Last weekend we were celebrating because the new generator was finally running. For those of you who have been following this blog for a while, you will know that we installed the generator back in June in Sweden and hoped to have it running within a few months. It proved to be a much bigger and longer job but I am pleased to say it is now fully operational and will be surveyed this week.
On Tuesday, the new group of recruits arrived, fresh from their 10 days PST (preship training)
They got a massive welcome when they arrived on the quayside and I doubt that Koge has heard anything like our ships horn blowing for 2 or 3 mins at a time.
While that was going on, Heather was actually baking a birthday cake! That might not sound much to some of you, but for those who know Heather, this is a big deal. It is only the second (she thinks)time in her life she has baked a cake and she let everyone on board know by walking around in an apron and chefs hat. Our friend Alex who is currently onboard and a professional chef supervised & assisted this event (for safety purposes)!
Actually just kidding, that isn't really the cake Heather made.
Tuesday evening we welcomed 2 new members into our ships family and then in the evening had a party which culminated in a Scottish Ceilidh, run by myself. Everyone had a great night.
Wednesday was Liam's 9th birthday so we were celebrating with him. But to add to the fun, Heather and I had to spend the day in a training course on first aid as part of the Basic Safety Training that we are both doing this week to allow us to become part of the ships crew.
We had a lunch for all the kids onboard with chicken nuggets and chips and Heather's great cake!
Then later in the afternoon, Liam's closest friends did a treasure hunt all over the ship and then went and watched a movie together. It was a very busy day trying to keep everyone happy.
On Thursday, the OM Scottish rep and her husband arrived for a visit and we are hosting them. Then in the evening, I was responsible for running the onboard prayer night!
The Dr has gone on break for 4 days so Heather has felt the increased responsibility.
Thursday and Friday we had auditors onboard for our ISM(Internatioal Safety Management) and ISPS (International Ships and Port facilities Security) audits to check if we are safe and secure. This involved reviewing many aspects of our safety and security and conducting lots of interviews. In the end, we were given a list of issues we need to address and told that they will come back again a day or so before we are ready to sail when everything else is done.
Then Friday afternoon, our friends from Sweden that we stayed with in December, came for a visit so we spent yesterday and today hosting them onboard.
Heather and I are also doing more BST training this weekend but will update you on that in a couple of days as you will appreciate, that is probably enough information for one blog entry.
We have the PSSC surveyor back on Thursday when we hope to be issued our Passenger Ship Safety Certificate and our current planned sailing date is 17th Feb to Gothenburg in Sweden.
That's it, we are off to bed - what a week!
