January 9

The weather continues to be nice. We have winds of 20kt or so but the waves are not big so the ride is comfortable. We crossed the shelf break into the Ross Sea continental shelf yesterday. Our cruise track is not so straight now because we are working our way around areas of heavy sea ice.

(The heavy red line is the cruise track.)

 

 

 

For our weekly (Sunday) fire drill, we had a man overboard (MOB) drill. All of the science party went to the 03 deck lounge muster station. The captain talked to us about MOB procedures. Because of the cold water, survival time in the water is real short. We were told to watch the person and call the bridge. He emphasized how hard it is to see someone in the water (only the head is showing), especially if there are any waves. He made a big point to us about keeping track of where people are, and not taking a chance of falling overboard.

There are 3 laundry rooms on the boat for use by everyone. Each laundry has 4 washer/dryers. We use these to do our laundry.  We also wash our sheets and towels. We are not on a pleasure cruise so there is no laundry service.

There is also a gym (exercise room) on board. It has a rowing machine, fixed weights and a treadmill. I have decided not to use my spare time exercising. I am getting plenty of exercise just doing the work during my watch. But, the opportunity is there if I change my mind. Many in thescience party make exercise a part of of their daily ritual.