3 March, 2000

Today was our second unscheduled hold over in the port of Punto Arenos. An electronic problem necessitated flying in a technician with parts to correct it. Since the problem persisted, the technician will now travel with us through the Straits just to be sure everything runs well. The scientists are using their time to label sample tubes, write current papers and have team meetings. We also have opportunities to network and find out about each others research. The delay is frustrating though since it is using valuable research time.

The Laurence M. Gould is an Antarctic Research and Supply Vessel built for the National Science Foundation in 1997. It was built at North American Shipbuilding in Louisiana. The steel hulled vessel is 230feet (70.2 meters) long and 56 feet (17.1 meters) wide and weighs 2966 tons. The vessels has two 4575 horsepower main engines and a 850 horsepower bow thruster. On board the vessel are many winches, booms and cables with which to deploy scientific instruments. We will make use of many of these in our research.