Tagesmeldung vom 26.07.2023

Position 60°09,8′ N|001°09,3′ W
Kurs, Speed 000 | kn
Etmal 12nm
Wind NE – 4bft
Luftdruck 1006 hpa
Bedeckung 7/8
Temp (L/W) 13°C, 14°C

Today the time had finally come… Our big day had arrived… We – mostly Blacky – had been preparing for a long time (a few days) for the crew parade: a highlight of this Tall Ships Race! But firstly, the day begun with an abundant breakfast, strengthening us for all kinds of activities.

The crew split up to go clay shooting, having a personal safety training, go on a tour to the south of Shetland or stay on board either for harbour-watches or to enjoy some free time. As someone who went on the tour through the south mainland I can only emphasise how special it was to see and experience this amazing island and how grateful we can be to have the Roald, which brings us to places, we never would have seen otherwise!

The ship was open for visitors at noon and welcomed various guests on board. After the open-ship and our “Rheinschiff”-duties the crew enjoyed delicious cake – thanks to our Captain! – and then started to get ready for the crew parade. Shouts like ‚Do you wanna be a dog or a penguin?‘, ‚All the dogs need to be upstairs now!‘ or ‚Has someone seen Roald Amundsen?‘ echoed through the corridors. We had only just arrived at our place in the parade and gotten our sleigh with Roald aka Jürgen and the dogs ready when the parade began. Gero played the trombone for us and really changed the atmosphere of our little part of the crew-parade.

We walked through the picturesque streets of Lerwick to the sound of the trombone and sang ‚My bonny is over the ocean‘, ‚What shall we do with a drunken sailor‘ and other songs. After the parade all crews gathered for the pricegiving ceremony. Our big moment had arrived, the name of our ship was called out and we went on stage to collect the price for…*drumrolls… Best Crew Parade! Everybody was beaming with pride and after this win for our ship and the crew nothing stood in our way for an evening and a night full of celebration.