Sunday, June 29, 2014

Sailing Along - Norway to Scotland

Just over a week in and already we are at our third port! Our first port was Stavanger, Norway. We were supposed to be there just for the afternoon but less then ideal winds kept us there overnight. I had a couple hours off to walk around town. The historic district is full of white wooden houses, cobblestone streets and steep hills. 


After leaving Stavanger we spent a day sailing through fjords which was beautiful!  With the long late nights many of us spent the evening on deck watching the magnificent scenery go by. 


Another day or two of sail and we arrived in Lerwick, Shetland Islands, Scotland. Amazingly beautiful! And full of wool and knitting so just my type of place. 




And now Edinburgh for the second time this year! We will be in the same location and it's nice to be going to a port where I am familiar with the lay of the land. 

It's been a good start to the season. Nadia and I have our galley routines worked out. The two of us do breakfast alone and then it's clean up and into lunch prep. Lunch is mainly cold with maybe some warmed up leftovers but that's not necessarily less work - one day I counted 35 items on the table, not including beverages! In the afternoons we bake. Prep the bread for baking the next morning and bake "cakes" (the Danish word for anything sweet and baked: muffins, cookies, cinnamon buns) for 15:00 coffee time. We then take a break and come back for dinner and are done shortly after 20:00 each night. 

Back to sea

I'm back on Sorlandet for a summer of European tall ships races in the North Atlantic/North Sea. I rejoined the ship in Kristiansand, Norway, where I left in May. A lot of changes since I was on last. Class Afloat is gone and Sorlandet is running a summer of sail training programs for all ages. There are a lot more Scandinavians on board and I am now the cook! The galley department is a bit differently organised, there's the Chief Steward, Cook, Cook's Mate and Mess Girl. So far we don't get a daily galley team but this hasn't been a problem with four regular crew dedicated to galley. 


One of the nicest things about this summer is that my friend Nadia, who I met last summer on board is here as Cook's Mate! We spend our days together, both when we are working and when we are off. One day we may get tired of each other's company but not yet. 

A lot of the volunteers on board I know from last summer or from Class Afloat and with some returning maritime crew there are plenty of familiar faces.