Impressions from my first day on the ship

Name on the Scientist 7 cabin door

This is my first day on the JC Ross (JCR as folks call her).  I slept well last night in the top bunk of the "Scientist 7" cabin, which has a couch/bed underneath.  Upon arrival, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that I have a private cabin and bathroom. My name is even written in a very fancy font next to the cabin door (see photo above)! Great welcoming!

From the Scientist 7 bathroom

The room has a single window, which cannot be opened (thankfully, as I would be unhappy to forget to close it during rough seas!). The window offered a nice morning view of the sunrise across the coast.  I presume it will also provide a front row view of the raging Southern Ocean swell and breaking waves splashing against the window!  The gentle roar of the engine, as well as the ventilation, helped me sleep rather soundly.

I was also pleasantly surprised that my "Kit Bag", sitting on the bed upon arrival, had just about all the warm clothes and work gear that I need, with every item brand new!  Some of the gear has a Union Jack with "BAS" (British Antarctic Survey) emblazoned. They also provided a Buck Knife, familiar to me as a kid.  I put it to use removing tags from the new clothes, and then proceeded to test it on my finger, thus reminding me that I forgot to bring band-aides! Fortunately there are plenty onboard.

Desk and window

Work clothes from the Kit Bag

Some items from Kit Bag

Many of the British scientists came into Punta Arenas on the same flight from Santiago.  The 3hour flight was spectacular, with heaps of southern Andes views (volcanoes, massive glaciers, and amazing cloud formations).  I was certainly pleased to have a window seat. Upon arrival, we took a shuttle from the airport to the ship, arriving onboard around 5:45pm.

The JCR is docked in the harbour just across from another polar research vessel from Brazil.  There are a number of scientists and engineers onboard the cruise, as well as crew members.  I estimate about 80 people total. Each ship member has their name listed on a big board next to the gang plank. We use this board to indicate whether we are on the ship or on shore, changing our name from green to red accordingly.

The JC Ross in the Punta Arenas harbour

Starboard side lifeboat; fully enclosed to protect from weather

About 12 of the scientists walked into town for a meal last night. Punta Arenas is an outpost town at 53S.  I saw a few outfitters for people visiting the local parks and going further south.  There are also statues of famous explorer/navigators (e.g., Magellan), and other images of the south.

Magellan on top of aboriginals in Punta Arenas

Povl (an oceanographer who has been on roughly 20 research cruises, many on the JCR!)  gave me an informal tour of the ship this morning (a formal tour will be given by the ship's purser in a day or two). Povl showed me around the meal room (where I had 7am breakfast), officers/scientists lounge (for socializing), library/meeting room, laundry room, navigation bridge (where the captain works), monkey's nest (top spot on the ship, with great views when not too cold), cargo holds with moorings and other research equipment, science laboratories, workshops, and many other sleeping cabins.  I met the captain on the bridge.  He seemed quite aware of the ship's every breath. 

Ship passenger/crew board (red=onshore, green=onboard)

The internet situation is just as I imagined: reliably slow.  My plan is to draft the blog on my laptop, then transfer it to the internet on one of the workstations that has a connection.  I hope that works, but it may prove tough given the slow upload speeds.  I spent a few hours today figuring out how to transfer photos from the cell phone to the laptop.  I needed to download some software from the internet, and then debug it using Google.  All that would have taken 10 minutes at home, but took much longer here.  Photos on this page are from the phone. I hope to start using the Climate Central SLR later today, with those photos readily transferred to the laptop and then to a 2Tb drive via a cable.

I was happy to learn that the Climate Central GoPro will be put to official use for the cruise.  The plan is to attach it to a long pole to video the maiden voyage of Boaty McBoatface as she enters the water. I hope that works!

I had personal time today, during which I spent on this blog and will now take a walk into town to tour around a bit, savouring my last full day near land for 8 weeks. A group will go again tonight for dinner in town.  We leave at 5pm on 17 March.  Our exit from South America is through the eastern channels, which is a more direct route for our cruise but less scenic than the western route.  Nonetheless, it will be a thrill to me whatever the cruise path! 

Finally, note the US/UK spelling in this blog, as the ship's workstation has a spell-checker based on UK English...

JC Ross around 10pm on 15March in Punta Arenas. She is a magnificent research vessel!