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South China Sea, December 13


Disappointing today for the newbies on the ship as it’s very overcast and quite windy 

out there.  Still warm though. Was wonderful not to hear an alarm waking me this morning and no rush to secure a lounge by the pool. That last remark is pie in the sky though as it’s usually too hot for me there anyway! (Speaking of pie in the sky, it’s sad for all the Pies supporters to hear that Pendles is handing over the captaincy)!!! 

I caught the tail end of the first speaker this morning, the subject was ‘Natural history of the South China Sea’. Very interesting.  Following that there was a wine tasting in the Atruim - I only tasted two wines, they were good but a bit early in the day and might be better with food.  Then at 11 we had the next speaker who was fantastic.  Her subject was ‘Many Gods, Many Volcanos and Many Monkeys’. Was excellent. 

A great subject and most informative.  This speaker is Gloria Massie, an award winning biologist with a passion for sharing her love of nature.  She has a BA in International Relations, a post grad teaching credential, an MS in Biology, and is currently a PhD candidate in Australia.  She has years experience as an outdoor adventure guide leading trips as far afield as northern Russia to the depths of the Great Barrier Reef.  

So today at 3 pm there’s a ‘Crossing the Equator’ ceremony, I hear that King Neptune will be making an appearance.  This is all such childish stuff but it happens in spite of that. 

A little bit of background on this ceremony - it’s called the Order of the Shellback which commemorates a sailor’s first crossing of the Equator.  Originally the tradition was created by seasoned sailors as a test of new shipmates to ensure they were capable of handling long, arduous times at sea.  Those who already had crossed the equator were called Shellbacks, or Sons of Neptune, while the others were labelled Pollywogs, or Wogs!  And so the tradition continues to this day - the ceremony is a ritual of reversal in which the older, experienced enlisted crew essentially takes over the ship from the Officers.

Later.  

Instead of the King Neptune bit I decided on seeing a film.  Turns out it was in black & white and an old classic, ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’.  Nice and relaxing.  

Was a formal/optional night tonight but we decided to go casual at the pool grill.  Almost the only ones there at the time, the others obviously had accepted the invite to Captains Cocktail party (we’ve been to at least  4 or 5) and no doubt all dressed up to the nines.  Dinner was nice and I’d have had the lemon tart but none on offer.  🥴

I’m going to the show now, is a top artist Danny Elliott, an Australian guy we’ve seen (Or I’ve seen) before.  

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