11 September, 1994

9/11/94

It's 11:20 AM and this is our first day underway. So far, I have not felt any ill effects from the motion, but I know that seasickness is sneaky and unpredictable.

Last night at 2200 hrs we had our first safety drill. We saw a short film and then we all practiced getting into our "gumby" suits. It was pretty funny, and I caught most of it on video tape, but...underneath the humor there was a tinge of reality..."what if?". It was really spooky climbing into the life raft. It's an enclosed vessel that holds a couple of dozen people. A scarey place that I hope I won't have to see again. It was more like a tomb than anything else.

I got up at about 7 this morning and went to breakfast, but my roomie was not feeling so well, so she opted to stay in bed. I have a slight headache, but I think that it may be due to a lack of caffeine. I miss real brewed coffee made with fresh spring water. I expected good coffee in Chile, but even the best restaurants only sell instant "Nescafe" (Yuck).

I was able to get in a good workout in the gym. I miss running,but I think that, if I get into a daily routine, the ship's weight room will be just fine.

I tried to pick up some email messages, but there were no new ones. I received a message yesterday that my brother's address was "unrecognizable".

I watched a few minutes of video last night that showed scientists working on a very small ice floe at night. It was a little frightening. It looked quite risky, to say the least, and it made me a bit nervous.

I think of my honey back home quite a bit. He would be perfect for a project like this...he is bright, he loves the ocean, and he loves new adventures. I really wish that he were here.

There are no specific tasks assigned for today. I will try to send a couple of email messages this afternoon. I also need to change the video camera batteries. Now that I feel fairly comfortable using that camera, I think that I could really have some fun with it. At the present time, the oceanographers seem to be the busiest group of scientists. They will be the first ones to take samples and to record measurements, so they are trying to get their meters and monitors in perfect working order.