New Year's celebrations on the Astrolabe

New Year's greetings to you all.

I am writing this on what is for me the morning of January 1st 2008. Our current timezone is UTC+10h, which places us 9 hours ahead of central Europe, and 18 hours ahead of California. The sea is rougher than yesterday (white crested waves are everywhere) and the ship is as unstable as ever. We are currently enjoying regular 10-15 degree roll with occasional waves sending us over 20 degrees in either direction. The sky has cleared, and we have cold sunshine to greet on deck.

Last night we celebrated the coming of the new year in stlye. After an early dinner (we dine in two shifts, one at 18:00 and one at 19:00) we mostly hung around either outside or in the bar, waiting for midnight to arrive. The music began in earnest at half eleven, as did the dancing. The first bottle of chmpagne was uncorked at exactly midnight (as it should be), and from then on the party really took off.

All I can say is that dancing to disco music in a restricted space on a rolling ship is an experience to be had at least once in one's life. After a slow beginning, we all got used to dancing on the moving floor, and had a great time. The music, dancing and champagne lasted until 2am. This morning, only about one third of the passengers made it to breakfast. Many are still sleeping off the combined effects of alcohol, dancing and anti-seasickness medication.