were amazed to learn that Norway, un-
likely as it may seem, resisted Germany
the second longest of any nation during
World War II. The country also brought
forth the family’s adventurous, never-say-
never spirit. ¶ “We were at the base of
all of these beautiful waterfalls down the
fj ords,” Rothberg says. “Usually we send
up the drone, but when you do that, you
realize that the waterfalls are too big to
send the drones to.” (The drones they had
on board topped out around 1,640 feet,
while some of the waterfalls were 2,625
feet high.) “We couldn’t drone off of it,
but we wouldn’t give up,” Rothberg adds.
“We actually took a bus to the top of one of
these fj ords, and we [went] paragliding
off of it. It was really cool.” ¶ Experiences
like those transcended fun, he says:“One of the take-homes is the grandeur
of some of the things on our Earth. Over
and over again, the theme of Norway was
we are minuscule, we are teeny. It was
humbling.” ¶ Rothberg calls the cruise
the best summer of his life, in large part
because it allowed him and his family to
gain perspective on Mother Nature’s great
power, and paradoxical fragility, as well as
our duty to preserve her. ¶ “My kids are
going to grow up knowing that there are
waterfalls that are so big that drones can’t
go to the top of them,” he says. “Seeing
the kids interact with their friends, their
family and their environment was just
inspiring.” ¶ His advice to other cruis-
ing enthusiasts? “Go where other people
aren’t. You’ve got to go on the unbeaten
path — that’s fun with your family.”CURRENTS NAUTICAL LIFEdavid honeybun“MY KIDS ARE
GOING TO GROW UP
KNOWING
THAT THERE ARE
WATERFALLS
THAT ARE SO
BIG THAT DRONES
CAN’T GO TO
THE TOP OF THEM.”Gene Machine sails through Bodø, Norway. One rule on the cruise was: Don’t stay in one location for longer than two days.66YACHTINGFE BRUA RY2 01 8