There are days when everything is culminating, like a well written
detective story. Usually a changeover day is enough to deal with in its own
right, we’d like to make sure our departing guests have a safe ongoing journey
while at the same time we have to spend some thought to the logistics that have
to be managed with the arriving group a few hours later. It feels like wiping
the blackboard clean for a new formula.
This time, we don’t just wipe the board clean, we dismount the whole
blackboard and throw away the chalk: Today was the introduction of the
brand-new “operating system” for the whole ship, called Fidelio. Basically
everything that runs on electronics here got merged into this vital piece of
soft- and hardware. It’s a bit like a brain transplant while the patient is
playing a game of chess. No wonder we all were very excited to see the
transition at work, after weeks of having parts of the ship looking like the
NORAD command centre. (Or rather the CHAOS computer club, as nobody was wearing
uniform…)
And what can we say: Job well done, smooth opening, check-in worked
like a charm, the new machines spat out the new cruise cards for the new
system. Phew!
And now to the main thing, the upcoming expedition. What an excitement
- we are going to go around Iceland now! FRAM has never done this before, so
everybody is very much on his/her toes, wondering what the next ten days will
bring. Many familiar faces arrive throughout the afternoon, the new destination
lures many loyal fans of FRAM back on board.
Already during the welcoming speech the new arrivals seem eager to
explore the new places with us. And after the necessary procedures like
check-in, jacket distribution and safety instruction we cast the lines under a
rather grey sky, heading into the Icelandic evening, while Captain Hårvik
welcomes the new group.