March 3, 2008

We’re on a way to Marguerite Bay and our 5th station. We finished coring
on schedule and were ready to start steaming south when a bolt sheared on
one of the engines. The engineers wasted no time making repairs. As they
worked, another weather system moved in. The winds have been blowing
steadily between 37 and 40 knots, with gusts up around 50. The snow fell
quickly enough for a time that it accumulated on the ship. Then the air
warmed up above freezing again, and ice and slush began falling from the
upper decks onto the fantail. It’s a good thing we wear hard hats!
Truthfully, there were precious few reasons to go out. A few folks
ventured out to the chemical locker and to the cold van to sample flux
chambers.




The sea is full of white caps. It’s difficult to gauge if the swell is
bad, because we are traveling with the seas. We tried to catch a picture
of the waves and snow, but it just doesn’t translate well. It is quite
beautiful.


Okay, we know it's not quite like the chunks of ice that were falling on
Chicagoans a fews weeks back, but it's still cold if it slides down your
neck.


We should be on station by 11:00 tonight. We’re all hoping for a nap
before we arrive (and for the weather to change again).

Sarah’s worm of the day contribution is a hesionid polychaete.


Alyssa, let the poor man sleep!


Position: 67 degrees 40.046 minutes South; 70 degrees 1.678 minutes West
Heading: 202.2 degrees
Speed over ground: 12.3 knots
Air temp. 1.9 degrees C; Water temp. 0.885 degrees C