word?) of the weather, I was hoping to start this post with something
more positive, mainly regarding the appearance of the sun. Both you
and I are to be disappointed; once again, there was absolutely no
sign of the sun at all, and visibility was actually decreased
compared to yesterday, falling to probably 50m as I type. It's so
frustrating being so close to the "white continent" and all its
wonders, but not be able to see any of it. I should really count my
blessings that I'm here, but it's hard not to get down when you
haven't seen sun (at all) for over a week now. I'm not sure whether
it's the lack of sun, or just fatigue after working for so long
non-stop, but the mood on the ship seems to decreased a bit these
past few days, especially compared to the jovial nature on the way
down during the sunshine, and the first iceberg spottings etc. I
think fatigue is the largest contributor for me (you all know how
grumpy I can be when tired), and with a serious lack of sleep last
night (stressing about PhD work...), my mood today was pretty somber,
worsened by the weather, and 7 CTDs. Tomorrow is another day, and I
hope and pray the fog lifts, and this bloody low pressure system
pisses off!
After failing to get very far behind the iceberg yesterday, we have
now gone back the way we came, and headed north around the iceberg
head, back to the continental slope for some more camera work. We had
some pretty thick ice on the way out, and I sat on deck, watching the
ship bash into the larger floes, moving them out of way which was
pretty amazing. I find it incredible how some of this ice doesn't
crack under the enormous weight of the ship - it's clearly very
strong! Saw a few more groups of Adelies, and managed to capture them
escaping via sea, jumping out of the water (not sure if these have
turned out well or not, I am yet to sort through them). I also saw a
whale - I think it was a Minke but can't be certain. As soon as I
spotted it, it had descended once more.
Today is Australia Day, an excuse for everybody in Australia to get
the day off, and get drunk (or so I'm told). The crew have put up
many Australian flags, and even served a classic Australian meal of
meat pie and pavolva; I clearly just enjoyed the latter.
Tomorrow I believe we head down the northern edge of B-9B, back
towards the continent, and into a region of more sea ice. I'm hoping
that we get some proper ice-breaking...
Sorry if this post seems as if I'm depressed...I'm really not, but am
just very tired!
On a completely unrelated topic, my friend Kerry moved to Ohio on
Monday to start work for Abercrombie and Fitch. Good luck Kerry! A
stateside holiday is definitely in order...
Current Latitude: -65.9788 (I said we headed north :( )
Current Longitude: 144.9175
Current Air Temp: 0.4C (wind chill of -3.1C )
Current Ocean Temp: -1.01C
Wildlife: Adelies, Minke whale?
Seasickness: Heading back into more open ocean meant we experienced
considerable swell, which made me feel slightly iffy after a week of
nothing...generally fine though!
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