Wow!!, what a day aboard the magnificent Viking Sun. As seen above, we finally achieved smooth sailing, with virtually no wind and swell. The Noon announcement from the Captain and Bevan certainly caused a stir aboard, with many scurrying back to their cabin to check out the notice, being sent to the cabins confirming and expanding on the changes provided in the announcement.

We also had another first today, trying out the Infinity Pool.

Temperature: 29C/84F

Wind/Weather: Partly cloudy and calm seas

Sunrise/Sunset: 05:42/18:21

Clox: Back 1 hr (Z+10)

Navigation

Since clearing Noumea we have maintained WNW’ly courses at various speeds. Since departure, we have steamed 970 mls at an average speed of 19 kts. At Noon we have 328 miles to Cairns pilot station, where arrival has moved ahead to 08:00.

Weather

We have enjoyed a significant improvement with partly cloudy skies and very light E’ly winds of < 5 kts, and for a couple of hours in the afternoon, calm winds.

With virtually no swell, we are experiencing fairly smooth sailing for about the first time since departure L/A.

Meals

Today’s special meals:

• Aquavit Terrace (12:00 to 14:00) – Fajita Station

Being a sea day after a port, Judi had her usual sleep in, so I ran up to World Cafe for a quick breakfast. For dinner we joined a group in Manfredi’s small room for games night, I enjoyed the daily fish special, which was Dover Sole, while Judi had a pasta.

Activities

As usual my day started with a little stroll around Deck 8, completing 1hr 30 mins, followed by some stretching. After the cooler temps of Hobart, etc, we are now back in the tropics. Very pleasant before sunrise, but it heats up quickly.

The morning lectures started 1/2 hr early, to facilitate Robin’s dolphin film, so I was in the Theatre by 09:30 for Geoffrey Gray’s presentation – “Australians Who Are They.”

This was another great lecture where he injected a fair bit of humour into his presentation, discussing the origins of Australia and the citizens. Started from the arrival of the Aborigines to projections for population growth in the next 50 years.

Discussing the size of Australia, he showed the above slide with driving distances and another with it superimposed on North America.

The above slide was my favourite, which I captured just as it was sliding off the screen. In addition to the ones above, he also showed a slide where he listed the cities of the world that have a higher population than all of Australia. From memory, I believe it was 6 or 7 cities.

I remained in the Theatre for Robin’s presentation – “A Closer Encounter (When 2 minds meet.” This was a 1980’s film made by his mentor, who is considered one of the world’s foremost dolphin experts. They found a sole dolphin residing in a small cove off the SW Coast of England. The film showed his mentor swimming with and developing a relationship with the dolphin. A most enjoyable film.

The Captain’s Noon announcement advised that the itinerary for segment # 3 is complete and a notice is being sent to each cabin showing the original and revised schedules. Bevan then expanded the Captain’s message, with the fact the notice also included details of Viking’s compensation package. Well this sure got the ship a chattering. See the previous post for the updated itinerary.

Our Trivia Team fought back, scoring a respectable 11/15, but the “Boys” won it again, scoring 13/15.

After an enjoyable lunch, chatting with the couple at the next table, we headed back to the cabin to check out the revised itinerary. Yes, we missed a few ports, which is disappointing, especially since I spent over a year researching the ports. However, time marches on and the revisions are the result of factors outside of Viking’s scope of control. Therefore, we move on, enjoying every day aboard this magnificent ship.

In the afternoon, with a sunny and calm day, we headed down to the infinity pool for the first time. The water was perfect temperature, so soak for a few hours, while enjoying a Pina Colada.

After dinner we headed to the show – Sounds of the 60’s with the Viking Singers – Tobias, Bethan, Josh and Rosanna. Yet again, another exceptional performance from these 4 excellent singers.

After the show, we met Dave and Linda, heading to Torshavn for a nightcap. We met Ron and Alison, so grabbed a table to sit and chat, at least until the band started, when the volume precludes conversation.

As another day closes, we bid you farewell, till tomorrow and hope for fair skies and following seas.