“Our departure is delayed until 1400,” announced Herb, the Marine Programs Coordinator (MPC) aboard the L.M. Gould. Herb is the type of person you want on a ship; he makes you feel comfortable. He is the one who makes sure everything works, like your head (toilet on a boat; unfortunately, he cannot fix my now dazed by bonine and too much sleep head on my shoulders), and makes sure you have everything you need, like bedding, a survival suit that fits, and as it turns out, caffeine. Herb has an espresso machine in his office! The delay of push off time is due to the high winds in Punta Arenas making it impossible to operate the deck cranes used to load heavy crates and boxes onto the ship. We have to wait to load all on board before we leave, otherwise we might be cannibalized by expectant and eagerly awaiting scientists and crew at Palmer Station. We are on, among other things, a re-supply mission.
The time passes quite quickly while we follow vague instructions to “tie everything down.” While a seemingly simple task, it took me long enough to tie down one silly piece of equipment that I began to wonder why I was invited. Hopefully I am better at collecting salps and other zooplankton than tying down many thousands of dollars worth of equipment (though I did get the hand of it eventually…opposing forces are very useful in such an endeavor)!
The radio crackled, “Gangway up,” and we were off. Slowly edging away from the pier, my pulse quickened just a little. “That’s it,” I thought, “can’t jump ship now.” Relief to be on our way. Anticipation of the days to come.
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| Joe, our chief scientist, knows how to pass the time when he is not writing computer code or coming up with things for us to do |
- Karen
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