that's partly from being on a bigger ship than last year. We are 61 nm
(or 7.5 hours at our current speed) from our first sampling point unless
the captain decides it's too rough to have people on deck. Hopefully the
attached map will show up.
The Nathaniel B Palmer (hereafter NBP) is quite a contrast to last
year's ship, The Moana Wave (MW). The NBP which is an ice-breaker, is
308 feet to MW's 210. I am still getting lost as I wander around the NBP
which is also luxurious--toilets and showers in every cabin, a
reasonably well-equipped gym, sauna, free use of satellite phone for
everyone, and internet (limited to 10 MB per person per day, but
seriously, internet in Antarctica?). Another way the NBP is different
from the MW is the crew. The officers on the NBP prefer to keep a
certain distance and formality between themselves and the science party
while on the MW we were all one big family. The NBP officers have
assigned seats in the galley and a separate lounge (off-limits to us).
Which is not to say that they are unfriendly, just that they have a
different way of doing things. Maybe The MW is the exception and The NBP
the rule. I don't know as this is only my second time doing this sort of
thing. Either way, I'm stoked to be aboard and sailing to Antarctica again.
PS As I mentioned there is (limited) internet, so if you want to email
me, you can use my regular gmail address
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