Imagine driving across the United States at 10-12 miles per hour. In the last 3 days we have traveled from the coast of Uruguay at 35˚ S down the Argentinean coast to 44˚ S. By tonight we will be half way between the Equator and the South Pole, tomorrow we will be in the waters between South America and The Falkland Islands and by Friday morning we will be at the Southern tip of the continent where Cape Horn looks out over the famous Drake Passage. The ship's Master is trying to time our journey so that we can make the crossing of the Drake between a cyclic string of low-pressure storms that revolve around Antarctica. On the weather map, the storms look like a string of beads that circle clockwise around the ice continent. The center of each storm contains 30 ft tall waves and although they don't pose a danger to the Oden, it would make the 3-day crossing pretty uncomfortable if we had to face a storm full force.Life on Oden.
Today's journal will focus on some of the details of life aboard ship that many people have asked me about. Before any of us on board can conduct any science, we must first be able to live together in relative comfort. Most of the science teams are here to collect data in the remote sea ice of Antarctica but almost one third of this 7 week expedition will be spent in getting down to and out of the sea. During the entire trip we must live by the rules of the ship, we must adapt to a shipboard accommodations and food, and we must respect the diverse group of people we are living with. I will try to describe and introduce you to many of the folks on board in future journals but today let me describe some of the basics of life on the Oden.
First, the ship is roughly the size of a football field with a 10 story building on top of it. My cabin is on deck 3, which is about 50 feet above the water. Although there is an elevator that works when the seas are calm, I have yet to use it. Instead, I climb either the interior or exterior staircases all the way to the bridge several times each day. The staircase you take depends on the shoes you are wearing. In order to keep the interior of the ship as clean as possible, no one wears their outside shoes or work clothing once they come inside. We all have indoor shoes like slippers or Crocs on shoe racks by the doors. Since the weather is still nice, I have been outside as much as possible and I usually take the windy exterior stairs with the spectacular views. That is how I saw my new Bird of the Day today. It was a Giant Petrel. Imagine a charcoal gray, narrow winged sea gull with a 6-foot wingspan!
Dr. Ellery Ingall from the Georgia Institute of Technology and I share a cabin designed to hold 4 people so we feel it is pretty comfortable. There is a wall and a door that separate the cabin into 2 rooms. This photo shows Ellery on his side with 2 windows and a Desk.
I am very happy to have Dr. Ingall as a cabin mate. Not only is he very easy to get along with, he is also a very experienced oceanographer who has been to sea on ships like this many times. I appreciate his advice and I enjoy our conversations.
My half of the cabin is smaller but it includes 4 large closets and the cabin’s private bathroom. We are responsible for keeping our cabin clean and we can get fresh linens and towels each week. The crew will inspect our rooms for cleanliness! Notice the stuffed animals on the windowsill and the Camp Talooli pillowcase!
Our bathroom has a sink with hot water, a flush toilet and a shower. It has all the comforts of home in a much smaller space. Compared to other PolarTREC field locations, I feel guilty because I have a comfortable bathroom with a shower that I only have to share with Ellery. Check out the journal of Jackie Hams to see how tough and primitive the bathroom situation is in her remote field camp in the Dry Valleys of Antarctica.
The shower is just to the right of the toilet and although it is a little small, it works just like the one at home.
Once you have a comfortable place to live, work and sleep, everyone thinks about food. And, everyone aboard the Oden is very pleased with the menu so far.
The kitchen staff prepares the tasty meals on the Oden. Breakfast is from 7:30-8:15, Lunch is from 11:30-12:30 and dinner is from 5:30-6:15pm. There are always snacks and leftovers in refrigerator. Best of all is a hot cocoa machine that is always ready to please!
There is a regular assortment of fresh fruit and vegetables at all meals and no one seems to understand how the kitchen can keep them so fresh for weeks at sea.
For lunch today, I had a salad, a slice of pizza, a glass of lingonberry juice and my new favorite Swedish food; knäckebröd with cheese!
I have spoken with several of the Swedes and they all told me that knäckebröd is a common form of Swedish dry bread. Knäckebröd reminds me of Ryecrisp crackers which I really like and which my family reminds me look just like the crackers you can buy at petting zoos to feed to the goats! I like to put a thin slice of hard Swedish cheese on top of the 2 by 4 inch crispy bread. It is lagom!
Flags of the Day!
Yesterday I challenged everyone to identify the flags of the day as they were wildly flapping in the wind. Today I include two photos of the same 7 flags showing them out on the helicopter deck and inside the bridge. Once we reach the sea ice and find a day with calm winds I plan to take all 139 flags out onto the ice together.
Jonas Tielmann is a seal researcher from Denmark and he helps to fly today’s flags over the helicopter deck on the stern of the Oden. Jonas told me that he is a part time professor at the Danish college where my daughter Kelly is currently enjoying a study abroad semester. It’s a small world.
Today’s flags all come from the same school in Liverpool, NY but since I made everyone struggle to identify their windblown flags yesterday, I decided to photograph today’s flags inside the shelter of the bridge as well.
Take care, have fun & make memories,
Jeff Peneston