The Pallada has crossed the Northern Tropic

Things run their course on board. There are watches, duties, drills, tests and exams. Cadets and shipboys are getting used to life on board. More and more of them are thinking of marine professions.

Evening is the most romantic time on the ship. Everyone watches sunset spreading its largess into a grateful sky, and it is impossible to leave the deck — so beautiful is the seascape. The water changes its color to soft pink and purple. We are sailing into the sunset on a magnificent sailing ship. What could be more perfect? Crew members stroll along the deck after a busy day and listen to the cadets slowly fingering the guitar chords here and there.

The crew is getting ready to crossing of the Equator which separates the Southern and Northern hemispheres. A traditional Neptune holiday is ahead. It is a centuries-old ritual for novice seafarers who have never crossed the Equator. It was initially performed on naval vessels. 400-years old line-crossing ceremony is typically organized for an initiation of newcomers to the realm of King Neptune.