A dry ship...

Feb 17, 2009

Thanks to everybody for the emails after the call for messages by Thijs! And apologies for not mailing everybody back. Apparently a number of emails got lost, so I hope you are not disappointed. I was anxious for some news. There are many nice people on board , but since we work very hard and since there is no bar or other place to hang out, the interaction between people is rather limited. While running back and forth, we have to pay attention whether there are any changes in the cruise plan and what effect it has on our plans. The communications with the cruise leader were not without problems, but after all we got everything done. Our DynaLiFe team is just super and the team spirit among ourselves has been very good, with of course some serious complaining now and then. But since yesterday we have left all stress behind us and we are left with finishing up last things, and sailing back to Punta Arenas.

And then now the answer to what everybody is wondering about: How is it to be on a cruise on a dry ship? And how dry is dry? The latter is pretty dry. Since the cruise takes 8 weeks and it not acceptable to be hauling boxes of wine around, the amount of alcohol per person is rather limited. Among Americans the subject is not discussed since it can cause problems for the crew. They are required to report any people that they know are drinking alcohol on board. Is is generally accepted to drink a night cap in your cabin before going to bed. Less accepted, but much more enjoyable, is a cabin party: Up to 9 people are stuffed into your cabin and you empty two bottles of hard liquor together (we have done this three times so far). Problems that arise are inherent loud noises (apparently I giggle very loud???) and the alcohol smell that hangs around the corridor. The first problem we solved by inviting the neighbors (two Brits) to our parties. They are very cool and also had a limited alcohol supply themselves. To avoid the second problem we combined the liquor stocks of us (6 people) with that of the Brits (4 people) and my room mate and held a final party in the container at the aft deck, where the autosub of the Brits has been parked. Most of the sub gear had been packed away, so there was plenty of space. The container also has a window, but the Brits were prepared and had closed the curtain the entire week to avoid raising any suspicion. Timing was important as well, because we needed to have completed most of our work (yesterday afternoon at noon), but still be in the ice, because it dampens the waves that cause sea sickness. We had collected a big bag of Antarctic snow beforehand to mix with the gin and there were even three limes left! These were the ingredients for a great party! We finished the liquor to the last drop and everybody was totally happy. Then we finished the left over snow with a snowball fight, we straddled the autosub and when we stumbled outside we almost knocked over Amy, one of the marine techs who is on watch at night. She looked at us sternly this morning, but it was not a problem, because we cannot do it again, since it has all been finished. Two weeks to go…