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Navigating the Strait
Navigating the Strait
Today is our third day aboard the ship. We have made our way up through the Strait of Magellan and are now at the tip of Cape Horn.
Fortunately, I haven't booted 🤮 yet, but these waves are testing me!
Before we were allowed to fully embark, we had to participate in a safety drill where we had to bring our life vest and survival suit (aptly nicknamed a "Gumby suit") the muster point. We had to practice putting on our survival suits as quickly as possible, which seemed easy enough. However, these suits are intense! It took me about five minutes to get fully zipped up. Hopefully we won't have to don these for a real emergency, but it's nice to know that they are there to keep us warm and dry in the frigid waters of the Southern Ocean if necessary.
That's me in the back struggling to move in my Gumby suit
Top: The first mate wanted to show us how we could all fit in the lifeboat if necessary.
Bottom: All passengers in the conference room receiving safety training
We spent our first full day navigating the Strait of Magellan (pictured at the top of the page in Spanish "Estrecho de Magellan".) The waters were a little bumpy but mostly quite calm. I was able to explore the different decks of the ship and go up to the bridge where the captain and mates work.
The view from the bridge
The view from the bridge
This is where the captain and mates run the ship. People say it's a good place to be if you are feeling seasick because it gives you the ability to focus on the horizon.
View of the bridge from the 04 deck
View of the bridge from the 04 deck
This is a great location to take photos and try to see dolphins, whales and seabirds (I've only seen seabirds so far).
Inside the bridge
Inside the bridge
There are lots of maps and instruments recording various types of data. It all looked super confusing to me, so I'm glad I'm not the captain!
As we make our way through the Strait and into the Drake Passage, we won't be working on any science or data collection. This is because the weather is rough and unpredictable and we expect many people to not feel well. So these past few days and the upcoming ones will be filled with rest, games, art, chatting and planning!
We played a game where we had to all write the name of a historical figure on a piece of paper then pass the paper to the person next to us. Then we had to hold the paper on our forehead and ask the people around us yes/no questions to try to figure out which person we had on our paper. Two people both wrote Nathaniel B. Palmer as their historical figure, and pictured to the right is Katie while she was still trying to figure out who she had.
Our artist on board, Georgia, led a zine-making workshop on our second afternoon aboard. We learned how to make a self-published booklet/magazine out of one sheet of paper. After the workshop, I began to think of how I might incorporate zines in my classroom. Zines are often used to make "how to" manuals, so I can see myself offering this as a way for students to show understanding of a particular system or process. I hope to gain even more opportunities to blend education, art and science in the coming weeks!
Zine workshop
Zine workshop
Led by our resident artist, Georgia Rhodes
My zine
My zine
Made from recycled papers found on board
Kristin's zines
Kristin's zines
Georgia showed us a fun way to make covers for the zines and bind them together
We were getting reports of bad weather in the Drake Passage, so most of our second day on board was spent just hanging out in the waters around Cape Horn. As I write this, we are experiencing our
Big waves seen from a galley porthole
Big waves seen from a galley porthole
It was tough to eat breakfast in these waves
Kristin and I in the Strait of Magellan
Kristin and I in the Strait of Magellan
You can see Argentina on the horizon
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