29 September, 1998

Today I thought I was to begin my adventure for Antarctica. After reporting to the CDC, the Antarctic loading terminal, at 4:45 am we were briefed on safety while in Antarctica and safety on the plane we were flying down to the ice on, a C-141 cargo jet flown by the Air Force Reserve. Several people in private conservations made a very true statement that if we had to ditch at sea once we were in Antarctic waters the chances of survival were almost nil because of the cold water. One cannot survive in the cold water for more than 5 or 6 minutes. It makes one think about the Titanic. That really is not a concern of mine, especially since the US military is flying us down and safety is their number one concern. That much was obvious. They are very conscientious about their aircraft as I am sure most military forces would be.

After the briefing we were told that there would be a delay of approximately an hour. By this time I was very antsy. I wanted to leave. I could not wait to be headed for Antarctica. Finally we loaded up the buses and were transported out to the plane. Once at the plane we unloaded and got ready to board the plane. Again we were told that there would be a one hour delay because of poor weather at McMurdo. After admiring the size of the plane that was flying us down we loaded up the buses and headed back to the CDC. Unfortunately after another hours wait we were told the flight was canceled for the day. I spent the remainder of the day admiring the downtown area of Christchurch, New Zealand. That is not a bad consolation.