Date: 15 Jun 1999
Subject: Gerlache Straights
Pictures: none

Dear Karen: these two pages are the ones which do not show up on the list you sent 6/30/99, so I'm sending them again, just in case!

Tuesday, June 15, in the Gerlache Straights: As I mentioned in my previous message, we got hit pretty hard by bad weather starting around noon on Sunday. Winds up to 75 miles per hour, and 25 feet waves... Since it was impossible to do any science in these conditions, most people rested and waited for it to pass...The wind calmed down toward morning, as we entered the Gerlache staights, which are more protected since there is land on both sides. As it became lighter (around 9am), we discovered a beautiful scenery all around us: the water was almost black, and the wind pushed long lines of white snow and sea foam all over. There were small icebergs here and there, superb in their turquoise and deep blue colors, and areas where the sea was covered by "frazzle ice", which looks like some kind of soup made with chunks of ice. The ship tries to avoid hitting the biggest ones, but when, sometimes, it does not succeed, the sound of the ice hitting the hull can be pretty intense! We could also see land in the distance, but it was too cloudy for it to be very visible. The ship lowered anchor in a protected bay, so that the divers could go down. Now, that's one thing I have no desire to try: the idea of being in this freezing, dark water is less than appealing! What divers wear in these conditions, is a dry suit, one which does not allow water to get inside, as different from a wet suit. Underneath that, they wear several layers of thermal underwear. Apparently, hands are the most difficult to deal with, because if you have too many layers on them, you cannot operate the various instruments you carry. So what they do is slip some little heating pads between their two pairs of gloves. They can stay in the water for about 30 minutes before they need to come back on board. To get into the water and move away from the ship, they use what is called a zodiac, which is a big rubber inflated raft. I was watching them get ready, and, in order to be allowed on the deck, I had to wear an orange "float coat" which, in case you fell into the water, would allow you to float and make you visible to rescuers. There are many rules to ensure everyone's safety, since a mistake in these parts of the world can be fatal.

At the same time as this was taking place, we started getting set up for the chlorophyl sampling, which we will start tonight, assuming the wind does not pick up and we can lower the instrument (called a CTD) into the water. When I have done this process a few times, I'll explain it in more details. Now it is 6:45pm, pitch black (it gets dark around 4pm) and we are heading toward Palmer, which we should reach in the morning.

Since there is not too much more to say about the events of the day, let me describe the ship a bit: I am writing this in the computer lab, which is composed of a dozen computers (both Mac and PC) used for e-mail as well as for writing about experiments, etc...This lab, as well as several others, is located on the main deck, which is the lowest one, right above the hull where things are stored. There are "dry labs" (that's where I'll be working with chlorophyl), "wet labs", cold and freezer rooms, when ice needs to be preserved for analysis, another computer lab across the hallway, where a lot of the information is given about ship speed, latitude. longitude, temperature (oh, I forgot to mention that the temperature outside when the divers were ready to go was minus 10 degrees centigrade... ). On this main deck, you would also find the kitchen and dining room (the tables have a raised metal bar all around them, which prevents your tray from slipping on your lap when the ship rocks, it is a VERY useful feature!). One of the rooms is called the Baltic room, and has a huge metal door which allows heavy instruments to be lowered into the water. When the door is open, you must wear a float coat or mustang suit (one piece jump suit, padded and, of course, orange), and be attached to the ship by a long metal cable, again for safety. On the 1st, 2nd and 3rd decks, there are mostly bedrooms, but also a gym and sauna on the 1st, a lounge, with TV and a whole choice of videos on the 2nd, and a large conference room/library on the third. Each floor also has a laundry room. The 4th deck is similar, but I think mostly used by the ship's crew, and finally the top deck is where the bridge is, with panoramic windows and all the instruments used to navigate. Above it, there is only the pilot tower, which allows a 360 degree panoramic view. Just going up and down the stairs dozens of times a day provides quite a bit of exercise! So, this is our home for the next month.. and it is quite comfortable and pleasant, even in bad weather.

I think that's all for today, just a reminder that if you want to e-mail me, you can do so at sonierdo@nbp.polar.org during this cruise. More news later, I'm going to go check on the instrument going down.

PS still working on sending pictures.