The Journey Truly Begins
Starting on Jan 25th, the voyage crew (me, etc) start our watches in the Drake Passage. We are responsible for steering the ship, helping pull the ropes to put up or take down the sails, and as lookouts; looking out for other ships, icebergs, cool animals, etc. We work for 4 hours and then, usually, have 8 hours off. Permanent crew have 6 on/6 off watches.
Seasickness — Half the voyage crew is out
I start my first day off with seasickness. I do my best to fulfill my watch duties, but it’s a struggle. Apparently 40% of the crew(s) will experience some kind of seasickness, so it’s a small relief that I’m not the only one struggling. Most people take seasickness meds, including myself, but I find the meds make it worse for me. They make me sleepy and dizzier, leading to more nausea and vomiting. Yuck! I stop taking meds after the second day, and start to feel better.
During this time I barely eat, but oranges are my favorite food in the whole world right now. I eat as many orange slices I can when they’re available. I often skip meals because I’m too nauseous. If I’m not on watch, I’m laying in my bunk. It’s more comfortable here.
Each day I collect more bruises. Walking at a 45 degree angle all around the ship, with large rolling/jolting waves, is its own challenge. I learn quickly not to walk around in socks. That’s a speedy way to slam against the other side of the cabin and develop injuries. Eventually I get used to the rhythm of the ship’s movements, but still occasionally bump into things.
Water Leak?
On Jan 27th, Susan and I wake up around 4am to unexpected water in our bunks. Long story short, there was a wave that came over the main deck and the water somehow came through a small leak in the ceiling. After alerting the crew, the engineers come in to look at it. Some of the permanent crew in the cabin next to ours also got wet from the same leak. There’s way more to this story, but they fixed the problem later that day. Eventually I get to live in my bunk again.
Land Ho! — First sightings of Antarctica
Jan 28th we start to see land. By this time I’m quite over open sea sailing, so I’m excited to do landings and explore Antarctica.
