Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 03/29/2011 - 15:28

Hi, my name is Becca, from Talbert Middle School, I am in Mr. Wood's 6th period. I was wondering if you can answer some questions of mine? I was wondering what you wear on the ship? What is the weather like there? I was looking at the supermoon pictures, and I loved them. In one of those pictures, it showed a picture of the moon over the ocean full of icebergs with penguins swimming. Have the icebergs been a problem? Also, I love animals, especially water ones. I hope to grow up to work with them one day. Thank you for reading this, I cannot wait to hear back from you.

-Becca

Juan Botella

Hi Becca, thanks for writing. I am glad you liked the pictures of the super moon.
It was an amazing experience to be able to see it.
The ship is very comfortable, so I wear the same clothes I would wear
inside my home in the winter. When going out, I do need to add quite a few
layers. When I know I will be there for a while, like when I spent two
hours shooting the pictures of the moon, I wear wind pants and a big parka.
I have to wear boots that have steel on the front (steel toed boots) when I
am on deck, and I wear very warm socks with them. I also add a baklava and
mittens. When I want to be on the lower deck i have to wear a special
jacket that would make me float if I were to fall into the water.
Icebergs have not been a big problem. There have been days in which the
captain and mates have to sail at low speeds to avoid the big icebergs, but
they are really good at navigating these waters. We also have an ice pilot
that sails the ship when there is a lot of ice around.
I also hope you will be able to work with aquatic animals one day. Keep
working hard at school and that dream will come true.
Thanks a lot for writing, Becca,
Juan.