Date: Tue, 29 Jun 1999 18:10:03 -0400 Subject: The Nathaniel B. Palmer, and penguins... Pictures: J_P in Engine Room, Penguin & Michael, Penguin & Domi, Ship Staff:Roger, Rolly, Bryan and J_P, Marta and the cook in kitchen, Captain Joe and mate Vladimir on the bridge

Before I take you on a tour of our ship, and share some information given by J-P, the chief engineer [photo of J-P in engine room], and Tom, the first mate, let me first tell the story of the penguins shown in the pictures I sent yesterday.

As we were proceeding through the ice, we spotted a little group of six Adelie penguins, who were resting next to an ice ridge. The ship advanced as far as it could without scaring them away, and three people were lowered over the side in the personal basket. Peter was carrying a big net. They walked toward the penguins, spreading to surround them and cut off their escape route. Watching from the bridge was quite entertaining, as they looked like a patrol in search of dangerous criminals!

The plan worked quite successfully, and in no time they were back with three penguins, which they brought on board and handed over to volunteers to hold while they went back and captured the other three. There was great excitement on board, and many pictures taken. However, the point of the catch was serious: to examine the contents of the penguins' stomachs, weigh them (about five kilos) and measure their beaks and flippers. Taking the measurements was not to difficult a task, but pumping their stomach was another story: first, Eric, with the help of a piece of plastic tubing, forced some sea water into an Adelie's stomach. Then, holding him/her upside down, Peter opened its beak, inserted a couple of fingers into its throat, and collected the regurgitated contents in a bucket.. What became apparent from this was that their stomachs were basically empty: they had not eaten for at least six hours, and probably a day, since they tend to feed by daylight, and it was just turning dark. They mostly had bile in their stomach.

I don't know what the penguins thought of this process, but after they had been released on the ice again, they shook themselves in apparent dismay, squawked their indignation loudly, and disappeared into the night. Wonder what they will do next time they see a big orange ship on the horizon!

For me, however, the experience was entirely different: I had been dreaming all along of seeing one up close, and not only did I see it, but I got to hold it, stroke its beautiful feathered back (which looks black from far, but is in fact a mixture a black and white), and take it back to the ice in the personal basket! Needless to say, I was beaming from ear to ear, even more so as "my" Adelie turned around and waved its flippers at me before going away!...What more can one ask?

Now for our "home", the Nathaniel B. Palmer. [Captain Joe and mate Vladimir on the bridge, in the photo] Named after a sealer, sea captain and ship builder who is creditted by some with the discovery of Antarctica, the NBP is the second vessel of that name, the first one being a clipper built in 1851 in England. Our own NBP was built in 1992 in New Orleans, one of the many ships of Edison Chouest Offshore Company. An ice breaker and research vessel, some of the figures which I was given about it are quite impressive. Let me share a few: with a length of 308' and width of 60', it can break ice of 3'(about one meter) thickness at a speed of 3 knots. The NBP can carry over 500,000 gallons (French people, multiply by 4 for liters!) of diesel fuel, plus 12,600 gallons of helicopter fuel (there is a heli pad for two helicopters). The hull is made of a special steel called polar steel, which can withstand low temperatures and ice pressure, and is 1"9/16 (42mm) thick. The ship boasts 14 miles of pipes, 511 miles of wiring and used 153 miles of welding!

The NBP can accommodate 70 people, of whom 21 constitute a normal crew, the rest scientists and support personnel. [ photo shows Roger, Rolly, Bryan and J_P]. It has seven labs, and over fifty computers (not counting the personal ones) which perform various functions. 3,500 light bulbs are used to light the ship, which can generate 4.63 million watts of electricity (about 4,000 hair dryers!). Fresh water is made by the ship, through a process of desalinisation through vaporizing, and purification by ultra-violet and other filters. It can produce up to 12,000 gallons per day, which means everybody may take as many showers as they wish! The sea water used to cool down the engines heats up in the process, and is then used to power the trash burners, which reduce every burnable item to ash, later to be disposed of on land. As to waste water and sewage, they are held in special holding tanks which treat them until they are bacteriologically pure and may be dumped into the ocean.

Both J_P and Tom stressed the fact that this ship was designed and built to be self-sufficient in extreme weather conditions, even in an emergency which would, for instance, trap it in the ice for a long period of time, or disable its main power supply: there are two emergency generator systems ready to take over.

With Tom, I visited the galley, where four people work around the clock (in twelve hour shifts) to feed all of us, and the various supply rooms, freezers, cold rooms, dry supplies, etc... It was impressive to see how much was stored (a year's worth!): for sure, we will not starve, nor run out of toilet paper!

Other areas which are of interest, and used by all at some point, are the lounge, on the second deck, with its many movies; the conference room, on the third deck, with its library; and, on the first deck, a great exercise room with rowing machine, stationary bike, weight machines and (the reward) a wonderful sauna. I should add that just going up and down the five stories between the main deck and the bridge many times a day provides an excellent source of exercise! The fourth deck includes an office for the captain and mates, and most of the electronics for the bridge.

In a later message, I will talk a bit about the people who work on the ship and what I have learned about and through them.. they are all friendly, and wonderful in making time in their busy schedule to stop and answer questions or give you a tour, so I would like you to meet them too... until then, goodbye!

PS2: Wind is picking up and we are expecting possible bad weather for the next 24 hours, so we need to go tie things down in the lab. Talk to you later!