Photographing my travels

Saturday, August 11, 2007

Arctic Explorer cruise on Artemis

As usual the photos are a little mixed. Generally, they start at the bottom of the page and work their way upwards. Mum, Millie and Millie's best friend, Bonnie should be the first. Millie went into kennels for the first time the day after. Mum and I set off for Southampton to board Artemis, formerly the Royal Princess. This was our first time on board the ship as Artemis but I have sailed the Royal Princess four times to Mum's five. A friendly, comfortable ship and now that it is with P & O, very convenient, as it sails out of Southampton. We discovered that this was a Bridge theme cruise and we played plenty of Bridge as we had extra sea days due to fog, Force 9 gales and icebergs. I was in my element but even I was glad to see the sun and dry land of Norway towards the end of our trip. We visited Nuuk in Greenland, Reykjavik, Iceland, Alesund, Olden, Bergen and Stavanger in Norway. Extracts of the cruise log are featured below for more detail of the trip. Zoom through to get to the photos. One day I will master how to get them to match the text!

"Tuesday, 24th July 2007 - Southampton. At 1658 Artemis let go her lines, thrust off from the quayside and moved ahead through the channel. Proceeded down Southampton Water, passing Dockhead at 1708 and the Fawley Oil Terminal at 1736 before making the first turn at Calshot Spit. Artemis then proceeded along the Thorn Channel before turning around Brambles Bank at 1759, which offers only two cables of safe water to navigate. At 1812 Artemis altered course to the south, passing the Nab Tower at 1830 and disembarking the Pilot at 1848. Once the launch was clear, Artemis proceeded to round the southeastern portion of the Isle of Wight.

Wednesday 25th July 2007 - At Sea. At 1300 today Artemis rounded the Scilly Isles passing just over 10 nautical miles to the south of Bishops Rock and we set various northwesterly course through the Celtic Sea towards Glengariff.

Thursday 26th July 2007 - At Sea. Due to adverse weather conditions our call in Glengariff was cancelled. Artemis commenced to steer a northwesterly course towards the southern coast of Greenland through the North Atlantic.

Friday 27th July 2007 and Saturday 28th - At Sea. The course was maintained through the North Atlantic Ocean.

Sunday 29th July 2007 - At Sea. This evening Artemis altered course to a more northerly course heading into the Labrador Sea, towards Godthab (Nuuk) in Greenland.

Monday, 30th July 2007 - Nuuk, Greenland. At 0810 the starboard anchor was let go and tender boats were lowered ready to ferry passengers ashore. (Some tenders took their time getting their passengers back on board due to the winds on the starboard side. The first of the real grumbles amongst some of the grumbly passengers.) The starboard anchor was aweigh at 1754 and by 1801 was home. Various courses were set to retrace our route back out into the Labrador Sea. Once clear we set various southerly courses towards Julianehab.

Tuesday 31st July 2007 - At Sea. A series of southeasterly courses were set towards Julianehab passing through the Labrador Sea.

Wednesday, 1st August 2007 - At Sea. Due to the huge amount of ice and restricted visibility our stop in Julianehab was cancelled as it was deemed unsafe.

Thursday, 2nd August 2007 - At Sea. This morning Artemis set an east northeasterly course through the North Atlantic towards Iceland.

Friday 3rd August 2007 - Reykjavik, Iceland. At 0518 we passed between Engey and Videy Islands making our approach to the Pilot Station where we embarked out local Pilot at 0702. The decision was made to stand off until the winds decreased. We approached the berth at 1100 and were all fast starboard side to the quay by midday. At 2112 we recovered our moorings and manoeuvred off the berth. We disembarked our local Pilot at 2130 and once complete a northerly course was set towards the Pilot Station at Akureyri.

Saturday 4th August 2007 - At Sea. During the night, storm force gales persisted which severely affected our speed. With this in mind and the adverse weather conditions the Captain made the decision to continue steaming towards Alesund in Norway. Between Noon and 2000 we crossed over the Arctic Circle as we headed around the northern coast of Iceland heading towards the North Sea. (Mum and I should have done a Great Lake Walk in Akureyri but were not feeling like it as the weather was going to be bad. Yippee, more Bridge instead)

Sunday 5th August 2007 - At Sea. During the afternoon we crossed the Greenwich Meridian.

Monday 6th August 2007 - Alesund, Norway. We entered the Breidsundet Fjord at 0600 and proceeded on to the Pilot Station just 0.8 nautical miles south of Godoya Island. We embarked our local Pilot at 0645 he then assisted with the navigation to the berth through the Heissfjorden. Artemis was just off the berth at 0724 and was all fast starboard side to the quay at 0802. (Mum and I took an all day excursion on the Troll Road. One of the photos show the hairpin bends. Red the dragon came too and is in one of the photos.) This evening two Pilots embarked Artemis, who will stay on board assisting with navigation through the fjords till we reach Bergen.

Tuesday 7th August 2007 - Olden Norway. Artemis entered Nordfjorden in the early hours of the morning and transited the entire length until we were off our berth at 0716, at the very end of the fjord.

Wednesday 8th August 2007 - Bergen. We passed Fedje Light at around 0430 and continued on a southerly course in to the city's harbour. Artemis was alongside by 0750 and remained so until 1800. (Mum and I took a morning tour to Grieg's house and listened to a piano concert. Luckily the rain stopped for our browse around Bergen for the afternoon.)

On departure we proceeded under pilotage trhough the Selsbjornfjorden, passing under Sturebundset Bridge at 1844 with a clearance of 16 metres. Wee then passed under Stongi Bridge with a clearance of around 6 metres. Once clear of the fjords we disembarked the Pilot at 2009 and then set various courses around the coast towards the Kvitsoy Light and our entrance into Stavanger.

Thursday 9th August 2007 - Stavanger, Norway. The local Pilot embarked at 0520 and we commenced our passage through the Byfjorden. After manoeuvring through the harbour, the Captain swung the ship over 180 degrees before coming astern onto her berth. First lines ashore were sent and Artemis was all fast by 0730. (A day of browsing and photo taking. Spot Artemis via photos of Stavanger old town and the kitten which pounced out on unsuspecting tourists). Artemis sailed from Stavanger at 1730 and retraced her steps through Bydfjorden and out into the North Sea. A south southwesterly course was then set heading towards the English Channel.

Friday 10th August 2007 - At Sea. As we continued on our south southwesterly course Artemis passed through many traffic separation schemes in the North Sea. (and lots of oil rigs, hence the photo).

Saturday 11th August 2007 - Southampton. Disembarked early. Mum and I were in Waitrose in Salisbury, stocking up with the basics by 1000.

The last photos are of our dining companions, Christine and John, Anne, Colin and Val, Ginty and Anthony. Then our two waiters, Anastacio and Arvind. A good time was had by all.