Submitted by Anonymous on Sun, 12/10/2006 - 07:43
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Oden Antarctic Expedition 06

Good morning Allan! By now you have been on the boat for awhile and I hope your voyage has been smoothLaughing Tell us about it! What great things have you seen? How is the weather? Have you exhausted your dramamine?? Send pictures!

Lollie

Sun, 12/10/2006 - 15:25

Allan Miller

Well we've settled into our berths and after safety traning tomorrow morning we'll be ready to depart for Antarctica.  But check out a few posts that I've put up about the town and our introduction to Punta Arenas.  I'm really looking forward to communicating with your class and appreciate all your energy getting involved with our expedition!  Can't wait to share those first pictures of the continent.Allan

Mon, 12/11/2006 - 11:08

Miller

Mr. Miller, we just read some of your jounal entries and have some questions about the boat ride.Chris: what do you do for entertainment on the boat?
Megan:Have you seen any pollution from the boat?Elise: Can you tell us about the survival training? what exactly did you do?
Johnaton: Have you seen any "auroras"?
Caroline: Have there been any problems with the boat?
Zuhare: Is the boat crowded? How many people on board?
Esosa: what's the most interesting thing you have seen so far?
Mearra: Have you gotten a chance to "drive or steer" the ship?
Megan: What do you were on the boat? Is it really cold?
Elise: What kinds of food do you eat on the ship?

Tue, 12/12/2006 - 08:32

Allan Miller

Great questions - we've been living on the boat since Sunday - but since some important spare parts were sent to Punta Arenas COSTA RICA rather than Chile we've been holding in port awaiting their arrival.  The wind is cranking here at about 35 mph so the weather is likely pretty heavy in the Drake Passage anyways so for sake of avoiding some huge seas the Captain doesn't seem to mind a few extra days.  The passage is legendary for huge winds and more than 40 foot waves so it's going to be adventurous when we do get underway tonight (in about 4 hours) Chris: what do you do for entertainment on the boat?
The boat has a theater where we can watch movies from their collection of 200 + English and Swedish movies.  We also have a pretty good sized library with a broad collection of literature and some board games.  Since a number of science projects involve 24 hour observations however - it's likely that we won't be doing much more than science, updating this website, eating and sleeping
Megan:Have you seen any pollution from the boat?  No - the crew is very careful to keep everything on-board and dispose of it only during our time in port.  Even the waste water is run through some purification filters to be sure that anything put into the ocean won't have any negative impact on the environment.
Elise: Can you tell us about the survival training? what exactly did you do?
They have 2 completely enclosed survival boats that everyone on-board would be packed into if we had to abandon ship.  They're really small - about 15 feet long - but still have room for 20 people in each so they could hold everyone on board.  In an emergency we'd don these stylish survival suits and then head quickly to the boats.  We ran through the complete drill once - and hopefully will never have to again.

Johnaton: Have you seen any "auroras"?
No - it has been getting dark at night for about 3 hours, and I've been looking hoping to get a view of the southern aurora but no such luck.  I've seen it many times at home in Alaska however and it is truly spectacular!
Caroline: Have there been any problems with the boat?
Everything seems to be going fine - but just like in any extreme environment such as the Poles or even space - it's very important that the ship can be self-sufficient and not be dependent on anything or anyone to survive in even the most difficult situations.  So every system on board has a back-up - and we're waiting now for some filters that would be important for creating freshwater if the main system - which is operating perfectly - were to develop a problem.  The weather isn't great - but the boat can certainly handle it (and probably far better than the passengers will!)
Zuhare: Is the boat crowded? How many people on board?
No - in fact it seems very empty.  There is a Swedish crew of 20 including mechanics, navigators, cooks, and technology specialists.  The international science team includes 21 persons - including 3 from Sweden, 3 from Chile and 15 from the US.  The ship has a capacity of about 70 people so we're only about 1/2 full. 
Esosa: what's the most interesting thing you have seen so far?
I think it would have to be the Pinguineras penguin rookery.  I've seen penguins in the zoo - but to have 6000 of them roaming wild around the grasses and beaches was really cool.  They didn't seem to have any fear at all of humans - and to be within 2-3 feet of them was incredible.  Hope you can get a little of that sense from the pictures in the post by Mrs. Chippy about the visit.
Mearra: Have you gotten a chance to "drive or steer" the ship?
We haven't departed yet - but I'm not sure I'd want to have the responsibility of handling such a massive vessel.  There is some amazing technology on the Bridge - yesterday the first mate just gave us a quick overview of the systems they have including 2 radar systems, 3 navigation computers and an entire wall of controls to operate the engines, propellers, and steering.  I think I'll stick to flying airplanes - it's something  know a whole lot more about!
Megan: What do you were on the boat? Is it really cold?
Inside the cabin it's kept at room temperature so we wander around in t-shirts, jeans and sandals.  The interior is kept immaculately clean so that they specifically request that we take off our shoes when we come in so not to track in dirt, salt, and oil that can end up on the deck of the ship.  Outside it's pretty cold - about 45 degrees fahrenheit - but you'd never know it anywhere inside the bulkheads.
Elise: What kinds of food do you eat on the ship?
Marie - our Swedish cook is awesome - and cooks a variety of traditional Scandinavian foods.  Breakfast is yogurt, granola, and lingen berries - for lunch today was some baked cod with salad, and dinner is always a meat dish such as beef or chicken with vegetables and salad.  We had dinner last evening in a local Chilean restaurant featuring local seafood - we had appetizers of sea urchin, octopus, abalone, scallops, king crab, and mussels -and for a main dish they served a conger eel which tasted alot like fresh halibut.  So needless to say we're eating well - in fact I just went for a run and hope to spend any extra time I have running on the treadmill or rowing on the ergometer our little workroom on board just so I don't put on a layer of blubber adn come home looking like a little whale!