They call this a holiday?

[Tony Taylor]

PHOTO-2025-06-20-13-28-24.jpg

NOT FOR ME THANK YOU! Either as a passenger or crew.

[Johnny Kieran]

Totally agree Tony. We do a lot of cruises, or we did, getting a bit cheesed off with em these days. It's the port days we enjoy most, when everyone goes ashore. The boats nice and quiet, plus loadsaroom for sunbathing.

[John Arton]

Tony
Guess this is hutigurten cruises up and down the Norwegian coast. Wouldn't mind doing it if only for the scenery, don't think there are too many passengers on those ships.
When I was sailing most I ever did was 3 ports in 2 different countries in just over 24 hours.
Rgds
J.A

[Johnny Kieran]

That was the good thing about cargo boats before containers came along, always a few days at least in most ports. Often a couple of weeks, or even more on the NZ coast. South America was a week here, another week there. On cruises these days you'd be lucky to get a quarter of a day in port, in at 8am and out at 4pm.

Well, a third of a day anyway

[Tony Taylor]

Tony
Guess this is hutigurten cruises up and down the Norwegian coast. Wouldn't mind doing it if only for the scenery, don't think there are too many passengers on those ships.
When I was sailing most I ever did was 3 ports in 2 different countries in just over 24 hours.
Rgds
J.A

Well John, in my last job I was in Norway very regularly on business and have been up and down it numerous times. The scenery is quite startling and very impressive but after many lengthy car journeys it tends to get a bit of same same and when anyone asks what its like a brief description would be - rock, trees and water.
My advice for a quick visit would be fly to Bergen from Newcastle, spend some time there as the old town around the harbour is very interesting, then take the ferry to Stavanger, now that is well worth the effort, its fairly cheap and has quite a few stops on the way with some great views.

[j.sabourn]

#5 I worked out of Bergen for a short time in the early 80s as master on a supply vessel working in the Norwegian sector. This may be taken as a political post maybe, but it is worthy of note it was a political issue at the time, “ why were so many Norwegian vessels working in the British sector and barely any British vessels in the Norwegian sector.? it lasted about 3 trips in and out for me as the Norwegian authority’s insisted on foreign vessels using a pilot whereas their own vessels did not. Time is money as you know in the oil industry ,so it was back to the British sector for us. Where you ever up as far as Flora, we had friends who lived there and in the summertime there was about an hour of darkness so they just used to switch the lighthouse off , our friends had a typical small fishing craft and all you had to do was drop a hook over the side ,no bait needed they used to jump on the hook regardless. One of the best holidays ever had. JS

[Des Jenkins]

Hi Tony
Take a trip to Cooma, it has been minus 7 every night this week until last night, where it was minus 10, half an inch of ice on the inside of the bedroom windows. Sunshine this morning so I went out to hang my underpants on the line, nearly froze my whatsit off, my wife had left a pair of her underwear out all night, the pegs where frozen to the line and there was spikes of frost sticking up from the top of her underwear.
Beautiful sunny day now but we have the Aircoditioner and three heaters on.
Des

[j.sabourn]

Just forget to put the minus in Des ! She’ll be right mate. JS

[j.sabourn]

Des today /tomorrow 21/22 June is the day when the Sun reaches its furthest northerly declination and is the longest day in the UK and shortest day in Australia .
From now on the days should get longer here and shorter in the uk. If the apparent sun has not reached the approx 23.5 degrees north . Then that is the cause of
Climate change everyone is shouting about. JS

[happy daze john in oz]

At 1252 hours today Saturday 21 June the winter solecist began, the first day of winter in southern hemisphere.

Have cruised all the Baltic regions Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland.
Some of the most pristine countries you will ever see.

But next Saturday June 28 we are off again.
This time to the Medi for 18 nights. last time there some 10 years ago wearing a moon boot on my left foot.
The 12 days in London, one of the more expensive cities you can find.

But the sea still holds me and has done since I was a young lad on the beaches near Sunderland and the south coast of Margate.

Just something about it takes hold of me, love it.