This morning we were able to have a nice sleep in as we were sailing north up to Com, East Timor. The sea conditions were very kind to us, so most of us were up and about, enjoying the sunrise, while some others were active in the gym for a morning workout or joining Kim for her morning stretches.
At 9:00 a.m. our expedition leader Steve Egan woke up us and gave us an update on our position and the weather. Breakfast was served in the outdoor café where everyone had a chance to catch up, chat about the last week and just enjoy a lazy morning…
After breakfast we had a great line up of presentations. This morning it was Jimmy who kick started the day with his fantastic presentation ‘Marine Connectivity.’ In his presentation Jimmy focused on the intimate and multi-layered connections in our oceans web of marine life and he provided eye-opening insights into this amazing network and technology we use to understand it all better. It was fascinating and we all learned a lot. This was just the beginning of more interesting presentations to follow…
At 11:30 a.m. Mark Ziembicki invited us in the lounge for his ‘Kimberley Bird Bingo’, a fun and interactive presentation during which he invited us to name all the birds he talked about in his presentation. While learning lots, and increasing our knowledge of the Kimberley’s spectacular birdlife, it was also BINGO! The winner was rewarded with a nice bottle of wine.
After a packed morning at sea, it was already time for lunch in the Outdoor Café where the lovely restaurant staff looked after us. Lively conversation echoed around our scrumptious luncheon under shade from the tropical sun, as we sailed on northwards. After lunch, a little more relaxing, for some a siesta on the sundeck or exploring the well stocked library for a good read.
At 2:30 our photo instructor Doug Gould invited us into the lounge for another great presentation, which was about Digital Photography & Photography Essentials. This was followed by more of an interactive question and answer session, which gave us a great chance to learn and improve our skills to get the most out of our photography.
And if that was not enough of a day already, our executive chef Lothar Greiner invited us down into the galley for a Galley Tour. Everyone was amazed to see where our delicious cuisine is created, a small galley space but efficiently used, with some very talented chefs working around the clock for us.
At 5:00 p.m. our National Geographic photographer Massimo Bassano shared with us many more stories from the ‘edge of the world.’ It was a presentation all of us looked forward to very much, as Massimo is a great entertainer and storyteller. Lots of laughter echoed through the lounge while we heard more of his unusual and wonderful experiences during his assignments around the globe.
At 6:15 p.m. our video chronicler Brian shared with us a preview of his documentary of our voyage. What a fantastic way to go back down memory lane and relive all the great experiences we had shared together.
After a beautiful gourmet dinner, provided by the restaurant and hotel team, a movie night with popcorn was organized in the lounge. The popular feature length film ‘Australia’ was screened, much of which was filmed in the wild Kimberley landscapes near Wyndham.
It was a great first day at sea, we all learned a lot, relaxed a lot and ate a lot before being rocked to sleep in the arms of the moving Timor Sea.
