Report 29 January - Team B on board Pelagic

Friday, January 29th,14.30pm. It is getting difficult to remember what day and date it is. If we did not have to write these reports, we could easily forget about time. At the moment we are waiting to see our first iceberg. Jerry just came down from deck to tell us that he is getting his cameras ready for the first shot of the frozen world, he said it's going to be the cat's whiskers.

Apart from that,there is not much to tell. Sea, sea, nothing but the sea, we see around us. And albatrosses of course. We often think of the people who travelled here in earlier ages without proper chronometers, compasses and of course without radar and satellite equipment. Our radar broke down this morning, but the problem turned out to be just a blown fuse, so it was easily mended. We feel blessed that we have more information than our ancestors did whilst sailing these waters. And did they wonder, as Jerry did, what the glowing lights were in our wake as we sailed on into the night.

Being at sea makes even the most basic things more difficult. Hence only three of us got a shower this week. So Adrian, Eric and Troy smell much better now than the rest. They took a salty shower. The seawater is being heated by the engine so it's really enjoyable washing yourself with it, that is when you can stand a shaking bathtub. Adrian came up deck quite enthusiastic after his first sea- shower, 'here I am folks, born again, ready to go on'.

If all is well,it is one more day before arriving at Bellingshausen. We will all enjoy to be anchored for a while and to be able to sleep without rolling from one side of the bed to the other. Perhaps there we will have time to find a better place for our meat to store. Hamish took two dead lambs to eat on this trip. We don't have a fridge or freezer aboard,so he tied them on to the backstay where they are hanging in the wind and weather, being salted and dried out.

Eric our photographer isn't very happy about that. Not because he is a vegetarian,but mainly because they will be on every picture he takes at the stern of the ship. He thinks it looks quite horrible. Both Eric and Kirsten feel a bit frustrated about a photo-film and some radiorecordings that got lost. This rocking boat isn't the best place for vulnerable equipment. Especially Kirsten will from now on rely on a less modern but more reliable radio-recorder. Best wishes for now and hopefully the next report will come from Bellingshausen.
Report by Kirsten