October 11-21st, London -- Brest

London, October 11-15th.

Our berth in London was at Canary Wharf, a most desirable address. It actually required the raising of a bridge and the use of a lock to come to our actual resting spot. Access to the sites of London then required a journey in to 'town' on the Jubilee line – quite convenient actually. Claudia and I purchased three-day zones one and two, tube and bus passes, a choice we have found to be valuable in the past. The ship arrived in late afternoon on Thursday. Claudia flew in on Friday morning (with aircraft difficulties – smoke in the cockpit no less, she was delayed by several hours). We had agreed to meet up at the National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, and at her hotel as back up. An e-mail message from Stephen, relayed from Claudia, allowed me to go with plan 'B'.

We had a wonderful three days catching up in person, with lots of walking under pleasant skies, an excellent (serious) musical, 'Blood Brothers', and plenty of good food including lunch at the Borough Market (London Bridge) and some terrific Indian food (the first 'meal' back on board today underlined the blinding contrast!) I shall be seeing Claudia again in a little over two weeks in La Caruna, Spain. In the mean time there will be visits to Brest, France and Dublin, Ireland for the ship and me, and a trip to a long-time friend, to Jane Austin country, and cycling in northern Spain (with Carol Dewar) for Claudia.

I haven't been sending many postcards, and certainly none from London as the postal system is suffering through one of its periodic strikes. The big sporting event of the moment was England's "spanking" of France in rugby. Unleaded regular is just under a pound a litre (about $2.04 Canadian), and it is best – for peace of mind – to pretend that the pound is a dollar when it comes to buying most anything but milk, bread, chocolate and wine!

The students enjoyed their London experiences by all accounts. (My fellow teachers gave me the time off to be with Claudia, so I didn't take part in the in-port tours. We are quite familiar with the London 'sights and sounds' from past visits.)


The Cruise to Brest, France, October 15-19.

We reversed our passage down the Thames in the fading afternoon light. Along both banks, virtually all the way to the sea, is commercial and private residential development. It wasn't until the afternoon of the 17th that we were once more under sail. The first couple of days were forgettable periods of holding on tightly to our bunks, and our stomach contents, as we bucked and splashed our way past the white cliffs of Dover, then Beachy Head in the teeth of a stubborn English Channel gale. Of course classes were held these days but learning suffered! The sun reappeared on the third day out, and the seas diminished to a tolerable level. (The decks were too wet from waves braking over them to hold morning fitness at mid-ships, or to venture about without foul weather gear.)

We continued under sail on the 18th, now 120 nautical miles or so from Brest. The winds were light, the sun shone. These are the last few days of our term one courses. Exams will be held next week on our voyage to Dublin, then second term courses will commence and run through to my last port of call in the Canary Islands. Out here on the 'high seas' it is difficult to imagine that my Acadia teaching colleagues are manning picket lines on campus (or were doing so when we left London on the 15th.) Classes continue as normal on the Concordia!

Some miscellaneous thoughts

: Sailors, as you may well know, are a superstitious lot. For example, one is not to whistle on board! Well, anyone knowing me recognizes that while it may not be the most melodic of renderings, I do whistle a lot. Various members of the professional crew, politely but in all seriousness, have asked on various occasions, that I save my melodies for shore time! It seems that the youngest person aboard is exempt from this restriction. No one is prepared to advance the privilege to the oldest.
Among other superstitions drawn to my attention: no cut flowers are to be brought aboard and a ship cannot begin a voyage on a Friday!

We eat our meals in two shifts (the mess cannot accommodate us all at once), announced by the ringing of a bell. Sometimes it is "lower bunk first", for example, or "girls first", "watches 1-3", etc. Instructors can eat when they want; however, I generally abide by the 'calls' as noted.

A lot of clubs have been formed, just as one might expect in a land-school setting. One that held its inaugural meeting recently is the "Smoothies Club", that is, blended fruit drinks. We have a Spanish club, a climbers club (those who are especially given to going to the top of the rigging), and a baking club to name a few. A fundraising initiative taking the form of 'tuck shop' sales of candy bars is thriving.

With the departure a week or so ago of my roommate (personal reasons, not his cabin mate's behaviour I have been reassured), I am enjoying private accommodation. This is likely to remain the case for the rest of my stay. Richard and I got on well, and we had many interesting conversations, but it is great to have the extra space and relative privacy. Incidentally, Richard's teaching responsibilities have been assumed by Simon and Cal, the grade 12 and Gap year directors respectively. (They had had reduced teaching loads because of their other duties; these changes make their schedules more demanding of course.)

Those knowing me recognize my interest in birds. I find it fascinating that as we near land (although not necessarily in sight of it) the sea birds come to check us out. Occasionally a land-based bird will alight on our decks, presumably having been blown off course. These visitors generally stay awhile before resuming their journeys. We dispose of our food waste while at sea. However, this doesn't appear to be part of the attraction for our feathered friends. Smart birds!

We spied a whale off port mid-ships a while ago. It didn't grace us with its presence for long however. A herd of porpoises has been frolicking at the bow for an hour or so. And four finches have decided to travel with us for a spell. They are 'gossiping' near one of the life rafts. It is a wild life afternoon it seems!

Arrival in Brest, October 19th.

We were on time for a mid-day arrival and took a pilot aboard for the last 15 miles or so. Brest will be the home port for European Tall Ships '08 and that is the reason for it been chose as this year's French port of call. (I understand our berthing and piloting fees have been assumed by the '08 organizing committee; in exchange the Concordia will play host to receptions and meeting on October 23rd with our departure for Dublin being delayed until early evening.) We are tied up in the industrial area of the port, a rather 'dodgy' location after dark.

Brest, October 19-21st

The weather has been warm and sunny the first few days of our stay. The night skies have been star-filled and it has been nippy (and dark) for our morning runs.

A disappointment discovered shortly after arrival was that the faculty strike at Acadia has led to the university withdrawing e-mail services and I am, for the moment, without means of checking my messages. I have contacted Claudia through a friend's account and will likely set up an alternative hot mail account. The local McDonald's has wireless so I was able to phone Barna via Skype (and talk with Maya too) and bring her up to date. I'm wondering if I am supposed to be on strike. I'm not, and have no intention of participating in 'industrial action'. Perhaps my pay is being suspended. I will not be pleased if such is the case.

A number of the students (and a couple of teachers) are tomorrow (Monday) making a trip to Mont St Michel. It is a four-hour combined train-bus trip (each way) which I have declined. We had visited the site back in 1994 during our year at Exeter (and were in the area again last year) and have no strong desire for a repeat visit.

Today we had (another) aquarium visit and a nautical museum is a possibility for tomorrow (for those not going to Mont St Michel.) Earlier today we walked to the Brest Sunday morning market. I had my little cup of 'silty' coffee with a ham and cheese crepe and took in all the sights. Yesterday a group of us went on a sea-coast hike – it was stunning scenery – and then had crepes for lunch!