Norway Farewell Transatlantic 2001
Day 8
St. John's, Newfoundland - September 9, 2001
We arrived at the planned mooring spot in St. John's only to discover that ocean swells, gentle but substantial, had made tender embarkation (our first on the voyage) sufficiently hazardous to force Captain Søvsdnes to find another anchoring spot on the lee side of the island. By the time we got onto the tender, it was past noon.
  
Hull door with crew member

We leave the mother ship.

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Instead of St. John's trim harbor, our tender docked in an industrial backwater, a piper greeting us with the theme from PBS' Masterpiece Theater, and coaches provided only for those who had booked shore excursions. It was the taxi for us to see the town, only to learn that the Museum and most of the nearby attractions were closed.
 Norway in distance from tender
Norway full shot from tender
 Even though tendering to shore meant long lines to embark and a certain tension for fear of missing the "last boat," there was the advantage of getting to view Norway in open water as we approached after a day in town.

Local craft circled the great blue hull and approached the slow-moving tender, shouting friendly greetings and admiring Norway's lines.

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 friendly kayaker
Bow and boats
 Norway from tender
Ship's windows from tneder
 The distinctive windows of the former First Class promenade, above the cabins which were inserted in the same space for Tourist Class during France days.

The sailaway begins. The unseasonable warmth gives this scene the look of a Caribbean depart, but in truth we are headed for four straight sea days on the North Atlantic.

With a few noted exceptions, people will not dress this way again on the voyage.
Sea from bow

The deeper hues of open sea loom ahead, inviting us to enjoy the sea days to come.

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last look at North America

The last thin sliver of land disappears in the west, in what we envision is Norway's farewell to North America. Everywhere one looks is evidence of the ship's old Caribbean life left behind forever: deck chairs are stacked for storage, the aft pool drained. She has become an Atlantic liner again.

Deck chairs stacked
next:
September 9, 10, 11, 12 - Sea Days