5 April, 2003

We sailed at 10 AM this morning. It was quite an event. I have always enjoyed the sea. Boats and ships fascinate me. This is the biggest ship I have ever been on. I am not the type to get seasick, so this has been a thrilling experience. We have headed north and it will take 8 hours to sail through the Straits of Magellan.

The Straits of Magellan were named after Ferdinand Magellan, the first person to circumnavigate the world. He discovered an inland passage at the southern end of the South American continent so ships would not have to navigate around the hazardous Cape Horn.

Cape Horn is named for Hoorn, Netherlands, the birthplace of the explorer who first sailed around it, Willem Cornelis Schonten. Cape Horn is the southernmost point of the South American continent and extends into the Drake Passage. Passage around Cape Horn is extremely hazardous due to currents, icebergs, and storms. From there, we will enter the open water of the Atlantic Ocean southward to Antarctica. I love the rocking back and forth of the ship. It lulls me into sleepiness. It is easy to sleep on the ship because when you lie down on your bunk, it feels like you are on a float drifting around the sea. My favorite pastime is to sit on my bunk with my laptop writing and stopping every few minutes to just close my eyes and feel the ship's movement. It has a calming effect upon me. Water is therapeutic and catharctic. I love being at sea.

We had a ship orientation meeting today at 1 PM. We had to practice putting on our survival suits and getting in and out of the lifeboat in case of an abandon ship.

Here the crew is loading cargo onto the ship to take with us to Antarctica. We hauled supplies and food as well as scientific instruments.

Here I am donning my survival suit in our fire drill on the ship.

This is the lifeboat we will have to climb into to be our home until we are rescued in case we must abandon ship.