Rime of the Modern Mariner

[This post written 6/26/08; position: lat -56’43”, long -48’15”; temp 2C; wind chill -14C]

It seems the big calving event of Tuesday was not captured by any of the photographers aboard. Lots of pictures taken seconds after it happened, but nothing snapped at the moment. The picture above was taken by John Helly from the bridge, though, and will give you some idea of the size of the piece that calved.

Now, however, we have left our icebergs behind. All night and all day we have been traveling north and west, the waves coming toward our port quarter. This is good from a comfort standpoint; less so from a speed standpoint, because these waves (and the accompanying wind) slow us down. We are traveling at a speed of about 8 knots. Though the ship is capable of cruising at 12, the waves would give us quite a beating at that speed. As it is, I have been walking like a drunken sailor all day, swaying along the decks as the ship tilts beneath me. I am pleased to say that I’ve had no problem with seasickness, and slept well last night. This rocking motion has begun to seem so natural that at times I barely notice it. Everyone who has spent long periods at sea says there will be an adjustment period when we get back on dry land. Next time you see a sailor who is weaving drunkenly down the sidewalk, don’t be too quick to judge. Maybe he weaves because the sidewalk is unnaturally still.

It has been a very quiet day on the NBP. I spent awhile this morning outside on the aft deck, watching the petrels that were flying along behind us. I haven’t been able to find out why they like to follow the ship. But watching them puts me in mind of the big groups of bicyclists back home, who jockey for position behind the fastest riders. Drafting, it’s called. Maybe the petrels are letting the ship push the air out of their way. Or maybe the ship creates eddies and currents in the air that the petrels find conducive to good fishing or fast transit. I took a few pictures, but mostly I just watched the birds and the sea. After I complained about not having my camera during the big calving, a friend pointed out that maybe I enjoyed it more without the distraction of the camera. She has a point. I love photography, but seeing the world through a viewfinder does take me out of the moment. It’s nice to just relax and soak up a scene now and then.

At any rate, it was a quiet day. When it was time to write today’s post, nothing came immediately to mind. Then I remembered that I’ve been wanting to write a little something about the food on the NBP, which is delicious, and in many ways amazing. The head cook, Nestor, is hard to catch sight of because he is always working behind scenes. These are pictures of Lorenzo, one of Nestor’s helpers. He tends the griddle and does a lot of the fry cooking. His pancakes are among the best I have ever eaten.

We have been at sea since May 31. That’s three-and-a-half weeks. Yet we are still enjoying crispy lettuce, carrot sticks, and fresh citrus and apples. It was fun to watch how Nestor managed our supplies as time passed. For the first week we had all kinds of fresh fruits and vegetables. During the second week, the leaf lettuce disappeared. But we still had tomatoes, broccoli, asparagus, green beans, cucumbers, fresh pineapple, kiwi fruit, grapes, pears, apples, oranges, bananas, bananas, bananas! And lots of iceberg lettuce. Tomatoes and cucumbers disappeared next. Then the pineapple and kiwi fruit were slowly replaced with canned peaches and pineapple. Late last week, fresh banana bread and muffins appeared. We still have, as mentioned, the lettuce, as well as fresh onions. There are oranges, too. The apples are looking a bit tired, but are still quite tasty.

The galley is equipped with enormous freezers and extra-cold refrigerators. Keeping produce just above freezing seems to work well for most things. There’s a lot of meat on the menu — every variety — plus fish. There are always two or three options at every meal, and soup at lunch and dinner. There are delicious stews and curries, pastas and casseroles. A wonderful variety of sausages. I don’t know what it’s like for the vegetarians among us, but they seem to be getting along without much trouble. Then there are the desserts, a dangerous delight. These have included flans, double chocolate cakes, ice cream cakes, all kinds of cookies, and even fresh donuts! To say that Nestor is a dab hand in the kitchen is a vast understatement. We’ll see the outcome of all this when I get home, take a deep breath, and face the bathroom scales.

Tags: Icebreaker // 2 Comments »