Speed 4.4 knots (kts) Course 237° Location Northeastern Canada Basin, 80.34° N, 124.99° W Depth 2798 meters
SPECIAL FEATURE DISCUSSION:
(see previous journal for the questions.)
There is little or no sunlight in the Arctic winter and so seeing sun dogs then can be difficult.
Since windy days can keep the air above the Earth's surface mixed that is not good for seeing mirages. But calm days can promote surface layer formation (either warmer or colder air) that can lead to mirages.
TODAY'S JOURNAL:
Every Saturday the ship has some special events to help keep morale up. In addition to a round of bingo and the evening hangar movie, a different department each week takes the lead in cooking dinner to give the galley crew a break. Our turn came up last night, and we made a pizza dinner. It seemed to go over well, with several on the crew commenting on how long it had been since they had pizza. In fact, I'm pretty confident in saying that last night we offered the best pizza in the Arctic Ocean! It was also a great chance for me to learn more about the inner workings of the galley. In many ways the galley can be considered the heart of the ship as a well-fed crew is a happy crew.
The galley serves 4 meals a day. In addition to the three most of us are familiar with they also have mid-rats (short for midnight rations) so those who are on night watches won't go hungry. With 112 people on board the galley has to be able to make large portions and serve a lot of people in a short amount of time. To do so they have some big commercial cooking gear! Here's a photo tour to virtually walk you around the galley:
Chris Dufore, Jenny White, and Erin Clark making pizzas on one of the expansive prep counters in the Healy's galley.
Captain Michel Bordeau (Canadian Coast Guard Command Liaison) and Jerry Hyman (Branch Chief, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency) preside over the Healy's 4 commercial ovens, baking 32 pizzas for the saturday night morale dinner.
Captain Michel Bordeau and Jerry Hyman indicate their approval of the pizza-making process!
Andy Stevenson puts pizzas out on the hot table, ready to serve when the line opens. At that time the curtain is raised and the food starts moving onto plates.
The galley on the Healy has a large assortment of pots and kettles. The largest are mounted on hinges to facilitate pouring their contents.
The galley also boasts 4 large refrigerators for short-term perishable food storage. Giant freezers and dry stores in other parts of the ship keep food for longer periods, including enough to get the entire ship's company through the winter should we get stuck.
A lot of customers means a lot of dirty dishes so the Healy's galley has a large scullery for washing up.
The happy science cooking crew awaits pizza fans in the Healy's galley.
A wide range of beverages is available for self-serve in the galley 24/7 including sodas, punch, coffee, tea, milk, and juices. There is also a soft-serve ice cream machine operating a few times a week for a special treat. Down the hall is the ship's store that makes coffee drinks and chai for purchase.
Diners can dress up their meals with a variety of condiments, a salad bar, and a desert bar.
The 'Red Goat', a giant garbage disposal for food waste in the Healy's galley. Since garbage sometimes has to be stored for months before offloading, the crew doesn't want food that can add volume and get smelly in the trash. Instead, the Red Goat grinds it up and delivers it to the sewage system. It even ground up the carcass of a barbecued pig after the special Coast Guard Day meal! You don't want to be reaching into it if you drop in your spoon...
SPECIAL FEATURE:
In the era of wind-powered wooden sailing ships there were no onboard freezers or canned food, yet ships could be at sea for months or even years at a time. How did they deal with long-term food storage issues?
That's all for now! Best- Bill