As the ship set sail, we had our safety meeting on what to do should there be an emergency on board - man overboard, fire, abandon ship and got a tour of the lifeboats and safety measures and protocol on the ship. I graciously volunteered to try on the Gumby suits as they are called. They are made of neoprene and as you can see, rather glamorous.
These are our emergency survival suits we must don in the event of abandoning the ship. Check out the feet on these things.
You are probably thinking the same thing I was - My gosh, orange looks very good on her.
All dressed up and thankfully no where to go. But what a fashion statement I make in the reflective orange survival suit.
There are two lifeboats like the one I have pictured here. They can be steered and maneuvered from a small drivers seat and window near the top.
Here is one of the two lifeboats on board our vessel. Each can hold 44 people and are designed to toss and turn, flip and flop in the waters until help arrives.
They each fit 44 people and are designed to roll with the waves.
Here is an inside view of the lifeboats. Everyone is harnessed in so that you stay put when the boat is overturned by a wave.
You can imagine how unpleasant that would be as you bob along, spin, turn upside down with the crashing waves and most likely vomit. But it is certainly better than the alternative.
Speaking of the 'alternative' April 14th is the anniversary of the Titanic's collision with that fateful iceberg. April 15th she went down. So I guess it's appropriate that we talk about this today. There are a number of inflatable rafts on board as well.
Tomorrow we will hit the high seas and the wave activity will increase. Here's to hoping we don't have too many cases of seasickness. So far, I have been fine. We won't be seeing as much wildlife for a while. Here are a couple shots of dolphins and a Petrel, also known as Cape Pigeons. Much prettier than their name implies.
There are so many of these Petrels called a Cape Pigeons that have been following our boat as we surge ahead.
Here are some more Commerson's dolphins.
Here are some playful animals following along the R/V Laurence M. Gould.
We went on a tour of the engine room. That was very impressive. I'll try to make some short videos to post up here. If anyone has any suggestions of what they would like to see - send them to me.
As for the Chilean seismic activity and volcanoes, those volcanic looking peaks were just that. This is a very active area. If you remember, there was also an earthquake off the coast of Chile a couple years ago.
Here's the quiz for day - what is the galley on a ship? What is the head on the ship? How are they related? I'll give you a hint...homeostasis in action!