Monday 24 September 2012

The Wind has the Last Word

We expected to reach Leith, in Scotland, in the early morning. The busses were waiting for us at the pier to bring us around on our different excursions. We knew already, that there would be wind, but nobody expected weather conditions like this. The wind was blowing so strong, that there has been no possibility to reach the harbor in a safety way. Even we have been disappointed everybody could see very clear that there has been no possibility to come in. 
Later on we knew even more. If we had reached Leith in the morning, we would not have had the chance to leave the harbor again as there has been such a strong deep pressure system over Scotland with very strong storms for the whole day and the next night also. As we had to reach our last destination – Bergen – in time, the Captain made the decision to sail directly to Norway. 
After such a long time with really extraordinary weather conditions we had to pay our bill now. The wind was blowing with Beaufort 7 – 8 out of north easterly direction and our FRAM had to fight against the waves. Only the strongest passengers have been able to listen to the lectures. During the afternoon more and more passengers went to their cabins to have a rest. The evening program had to be canceled as the wind chanced more and more into a very strong storm. It has been a very quiet evening in the restaurant and in the lounge as well.