Since last night’s posting we have been informed that 3 crew members had tested positive for Covid. At the beginning of the day this does not seem to be changing anything. We awoke at 9:00 a.m. with the sun only just rising as we had moved one hour forward into European Time. During the night the storm continued with lots of noise from crashing waves, but by 10:00 a.m. the winds had eased to Force 3 and the ship was picking up speed. However, more than a day at half speed meant that we could not make our stop at Stavangar and we are continuing to Alesund where we expect to arrive at 12:30 tomorrow. The Captain expects the sea to be smoother when we enter the Inner Passage, which like in British Columbia, Canada, is where the sea route passes headlands and islands which protect the route from the high seas of the open ocean.
By 18:00 we were weaving our way between islands and heading north and passing Haugesund. Historically this was an important herring fishing port and a safe harbour along the Inner Passage. Today it is where oilfield supply vessels and production platforms are made. According to the guide books the port claims to be the ancestral home of Marilyn Monroe, whose father, a local baker emigrated to the USA. In the dark we couldn’t see this but, on the quayside is a monument to her that commemorates the 30th anniversary of her death in 1962.
During dinner at 19:00 the Captain informed us that we were diverting to Bergen to drop off the crew members who are sick and probably will pick them up on the way back when we stay for a day.
We have passed Leirvik where the E39 highway passed beneath us in a tunnel as part of a road system that eventually reaches Turkey. It is now dark and we are gliding past illuminated settlements without knowing one is moving.
We arrived in Bergen at 10:00 p.m. and left under 30 minutes later to continue our journey.
