Tomorrow the Arctic Sunrise sets sail to Copenhagen, her voyage round the UK over, and the disarmament tour done. Part of me sails with her.
I joined the ship on a snowy day back at the beginning of February. Sailed through a North Sea littered with oil rigs to Leith, the port of Edinburgh. Struggled through a force 10 wind around the north coast of Scotlan to a gentle respite at Brodick on the Isle of Arran. And then to Greenock and the excitement of the Faslane blockade (described elsewhere)
My time aboard may have been short, 3 weeks and a little, has gouged out my holidays from work for a year, but it is such an intense and insular environment that its hard to forget and difficult to remember if it was real.
The ship made it to London in time for the Trident debate and has a new crew now. This evening was a chance to say goodbye with a soiree on what now seems to be such a tiny vessel. At sea it encompasses your life and existence; in port it is a tiny poky, warren. Perched on the side of an inflatable, looking over the heli deck, rambling on about life and experiences on board seems like the most natural thing in the world.
So farewell Arctic Sunrise
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