At Sea, Traveling South past Trondheim
Today the National Geographic Explorer traveled about 480 nautical miles while weaving between islands along Norway’s west coast. We passed by Trondheim in the morning, and continued southwards past mountains and countless low islands. By late afternoon, the air temperature was nearly tropical - it was over 70 degrees F!
Several presentations were offered throughout the day. In the morning, photographer Bob Smith discussed ways to use the many images we’ve taken during this voyage. This was followed by a showing of some of the best photographs taken by guests during this past week.
In the afternoon, Undersea Specialist Dennis Cornejo explained the large array of diving and recording equipment he uses to take underwater videos. We saw the Splash Cam that he used to video the pilot whales, and the ROV (remotely operated vehicle) that recorded marine life on the deep sea floor a few days ago.
While Dennis talked about Arctic SCUBA diving, John Fonseca good-naturedly modeled some of the specialized gear needed in frigid waters. He layered on high tech clothing, heavy-duty drysuit, SCUBA equipment – then came the vest with heavy lead weights, and 40 lb. high definition video camera in its waterproof housing.
Following afternoon tea, Magnus Forsberg discussed Norway’s long history with oil, starting with whale oil, and up to today’s offshore drilling.
After dinner, Chief Officer Ben Lyons talked about ship operations on the National Geographic Explorer.
We had a full and interesting day while traveling along Norway’s spectacular coastline.
