Stormy Seas ! Frances Hopkins , January 12 , 2013 So , King Neptune has thrown a bit of a spanner in the works .
Up until now , we have been treated to a rather benign Southern Ocean , with little more than a gentle swell to rock you to sleep . There is a certain wavelength and frequency of ocean wave that is perfect for swaying you off into a peaceful , blissful slumber . However , it is a fine line between this and being jerked and rolled into a state of frustrating sleeplessness . Last night was a fairly large step over the line , resulting in a rather fitful night for most . Not only was our sleep interrupted , but the science has suffered a false start too . By about 11pm last night , it was apparent that the sea state was too severe to risk carrying out any work on deck , let alone deploying any instruments over the side . So since then we have been sat with the pointy end to the wind , waiting for the weather to ease before we continue to steam along our cruise track . Access to the decks is also restricted when the sea is this rough , so all the watertight doors are dogged and permission is needed from the bridge if access to the containers on the aft deck is required . You can start to feel a little cooped in on days like today …
Jeremy , Clement , Ian and Glen ( L to R ) wave watching from the safety of the monkey island . Note the angle of the ship relative to the horizon ! @ Francis Hopkins
Today was supposed to be an important day in the cruise itinerary : the start of our first bioassay experiment . The day would have begun at around 0200 with the collection of
15