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We left the dock at precisely 4.30pm in dense fog to commence crossing the North Pacific by the circle route, because ithat is the shortest distance usuing the curvature of tghe earth. The Captain's address forewarned of foggy cold days ahead with two to three metre seas. He also reminded us that maritime law required the ship to sound its horn every two minutes.
And so it turned out , Monday morning was 1 degree C. None of the passengers even the North Americans could understand why it got so cold so quickly. There was nothing else for it but to stay inside and read.
On the third day the fog gave way to a watery sun so we sat under cover on the sun deck and ennjoyed our lunch in the sun. Everyone was glad that the foghorn was no longer required. Following lunch I particiated less than whole heartedly in the Photo Scavenger Hunt. Amongst our tasks we were required to go on deck in near gale conditions (35 kt winds and 3 metre seas), which I did and boy was it cold.
On the fourth day (repeating Wednesday May 6) the fog returned and so did the cold. We had crossed the International Dateline during the night and so there was minor celebration at 1100 ships time. A little after 1300 shipstime we crossed the 180 longitude line.
On the fifth day May 7 we made our first landfall passing Unalaaska in the Aleurtians at about 6pm in remarkably sunny weather.
On the sixth day John our Microsoft techspert gave out the awards for the Photo Scavenger Hunt. I came stone motherless last which reflected my low level of dedication so got the rubber chocken. However I also got a copy of the Volendam DVD.
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