C in Antarctica and we will likely have between 27˚ and 29˚C in Buenos Aires. For those of us that live and work on board Fram is a welcome change after a long season in Antarctica.
Today was our first full day at sea on this last leg of our journey. We had a gentle swell pushing us on the stern quarter for most of the day. Ideal sea conditions for relaxing and enjoying the various programs we had on offer.
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| Crew participating in a fire drill. Photo © Annke Timmerberg |
As usual on sea days we had a full slate of lectures in both English and German. At 10:30 the crew participated in a drill. It was interesting to see them go through their paces dealing with an imaginary fire. It was obvious that they had rehearsed similar scenarios many times.
In the late afternoon waffles were served in the Observation Lounge.
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| Charity Auction Photo © Annke Timmerberg |
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| The winning bidder for the ship's flag. Photo © Annke Timmerberg |
At 16:30 there was a charity auction also on deck seven in the Observation Lounge. There were three items up for auction. The first item to be auctioned was the ship’s flag signed by the officers and the Expedition Team. The 2nd item was a beautiful painting done by one of the crew members, Peter. Peter is the 2nd cook and a very talented guy. Yesterday he was dancing in the crew show! The funds raised from the sale of the painting would go to the Crew Fund. The Crew Fund is used to purchase things like bicycles for the crew or perhaps taxi rides when in port, a karaoke machine, play station, etc. In general the Crew Fund enhances the quality of life for crew members when living on Fram. The marquee item to be auctioned was the Master Chart of this voyage which featured every landing we made on our 19 day grand adventure. The proceeds from the flag and the chart would go to The Save the Albatross Fund and the South Georgia Heritage Trust.
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| The winning bidder for the master chart of our voyage. Photo © Annke Timmerberg |
