2015 Happy Last Year
Happy Last Year
Ninety-plus days at sea. Ninety-seven dispatches. One year that refused to stay still.
The world became a wake.
2015 began near the Pacific, moved through Florida and the Caribbean, crossed into Europe, and kept going north until the map narrowed into fjords, islands and Arctic light.
Cruise ship life was not a holiday from life. It became the way life was measured: departure, horizon, port, return.
The archive records the 2015 Holland America Grand Voyage, the British Isles, the Baltic, Norway, London and Portsmouth. May and June alone produced 67 posts. The year did not pause long enough to become nostalgia until it was already over.
A year plotted by month.
January supplied the threshold. May and June became the engine room. The final months slowed into England, London and the winter solstice.
Pacific Threshold
Santa Monica opened the year before the story moved toward blue water.
Florida & Cayman
Key West and Grand Cayman established the salt-line of the year.
Caribbean Departures
Key West, Mexico, Jamaica and life at sea widened the map.
Crossing Over
Manhattan and Arundel formed the hinge between America and Britain.
The Grand Voyage
The Mediterranean, Atlantic coast and Baltic turned the archive into a moving chart.
Northern Explorer
Britain, Ireland, Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Arctic Norway arrived in rapid succession.
Landfall & Fast Sailors
Holland America gave way to Portsmouth and the America's Cup World Series.
London Bearings
Westminster Abbey and Winchester slowed the pace without stopping the journey.
River Country
London, Wales and Henley-on-Thames became the late-summer current.
Cut Stone
Hatton Garden brought the year back to London and the craft of permanence.
World Travel Market
The journey became an industry conversation in London.
Winter Solstice
Stone, time and mystery closed a year that had spent itself in motion.
Two crossings, two climates.
The original video references are retained as stable, responsive Blogger embeds.
Celtic Explorer
The British Isles chapter: stone, weather, shoreline and arrival.
Arctic Circle
North Cape, Narvik, Tromsø, fjords and the long northern light.
Remote travel, carried lightly.
The original cruise snapshot is preserved here: a 28-day Grand Nordic journey, cool summers, brisk sea air, wild flora, seabirds, whales and more than fourteen European ports.
How Swede It Is
Amid windswept cliffs and green pastures, the journey revealed a blend of ecological diversity and human history measured in thousands of years.
Field tags: Remote Travel / Arctic Circle / Wild Flora / Cruise Culture
Ports of Call
- Lisbon, Portugal
- Porto, Portugal
- Gibraltar
- Barcelona, Spain
- Marseille, France
- Monte Carlo, Monaco
- Civitavecchia / Rome, Italy
- Valletta, Malta
- Athens, Greece
- Istanbul, Turkey
- Copenhagen, Denmark
- Stockholm, Sweden
- Helsinki, Finland
- St. Petersburg, Russia
“The farther you go from the beaten path, the greater the reward. Fair Isle proves that magic thrives in the remote.”
All 97 dispatches.
Open a month to see every title, publication date and recorded view count. May and June are expanded because they form the heart of the voyage.
January 20153 posts
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Ed Flex 2014 The Deep Blue Year02 January 2015archive entry
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Santa Monica- -APPY and ODME-The On-Demand Mobile Economy09 January 2015405 views
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50 Shades of Blue28 January 2015222 views
February 20153 posts
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Key West-The Gibraltar of The USA16 February 2015302 views
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Grand Cayman18 February 2015255 views
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Caymania25 February 2015279 views
March 20154 posts
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KEY WEST - Salt Life02 March 2015270 views
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Mexico - The Have and Have Yachts05 March 2015274 views
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Jamaica-Sugar Masters12 March 2015242 views
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@Sea-Seek a Peek (Experience)30 March 2015381 views
April 20152 posts
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Manhattan - Horse Power08 April 2015361 views
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Arundel, U.K.We Are The English15 April 2015350 views
May 201531 posts
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Being There-With Holland America01 May 2015134 views
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2015 World Cruises03 May 20151,481 views
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2015 Holland America Grand Voyage03 May 2015112 views
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Rome Sweet Rome, Italy05 May 2015353 views
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@Sea-Mallorca07 May 2015316 views
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Alicante, Spain- Knight and Day08 May 2015342 views
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Córdova, Spain 3 Cultures09 May 2015348 views
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Gibraltar-Monkeys10 May 2015436 views
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Like A Rock - Strait of Gib10 May 2015369 views
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Lagos, Portugal-A Wind From The North11 May 2015385 views
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Lisbon, Portugal-My Dutch Bike12 May 2015427 views
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Porto, Portugal - Bom Dia13 May 2015373 views
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Being There-France15 May 2015413 views
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Haute Médoc Region, France15 May 2015357 views
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Bordeaux, France-View of The Left Bank15 May 2015335 views
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Brest, France-Quaint Quimper17 May 2015470 views
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Portland, U.K. Stone18 May 2015352 views
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Brugge-500 Beers19 May 2015343 views
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Brugge-An unFlemished Reputation19 May 2015355 views
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Amsterdam-A'Dam20 May 2015390 views
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Hamburg, Germany-The Beatles21 May 2015482 views
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Elbe River, Germany21 May 2015435 views
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Hamburg- Neuengamme Camp22 May 2015565 views
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Kiel Canal23 May 2015397 views
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Berlin, Germany Alpha Bravo, Check Point Charley24 May 2015416 views
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Tallinn, Estonia26 May 2015400 views
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ST Petersberg-Ain't Much Sunshine-Only 60 Days27 May 2015324 views
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The Hermitage-A View With A Room28 May 2015537 views
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Petersburg, Russia-Painted In Vodka28 May 2015350 views
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Helsinki, Finland-Olympic29 May 2015388 views
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Stockholm Marathon- How Swede It Is30 May 2015367 views
June 201536 posts
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Copenhagen-The Little Mermaid and H2OMG01 June 2015365 views
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Edam-Smile and Say Cheese03 June 2015394 views
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Holland-Keeping In Touch With The Dutch03 June 2015375 views
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English Channel-White Cliffs of Dover04 June 2015434 views
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Portland UK-Rocks05 June 2015446 views
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Guernsey Channel Islands06 June 2015420 views
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Saint Just-By-Rosalind, UK07 June 2015416 views
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Falmouth, UK-Cornish Coastline07 June 2015375 views
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Pembrokeshire, Mid-Wales-Sun Day08 June 2015404 views
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Dublin-Guiness Storehouse-Intoxivation09 June 2015435 views
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Dublin, Ireland-Irish Central09 June 2015362 views
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@Irish Sea10 June 2015358 views
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Killeybegs, Ireland- 50 Shades of Green11 June 2015367 views
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Galway, Ireland-Claddagh Rings12 June 2015366 views
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Limerick, Ireland-Tyres13 June 2015418 views
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Flanders Field, Belgium-A Place To Remember16 June 2015397 views
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Normandy, France Awe and Gratitude16 June 2015389 views
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14 Day Northern Explorer Cruise-Norway17 June 2015366 views
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Haarlem, Netherlands-Globetrotting17 June 2015340 views
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Troldhaugen, Norway-Edvard Grieg19 June 2015444 views
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Bergen, Norway-Fjords19 June 2015335 views
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Geirangerfjord, Norway-H2OMG20 June 2015408 views
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Narvik Mountains, Norway22 June 2015485 views
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Narvik, Norway22 June 2015370 views
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The Arctic Highway22 June 2015388 views
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Tromsø, Norway-Gateway To The Arctic23 June 2015335 views
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On Top of The World 71°10′21″24 June 2015416 views
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Honningsvåg. Norway-Ready, Set, North Cape24 June 2015610 views
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Norway-Red, White and Yellow Houses26 June 20151,087 views
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Trondheim-I Love Ewe26 June 2015391 views
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Ålesund, Norway-Everyday Epiphanies27 June 2015411 views
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Flåm Mountains-Primary Colors28 June 2015394 views
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Flåm, Norway-Free For All-H2O28 June 2015396 views
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Western Norway-Hardangerfjord29 June 2015492 views
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Vøringsfossen and Sysen Dam-Team Ionic29 June 2015457 views
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Eidfjord Passage, Norway's Ecstasy29 June 2015401 views
July 20158 posts
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Edam, Netherlands- Dutch Cheese Market01 July 2015270 views
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Being There-With Holland America02 July 2015353 views
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Portsmouth, UK-America's Cup World Series06 July 2015400 views
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Portsmouth, UK-Chasing The Fastest Sailors InThe World07 July 2015459 views
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The U.K.-Mind, Body and Sea20 July 2015418 views
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Portsmouth, ACWS24 July 2015323 views
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Portsmouth-America's Cup World Series Race25 July 2015372 views
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90+ Days at Sea: Reflections on the 2015 Holland America Grand Voyage26 July 2015264 views
August 20152 posts
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London-Westminster Abbey07 August 2015296 views
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Winchester-UK-Good Knight18 August 2015399 views
September 20154 posts
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IJL-International Jewellery London08 September 2015303 views
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London River Thames16 September 2015383 views
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Wales-Greener Pastures21 September 2015310 views
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Henley-On-Thames-Flow24 September 2015363 views
October 20151 posts
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Getting Stoned In Hatton Garden, UK02 October 2015306 views
November 20152 posts
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World Travel Market-London03 November 2015440 views
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WTM London Day 304 November 2015312 views
December 20151 posts
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Winter Solstice Rocks: A Henge, A Moment, A Mystery22 December 2015414 views
Happy last year.
Not because it was finished. Because it remained available: ninety-seven coordinates, each one holding the weather of the moment.