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It’s day 23, we’ve been lost at sea for 18 days now. Food supplies are running low and moral is too, right along with it. If anyone is reading this…
Just kidding! Today is the 4th of May (May the fourth be with you), the sixth day of our glorious voyage to Iceland! The seas have been rough, so today we’ve been having an easy day of rest to accommodate for the lack of rest the night prior. Although we did not get much sleep, we did have a wonderful opportunity to learn about the heave, pitch, roll, and yaw motion of the boat as the waves cause it to bob and rock about like a rubber duck in a bathtub.
My day started at 4 A.M. as I went up to the bridge to begin my ice watch duties, scouting the seas for any ice burgs, burgy bits (car sized ice chunks), or growlers (smaller than car sized ice chunks) that may be lurking in the distance. Fortunately (and unfortunately because it would have been cool), I did not see ice of any kind anywhere in sight. I did, however, get to see the stormy skies change from black to peach to grey-blue over the course of the morning from the high vantage point up on the bridge.
Today’s main activity (besides napping) was to listen to Pete Liarikos, the Bosun on board, who came into the main laboratory for an interview after lunch. The Bosun’s job, as told by Pete, is to take care of everything on deck. He orders all the necessary supplies ahead of time, loads and unloads all the supplies and equipment for the trip, and takes care of the ship externally. Pete was originally a commercial fisherman from Massachusetts, where he gained many of his expertise needed as the Bosun aboard the R/V Neil Armstrong. During his time off he goes home to New Hampshire and enjoys some time away from the sea. Pete reports that he has been at sea for 43 years and attributes his success as a Bosun to not being “a dough-head”. We were also warned that if we didn’t want to have a good voyage, all we would have to do was upset the Bosun. That being said, we will be very sure not to do so. However, we don’t think it will be too difficult knowing that through a sea-weathered and hardened exterior, Pete is a softy at heart. We like Pete. Pete makes sure all the heavy stuff on board doesn’t turn into a wrecking ball as the waves fling us about like tossed salad.
Other than listening to Pete’s talk, we spent our time working on our individual projects. Laurel Childress took some time to show us some of the data the ship has been recording. It is interesting to see the data on the ship movement over time. Through the peaks and the troughs of the roll data (side to side motion), I can almost pinpoint the massive roll that threw me into my bedroom wall this morning. Ah, the joys of sailing. All jokes aside, this voyage is definitely one to remember. I love each and every member of STEMSEAS that I have the pleasure of sailing with, as well as the members of the crew who have been such a joy to be around. I look forward to tomorrow, where we expect to have calmer seas and to go back to our regular schedule. Below are a few pictures from ice watch this morning.
-Baylee Sergent
