28 August, 1997

The Chief Scientist aboard this leg of the cruise is Fiona McLaughlin from the Institute of Ocean Sciences. In addition to her own experiments, she is responsible for coordinating all other science activities. Even though this seems like a monstrous task, she seems to have the confidence of the entire science team.

Today she assigned lab space to our group and made arrangements for our equipment and us to get on the ship. Normally loading a research ship isn't a major problem. An icebreaker located near a village without a pier is another story. Here everything needs to be shuttled by helicopter. One flight carries either three people (plus the pilot) or 1000 pounds of cargo and takes about twenty minutes to go from the Polar Camp to the Louis anchored about a mile out in Resolute Bay. If everything is completed by tomorrow, I'll be surprised.

In addition to transporting supplies, the helicopter routinely flies recognizance missions to determine ice conditions ahead of the boat. Even though the first officer assured us that the boat could get through ice ten feet thick, it was reassuring to know that an area could be surveyed before the boat would venture into it.