1 September 2017 Home Sweet Home Aboard the R/V Sikuliaq!

I’d like to introduce you to our cabin! Our little bit of home sweet home for 3.5 weeks at sea!

Door to our cabin on the R/V Sikuliaq! Making my bunk! Can't get away from regular chores! August 24, 2017.

The room is very cozy and has everything we could possibly need close at hand! I sleep in the bottom bunk and while at first I had a moment of porthole envy, I now love it exactly the way it is. I think if I had a porthole I would never get to sleep because I’d be looking out it all the time!

Love my bunk! September 1, 2017. Photo by Lisa Seff.

Celia Gelfman is my roommate and she is super awesome! She's been on ships many times before and is my go-to person whenever I have a question. Celia sleeps in the top bunk. She has an amazing way of making it look incredibly easy to get up and down out of her bunk, no matter how rocky the ship is. Sometimes she has the appearance of an experienced gymnast as she launches herself into and out of her bed with ease!. I give her a 10 out of 10 for every landing so far!

Bunks and desk area. September 1, 2017. Photo by Lisa Seff.

My bed comes with everything I might need for a good nights sleep! Nice soft sheets, a cozy blanket, light weight down comforter and a good pillow. At one end of the bunk is a small shelf where I can store my phone (it's my alarm clock!) and a light for reading. Underneath the bunk are three good sized drawers with latches. Then there’s the curtain, which we both use sometimes. The slides that hold the curtain are a little slippery on the track though, so when it’s rough it’s pretty funny because your curtains slowly “walk” down toward the end of each bunk. So you might go to bed with the curtains fully drawn closed but you wake up with them opened wide and piled up at one end of your bed.

Curtain closed on my bunk, makes for a good nights sleep at any time of the day! Septebmer 1, 2017. Photo by Lisa Seff.

Next to the bed is an outlet port with 8 outlets, perfect for late night charging of my laptop, camera and phone! Of course we can pitch and roll at night so I have to make sure everything is strapped down. I keep my computer on the shelf above the desk which has a rubber mat and bars across the shelf to keep it from falling. I like to keep it opened in the morning so I can see the desktop photo of my husband Gary and our two sons Mata and Noah.

The desk is great but one of my favorite parts of the room is the television. And while we can’t tune into the latest Game of Thrones or Sponge Bob episode, we can see what’s going on all over the ship including: the back deck of the ship; our position on a map screen; the present weather trends; the ships course and the CTD operations in the Baltic Room. It’s all "live" tv and really very helpful The R/V Sikuliaq is a big ship and the television stations help us all stay tuned into what’s going on in every part of the ship.

R/V Sikuliaq Underway Display on television in our cabin. September 1, 2017. Photo by Lisa Seff. 4-way display of the Baltic Room and CTD launch on the television in our cabin. September 1, 2017. Photo by Lisa Seff. Ships location on the television in our cabin. September 1, 2017. Photo by Lisa Seff.

We share our bathroom and shower with the cabin next door. Nothing too exciting there, but there’s plenty of hot water, and water in general because the ship makes it’s own water. We still try to conserve but we don’t have to take extreme measures. This morning was a little rocky though and for the first time I felt a bit like I was showering while standing on a paddle-board in the wake of a boat!

Finally we have a small hanging closet which we use for clothes and to store our luggage. It also holds our Emergency Immersion Suit and personal floatation device (pdf)….and another important emergency item...our goodie stashes! My favorite snacks include dark chocolate and nuts!

Glow in the dark Immersion suit sticker on our hanging locker. September 1, 2017. Photo by Lisa Seff.

I hope you enjoyed the tour of our cabin. It’s a little after 11pm so I think I’m going to get into my nice comfy bed! Good night!

Arctic Artwork!

Arctic organism artwork from Springs School Student. Photo by Lisa Seff. August 2017. Arctic organism artwork from Springs School Student Angie G. Photo by Lisa Seff. August 2017. Arctic organism artwork from Springs School Student Tyler S. Photo by Lisa Seff. August 2017. Arctic organism artwork from Springs School Student Melanie V. Photo by Lisa Seff. August 2017.