Day Three and HOLDING...
Many of you are aware that the largest, most historic storm to ever make it's way through the Bering Sea is occurring NOW. It is right in our planned path. The Captain of the ship does not want to endanger the lives of the crew, the scientists or the ship, so we are traveling very slowly. We are still in the Gulf of Alaska and have not yet went through the Unimak Pass into the Bering Sea. The winds and seas are not as high here, though we are still feeling weather and it is quite foggy. You can hear the fog horn blow every few minutes.
This morning, we were fitted for Arctic gear that will be issued by the USCG for us to use on this trip. So...on this trip, we have the red “Gumby” suits in case of abandon ship, the orange Mustang suits for when we are working on the deck and the red USCG snowsuits in case the other two don't do the job! We will also be getting socks, long underwear and a headlamp! It can never hurt to have more long underwear and socks!!
Ms. Rose in USCG issued Arctic gear
After we were fitted for Arctic gear, there was a bit of a lull in the science action. I made my way down to the Mess Deck. I have received many questions about food, food storage and food preparation from students. Senior Chief Food Service Officer, Pam Gilbert, answered many of my questions about food. There are 6 cooks aboard the Healy, though the majority of the cooking is done by 3 cooks. There are mess cooks as well. Mess cooks are non-rates from different departments that do jobs like serve food, wash dishes, stock items, etc. For each meal, they plan and cook for 120 people.
Senior Chief Food Service Officer, Pam Gilbert answered my question
The Senior Chief Food Service Officer sets the menus. She has an idea of what she will be serving before the mission and files it on the 6 week cycle menu. That is how they know how much of each food item to order and have aboard the ship. The menu is very well balanced and follows USCG regulations and the food pyramid. There are always lots of healthy choices for those maintaining a healthy diet or vegetarians that may be aboard. There are plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables now, though Senior Chief said that is one of the most difficult parts of a mission of this length - keeping those fresh fruits and vegetables so they last the duration of the voyage.
FS1 John Carter gave me the tour of the food storage areas
The fruits and vegetables are kept in giant walk in refrigerators...cases and cases of the foods I see on the salad bar and in the food line! There are special filters that hand in these coolers to absorb the odors and keep the fruits and vegetables fresh as long as possible.
Special filters hang in the refrigerator storage areas to absorb odors
When the Healy left Seattle in May (YES – the Crew of the HEALY has been on a ship AWAY from the friends and families since MAY!!) - they were carrying 80% of all of the food needed for the year. They normally don't replenish dry stock while out of their home dock. Dry stock are foods and food products that do not require refrigeration. The cost of food for the 6 week voyage that I am part of was about $350,000.
The Galley goes through one case to two cases of ketchup per week!
Most of the dry storage is locked up and on a lower deck. FS1 John Carter, charges items and brings them to a storage area near the galley. This means he fills out paperwork that releases that food item from the storage area into an area that can be used by the Mess staff. Nearly 70% of the food items on the menu are prepared from scratch. Senior Chief Food Officer said it is much cheaper to buy raw food products and prepare dishes from scratch. It tastes much better and the mess crew learns how to cook!
The food in Dry Stores is LOCKED up until it has been charged out for use!
It was a fascinating tour...I am so appreciative that the Food Service staff took the time to show me around. I get to go into the galley tomorrow! That is where the food is prepared!
All kinds of hot sauce in dry storage!
Stayed tuned to this journal as we continue our exciting voyage on the USCG Healy!
“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” - Mohandas Gandhi