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Cruise diary
Tuesday 29th July 2003
Dave writes...
"I’ve not really got very much to report from today's exploits. We have been travelling to the next dredge site. We’ve been having a little difficulty with the GPS which has been giving anomalous readings.
Sophie’s competitive streak got the better of her in her quest for ping pong world domination. She was playing Paul, one of the computer-type people, in a "friendly" match, when her exuberance and the waves caused her to topple into some shelving. The outcome was that she was beaten 21-14 in the match. There is however a grudge match today, I’ll let you know the outcome. Sophie’s wits were about her though, she beat Rex at chess.
There is only one week left and only three more days of science left. Hoorah!!!! I have been told to write more on the diary but I have writers block so hopefully more tomorrow..."
Tina writes...
"Although Sophie’s net didn’t catch any beasties, some of the beasties attached themselves to our rock haul…some polycheates (worms). The worms were pulled out of their burrows, which are long cylinders of sediment.. They live at the bottom of the sea here, and secrete mucus to attach pieces of sand and rock to themselves. In this way they create a microenvironment that is more habitable and secure.
There was another successful dredge, but our watch was pretty quiet. I went down to the galley to take a photo of our chef, John, who is assisted by Andy (who bakes great bread) and Pete to produce wonderful meals. Ray takes care of the supplies and the galley feeds the crew, technicians and scientists 24 hours a day. Kitchen duty on a ship can be dangerous..when the ship gets rolling, the knives start flying. Pots and pans can be in any place after a rough night.
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John in the galley |
Dinner for Tuesday |
In the afternoon, Paul (IT chap) challenged Sophie to a table tennis match. It was closely contested (so competitive that Sophie ran into a shelf when the ship rolled to one side). Paul won (just) but Sophie had revenge later, beating Rex at chess.
In the evening, the weather was too rough for dredging (40 knot winds, with eight metre swells and loads of green water on deck) so we battened down for a choppy night travelling to the next site. While we waited to hear our next schedule, the watch played cards and tried to keep the chairs from escaping and flying around the floor and papers from falling off desks (note computers taped-down to tables)."
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Table tennis at sea (Paul and Sophie) |
Late night gambling |