Cities in a Fairytale
[This post written 6/6/08; position: lat -59’41”, long -53’27”; temperature -12C, wind chill -26C]
Now that the seasickness is gone, I seem to be coming down with a cold. My roommate picked one up on the airplane during our arduous journey south, so it’s not much wonder that it’s my turn now. I am armed with gan mao ling, my favorite cold remedy — a venerable concoction of Chinese herbs. So maybe I can keep it mild, and keep it from spreading further. Went gratefully to bed at about 9:00 last night, read Stan Robinson’s book Antarctica for a while (wonderful book, BTW), and eventually slept till 7:30 this morning.
See above. This is how the decks looked when we woke up. Truly Antarctic! The huge iceberg that filled our view last night was gone by this morning, replaced by a placid gray sea and more fog. Off and on all night, and all through the day today, we have traveled through the ice. The sound of it scraping against the hull is no longer new, though still occasionally startling, especially in the mess hall on 0 deck, which is down on the water. Periodically, we strike an ice floe, or “growler,” and the ship shudders briefly like a warm-blooded animal recoiling from the cold.
During the science meeting this morning, Ken Smith announced that none of the icebergs we have seen so far suits our purposes, so we are continuing our hunt. We have charted a course for the largest one we can see in the satellite images, one “A43K,” which unfortunately is a day’s travel north and east of us in the Scotia Sea. The ice we have seen so far is too thin to have ever been glacial ice. We are seeking ice from the continent, which should contain terrestrial material the effects of which we can measure.
So we have passed the day as best we can, each in our own way. The marine chemists on the Shaw/Twining team have been carefully acid washing all of their sampling equipment. Steve Rock’s sonar team has spent the day repairing the cables that were damaged in yesterday’s accident. The ROV team has been going over yesterday’s videos, which revealed more particulate matter than expected in the water, and many salps — a particular type of gelatinous sea creature. The airplane team took this opportunity to ground-test the plane and its controls to make sure everything works in these cold temperatures. (I tried my hand at the simulator until I had crashed it so many times it got mortifying.) And, of course, everyone is spending time in the mess hall. Meat loaf and mashed potatoes for lunch. So far, so good. 🙂
The decks are too icy for walking, but the sea was calm today, so I found an almost-large-enough space on the helo deck where I did some Tai Chi this morning. Hard to do in Sorrel boots, LOL! Then I climbed up to the bridge and took a few pictures. After lunch, I put on my cold weather gear and stepped out onto the control deck where I took the picture at top. As the sun peeked briefly through the clouds, far off on the horizon a line of icebergs shimmered like the white towers of a city in a fairytale. But they are not a city. They are ice and more ice, and we are very small and alone out here.
I chose that spot on the control deck because it is sheltered from the ice, and the hatch there is rarely dogged. A day or two ago I discovered that I am too short to reach the top dog on these hatches. What this means is that once they are closed, I can’t open them without help. If I am inside and want to go out, this is merely a nuisance. But if I am outside and want to come in, it becomes something a bit bigger. Today while I was out there, a diligent crew member dogged the hatch, and there I was, stranded in the sub-freezing weather. After a few minutes of pounding and shouting, I managed to raise someone who came and opened up for me. But I will have to work out a safer system for my forays outside. Alana, one of the engineers, suggested that I take some sort of tool out with me — a wrench, or a small pry bar, maybe. This appeals to me because it gives me more independence. But it’s probably better to take a person out there with me. [Added later: As soon as word got around, my hatch dog problem was quickly solved. First, Captain Mike showed me a hatch leading into the bridge which had a top dog I could easily reach. And Adam Jenkins, our Raytheon POC, showed me how to use the walky-talky he keeps in his office, which is usually available for anyone who needs it. Plus, LOL, now I know where the term “top dog” comes from.]
Ah, it’s snowing now. Dark and beautiful.