Merrrrrrrry Christmas from the crew of the Ocean Tramp in Mikkelsen Bay.
Upon waking up, I immediately thought of my family. I had a picture of Clayton sitting by the tree next to Paige and Josh opening presents. I was sure Mathew and Emily were probably sleeping as it was only 7:30 am EST and high school kids are willing to postpone Christmas gifts for a few extra winks of sleep. My Dad and Mom were probably getting coffee ready and making their way to the living room to exchange a gift or open stockings. I’m sure Christmas music was on and the fireplace had a nice glow. My Mom knows how to make the holidays feel special. It was my second Christmas in a row on the road, and away from family. I wasn’t sure how Christmas would feel this year being on a sailboat with 10 new friends in Antarctica.
We pulled anchor and motored over to the National Geographic Cruise ship which was also anchored in Mikkelsen Bay a few hundred yards away. The captain of the Nat Geo invited us to view some charts of the area and tour the ship. With the Ocean Tramp safely secured to the starboard side, we boarded the ship and quickly made it up to the main deck. It didn’t take long to realize that life on a cruise ship is VERY different from our 66 foot sailboat. Carpet, polished railings, buffet of food, gift shop and uniform staff at every corner. We had a nice visit with the Captain on the bridge and then made our way through the dinning area. As we navigated past guests eating their breakfast, I so wanted to shout, “Put your wallets in the bag, this is a robbery.” I saw one women eating alone and wished I had time to sit with her for a few minutes to say hello and wish her a happy holiday.
Our aluminum sailboat is an extremely seaworthy vessel but you will not find polished brass, carpeted passageways with uniform staff at the ready. Onboard you will find charts on the table, countless cameras charging up, clothes hanging over the small deiseal heater, and the aroma could be anything from french toast to the aftermath of someone using the head (bathroom). The deck is covered with lines going in every direction, a hydrophone at the ready in case we see whales, huge reals of line used to secure the boat to shore, safety equipment and kayaks. The pilothouse is decorated with foul weather gear, life jackets, charts and our captain navigating through tricky passages while ice slides down both sides of the boat. Our crew shares many duties from washing dishes, standing watch, hoisting sails and pulling the anchor. Our boat is set up for expeditions and adventure!! It was a nice gesture to invite us for a tour their cruise ship but we were eager to get back to the Ocean Tramp to start breakfast.
Usually for breakfast we have a bottomless bowl of cereal, fruit, Brazilian coffee and assorted tea but today was different, it was Christmas morning. Miguel and Bertrand were shoulder to shoulder in the tiny one person galley preparing french toast (pain perdu). Laura cranked up the holiday music and we all enjoyed a hot breakfast cuddled up at the table.
Now we were underway towards our next stop, Foyn Harbor. WHALES!!!! We grabbed our cameras and life jackets and raced to the outer deck for a look. Bertrand, our mad whale scientist is grinning from ear to ear organizing his gear for our next experiment and to assess the whale behavior. Today we did a controlled experiment with plain orange clay. We launched the drone from the stern, poured the clay mix from the starboard side and kept eyes on the whales. At the conclusion of our experiment, we pointed the bow towards Foyn Harbor.
In transit we came across a small cove with a decent amount of ice cover – A perfect place for a Christmas swim! Bertrand was the first to don his bathing suit followed by Katherine, Miguel and Me. Bertrand jumped off the stern rail and quickly swam to a basketball size chunk of ice holding it over his head with a big grin. Katherine and Miguel slid in at the ladder. If I was going in, I had to do something memorable. I too jumped off the top stern rail and swam straight to an iceberg 7 meters away. My goal was to climb on the iceberg for a quick photo and swim back. I made it to the iceberg and could hear the crew cheering me on. I pulled and pulled and finally made it to the top. Great video awaits my friends and family. “Wait, I am going in too”, shouts Meryl! Meryl is funny, sharp, cool 20 year old girl from California who is onboard with her 75 year old grandmother, Donna. These two are making serious memories.
After drying off and getting into warm clothes, we continued through the Graham Passage towards our final destination, Foyn Harbor. You couldn’t ask for better weather, little to no wind and the water was like a sheet of glass. WHALES!!!! We knew the routine by now. Bertrand ordered me to the starboard side with a tub of dried krill. My job was to layout the krill patch on a one minute time mark. I deployed the krill in exactly 63 seconds!! I received high marks from our mad scientist, Bertrand. Without a ripple in the water, we could clearly see the krill patch off our stern. Betrand took notes on the behavior of the whales while piloting the drone within a safe distance of the whales. Others took many pictures of the tails as these are helpful in identifying whales that have been previously recorded. Every whale has unique markings on their tail similar to our fingerprints. These photos are then forwarded to www.HappyWhale.com so they can log each whale in their database to help track them in the future.
After wrapping up our second experiment for the day, we continued on our way to Foyn Harbor. Huge icebergs and jagged mountains covered in packed ice and snow kept us entertained as we entered the harbor. Our plan was to tie alongside an old whaling ship, Governoren. Over a hundred years ago the Governoren was operating in Foyn Harbor when a fire broke out onboard. The captain had no choice but to run aground to safe the crew. Not much left of the ship but the port side provides a secure tie up.
Laura, our expedition leader, bent over backwards to assure our day was not only full of adventure but is was full of holiday cheer. With Christmas music filling the air, Laura prepared everything we needed to make gingerbread houses. We have some creative folks onboard.
With the entire crew at the table, it was time for the Christmas Quiz organized by no other, Laura! She is truly an amazing person who made sure we were enjoying every minute of this special day. Divided up into four teams, Laura read off 31 trivia questions. No surprise to me but Meryl and Wendy won the 2016 Ocean Tramp Trivia Quiz. Wendy is very special person. She is a two time cancer survivor, has completed 6 Ironman races and biked across the United States 4 times. Every 6 weeks she flies from her home in Utah to Washington, DC for her cancer treatment. She truly is an inspiration.
Ding, Ding Ding…it was dinner time. Chef Miguel prepared a tasty roast with potatoes, veggies and a fresh salad paired with wine from Bertrand’s family winery in southern France and Katherine’s winery from South Africa. What are the chances of having two wine makers onboard the boat? With our plates full of food, we paused for our dinner quote. Every night one person shares a quote before we start our dinner. It was Katherine’s turn. “A penguin finds no difficulty in being a penguin, it simply is. This is also possible for you.”
During dinner, my eyes would often drift towards the clock and I would guess where my family might be. I can’t go three years in a row not being home for Christmas. Next year I will be home!
Now it was time to exchange gifts. Everyone brought a gift of 15 dollars in value. I received the title of one square foot of land on the grounds of Dunans Castle in Scotland. Once I submit the paperwork, I will be a land owner in Scotland. Laird Adam Mellor here!!
Although it was still daylight out at midnight, I had no problem falling asleep. I had a full belly after a fulfilling day.
** Misha, Mom and Dad, I cannot thank you enough for the nice messages. I wish I could give you three a big hug. You three made me full like a million bucks. I love you all very much. El Gato!
Et un grand merci a Pimsie pour les precieuses gourmandises de Noel!! le the au epice se marie a merveille avec un carre de chocolat au caramel beurre sale, et tout le monde a hate de se boire un chocolat chaud aux feves de tonka. Tout se passe tres bien, on vous embrasse tous tres fort du paradis glace :)))
