After last nights dinner we sailed south along the west
coast of Greenland and by breakfast time today the FRAM was off Cape Farvel the
southern tip of Greenland. We had calm seas and in the distance we could see
the peaks that mark the Cape. After rounding the Cape the Captain set our
course to the northeast, about 60° true and we are on our way to Iceland.
Today is a busy day onboard as there are both bridge tours
and lectures. On the bridge the ships officers explain the navigation screens
and the ships internal safety systems, notably the innumerable smoke and fire
detectors that are located in every cabin and throughout the ships common
areas.
Since we boarded the FRAM, most days we have had two
landings each day. As a result we have been shortchanged on lectures. Today
makes up for that lack of information. For example both the Arctic and
Antarctic play a large role in FRAM’s travels. For our English speaking
passengers, Bob talked about his experiences as a glaciologist first at the
South Pole then at Camp Century below the Greenland icecap. Frieda gave us an
overview of the similarities and differences between the Arctic and the
Antarctic. She discussed both the human cultural differences plus the plant and
animal life. These two lecturers returned in the afternoon and Bob talked about
the geo-political claims in the Arctic Ocean and Frieda talked about the
cultural changes in Greenland from a hunting society to a commercial fisheries
nation.
For our German speaking passengers Rudolf explained the
ecological food pyramid in the Arctic and Uli provided a glaciology lecture on
ice and sea-ice. Tomasz gave an introduction to the types of whales that may be
encountered in Greenland and Iceland waters.
Relatively smooth motoring all day today as we continue
towards Iecland.
