Travelogue: turning back

Baffin Bay – September 12
Date and time: 12.09.25, 14:00
Location: LAT 72.47°, LON 76.45°
SOG (speed over ground): 8.8 knots
Wind: 15 knots

We left Milne Inlet just after midnight and are now heading out through Pond Inlet, the mountains rising in spectacular outline against the sky. The weather is fair, the sea calm, and I was up in time to watch the sunrise. Before breakfast I walked my now customary 10K on deck, the bow quiet except for the sound of the sea slapping against the hull. It is the best time to think, the ship steady underfoot, the air clear and sharp.

Now the return journey begins. Part of me wishes I could go on for another two months, but home is calling, and the Atlantic lies ahead. We are bound for northern Spain, and though I do not yet know the exact route, I will ask the second officer who charts our course. For now, it feels like the beginning of an ending, the sea both friend and reminder of the miles still to come.