13:00 Meeting to discuss station locations – although an outline route was thought out well in advance of the cruise, plans often have to be adapted in the field as weather, ice and other sampling issues get in the way. We are about to start the 3 rd of 7 legs and we realise that we may need to increase the scope of this leg to take extra measurements. The consortium leader( Toby Tyrrell) and I look at some charts together and consider various options – can it be done? I spend the next 2 hours on my mapping software measuring things out and calculating distances that can be covered at the ship’ s average speed of 10 knots. It will be tight!
16:00 Check emails. This is often the most effective means of managing daily housekeeping things on board such as the consignment of waste drums and the calling of meetings. There is also the odd mail from BAS, Cambridge saying that someone has left their car lights on – not much I can do to help there I am afraid.
17:30 A bit of exercise. For those still with energy amongst the heavy workloads, the Ship’ s Purser, Richard, runs circuit training in one of the cargo holds. It is often cold and noisy and the ship does lurch in heavy seas or pack ice, but Richard makes it fun and it’ s a wonder how high you can jump when the ship is going over a crest of a wave – just don’ t try and jump again 2 seconds later when you in the subsequent trough and you have miraculously gained about 4 stone in weight.
19:00 Circulate the itinerary for the next day detailing what sampling activities will be happening when, and what to number to the respective stations. I try to post this up in as many handy places round the ship as possible but there will always be someone who will ask me what is happening next!
20:00 Check in with the bridge once again that all is well
20:30 Write the daily cruise narrative about the sampling events, weather, locations, and other various issues. Then send an email home to my family, as my eyelids start to droop.
21:00 Crawl into my bunk and think about reading my book, which doesn’ t happen yet again as the urge to sleep starts to overpower me ….. now what was it that I forgot to do today …….
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