Antarctica

Antarctica

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Journal

June 1, 2005
Getting off the ship was a wonderful feeling. I left the ship early in the morning and was home later that afternoon. Having everything work out exactly to the day is something I am grateful for. Once home I intended to take a few days off and then start an internship at Resolute Racing Shells in Bristol RI as the last thing I need to complete for this years sea year. The entire experience has been amazing and I can never put into words what it was like to see state sized pieces of ice in Antarctica or all the wildlife in Australia. The whole time you are at sea you are thinking about being home, but once you get home you fondly recall the experience you had while at sea.

March 14, 2005
After about a week at home we received word that we would be sailing on the Sea Land Florida, only to find out hours later that we where switched to the MV Cape Kennedy. The Florida was going to Northern Europe to some pretty nice ports, where as the Kennedy was heading the one place we wanted to stay far away from, Kuwait. The run started loading up Army earth moving equipment in Beaumont Texas. From there we started the journey to Kuwait via the Mediterranean Sea. In Rota Spain we barely slowed down to pick up a 12 man US Navy security team that would ride with us to Crete, where we would get another security team to ride with us the Kuwait and back. The ship was a blast, with a large swimming pool, very large lounge and great food, it was as close as we could have gotten to a cruise ship. The entire trip was quite uneventful which is exactly what you hope and pray for on a trip into the Persian Gulf. The initial voyage was supposed to last 60 days, where as the pervious voyage was 120 days, and I needed 75 days to end up at 300 after 119 days on the Paul Buck and 106 days from the pervious sea year. So anything could happen and if the voyage lasted 120 days we where looking at having some serious problems. Lucky for the the voyage lasted about 70 days so we where able to stay on board for a few more days in ROS to get the number of days needed. [Kennedy Pictures]

February 15-30, 2005
The trip back up from Australia was an interesting one. With the Chief Cook quitting and the Steward getting fired the stewards department was left short handed. Who else would better fill in the role than Alex and I. For the two weeks that it took to get to Hawaii from Australia we made lunch and dinner every day for the crew of about 24. To some of the special meals we made where:
Italian night- Spaghetti, home made tomato sauce, fresh baked bread and disk one and two of Mob Hits
Mexican Lunch- Two baking platters full of Nachos, tacos and some serious fiesta music.
Pizza Night- 15 different types of pizza all home made from the dough to the tomato sauce.
It was a wonderful experience because cooking is a great way to express yourself, and a welcome reprieve from the oppressive heat of the engine room. We both had a great time!
We held this position until Hawaii where we picked up new crew members and where told by MSC that we had been on the ship too long, 30 days over the normal 90 day MSC cadet sailing period. We where informed that the next US port we would be departing. That turned out to be San Francisco. We disembarked the ship in San Francisco and flew home for some much deserved time off. [Hawaii Pictures] [Galley Pictures]

February 15, 2005
We are back in Brisbane, Australia. The trip to Antarctica has drawn to a close. Journal entries will continue for the rest of sea year but in a way the trip has climaxed and even though the journey ahead promises to be very exciting, Antarctica really made the trip and, it being over, an empty feeling remains. The memories are different from all others. Going through the ice, being so close to the wild life, and visiting McMurdo, the wild west college campus. The people I have met and the good times myself and Alex, my sea partner, have experienced will forever remain. Antarctica has an allure to it, and if you let yourself get hooked, you will always want to return. Many people on the ship maintained bad attitudes because of the cold and held distant towards the entire trip; others where glad to go to Antarctica but even more glad to leave. Myself and a few other "weirdos" saw things differently. We saw a place that was essentially the last place on earth for humans to inhabit. A place where man is not welcome and has to fight to survive. A place that requires respect and care, where everything is larger than life and every day is an adventure. It has been a trip of a life time and I am very proud to have experienced it. On the way back up we checked all the ballast tanks for ice damage and found some minor dents in the side, presumably from our crash entrance on the Ice Pier. Other than that the ship preformed beautifully and the trip back was met with calm weather and mild temperatures. The future schedule of the ship is still uncertain but it will be heading towards the east coast of the United States after we leave Australia.

Saturday, January 29, 2005
Yesterday and today have been hiking days. Yesterday I took a short hike up to Observation Hill, which is 260 meters above the McMurdo sound and dedicated to those who have died while exploring and taming the Antarctic continent. It was fitting, being only a simple wooden cross. From that point I could see the entire town of McMurdo, which from there resembled more of a mining town than a research station. Because of the lack of snow, the entire base is dirt and looks like dust bowl.. Last night I had a lively time in one of three bars in McMurdo. Because the USCG Polar Star is tied up next to us, the night was filled with lively conversation between the merchant mariners and coasties. Today my sea partner and I took an outdoor safety class in order to get cleared for the Castle Rock climb. After the class and filling out a plan with the fire house, we received a radio and were on our way. After climbing above McMurdo, the base quickly disappeared behind the ridge that protects it. Dirt paths turned to mud, then ice, and then finally snow. As we climbed higher and higher, the weather began to change. We could no longer see the ridge that protected McMurdo, and the sun continued to shine, but the wind picked up. On the climb up there are two "Apple Huts" which are in place to provide refuge in bad weather. We stopped in and carved our names in the log. The view from Castle Rock was amazing, with Mt. Erebus smoking in the background and an oddly placed volcanic rock ascending high into the sky. We climbed Castle Rock and got some great pictures from the top. The climb down was fun with the first ever Antarctic Nalgene race down the slope, which would have make a wonderful sledding, skiing, snowboarding or Galley Tray Sliding hill. The Kiwis had set up a truck powered pull rope that brings you up to a home made ski slope. It was funny to see the setup, and how they where able to allocate time and money to open up their own small ski resort in Antarctica. The hike ended about 10 miles later at the New Zealand Scott Base. Now we are both ready for a relaxing night with some hot chocolate and an episode of the Sopranos.

Tuesday, January 25, 2005
Luckily the Russian Ice Breaker Karasin is doing an excellent job with the USCG Polar Star in breaking apart the ice in the 12 miles between the Paul Buck and McMurdo. Because of nearly 80 miles of pack ice, the broken ice in the channel is not flushing out of McMurdo sound, which will make tomorrows journey to the "ice pier" (literally a pier made of ice) a difficult one. I have been on the ice and got some great penguin pictures. The sights are like none other in the world. From icebergs of all shapes and sizes to never-ending glaciers that look like a flowing sea of ice, Antarctica is an amazing place. The amount of wildlife is astounding. At our first parking place there where thousands of small penguins popping up out of the water. When they got sick of walking, they simply fell to their bellies and slid along the ice like bobsleds. They would all line up and follow each other, making something resembling a track. There have been a few seals around, and they are by far the laziest creatures on the ice. A few wouldn't even move off their ice flow as the Buck literally ran into the flow, splitting it in half. The seal simply lifted his head and then dropped it, as if content on going back to sleep. The most amazing thing is the Orcas, like Shamu in Sea World, only these Orcas are trim and fit and would eat a human if they got a chance. They have been popping their heads out of the ice around the ship at its current position. They are in groups of about five and sometimes will pop a good majority of their head out of little holes in the ice, more like slush, to get air. I guess it was a good thing we broke the channel because who knows where they had to go to breath before. All is well and I will write again soon. [See photos from Antarctica]

Monday, January 17, 2005
As I write this, we are heading full speed straight for Mt. Erebus. the tallest mountain on the island where McMurdo is. We are going into the ice in an hour or so to find a parking place for the night. The morning was gloriously sunny, midday it was very foggy so we drifted, and now it is clear again so we are steaming again. The weather changes quickly here. Right now it is unlimited visibility and sunny and about 40 degrees with a playful breeze. We have been seeing small penguins on very small growlers, small pieces of ice. They stand there for a moment then slip into the water. It is funny because most are very unstable and tipsy so they jump on and almost fall off immediately. The Russians should be here by Saturday.

Thursday, January 13, 2005
We have just crossed 60 degrees south. We are all looking for icebergs because the guys on the ship put together a pool for when the first one would be visually sighted. There was a big one on the radar today but visibility is so bad here that we couldn't see it. It is about 39 degrees and damp but the wind is blowing about 50 or 60 MPH. We have a kicking storm behind us and it caught up with us so we have slowed down. The Russian ice breaker is about 3 days behind us. Word is we will not make it to the ice dock to discharge and may face a 15 to 20 day discharge through 9 miles of hose that is rolled down across the ice. I am hoping that is not the case!

Monday, January 3, 2005
Happy New Year! I rang in the New Year with some local Aussies at a house party that I was very graciously invited to. We spent the evening singing and talking; just before midnight we walked over to the Story Bridge where we watched the fireworks from three different directions over the city of Brisbane. Tonight I have gotten a bed at a youth dormitory and will be waking up early to go meet some of the local animals!!! Steve Irwin has his zoo nearby as well as a koala sanctuary. The ship is currently at anchor and will be moving into shore on the 4th to get the fuel for the Russian Ice Breaker. On the 5th we set sail for ice. The USNS Paul Buck has a hot tub which is all primed up and ready for the daunting trip to the ice. The crew is doing what they can to prepare the ship for the trip, including painting decks and checking all heaters. That is all for now. [See photos from Australia]

Thursday, December 30, 2004
I am writing from Brisbane, Australia. We made an unexpected stop in Guam on our way down to pick up fuel. We crossed the equator on Christmas day at 5:33 AM and arrived in Brisbane last night. Presently, we are getting cargo for the trip down to Antarctica and are expected to depart on January 5, 2005. All reports show some of the worst ice conditions in recent memory. Contingency plans are being made in the event that the ship can not make it all the way into the dock. Word is that a Russian Ice breaker has been chartered to aid the US breaker in Operation Deep Freeze.

Wednesday, December 12, 2004
We are now in Guam refueling the ship. We are leaving again this evening, and unfortunately there is no time for me to go ashore. Our next stop will still be Australia, where we will load up for Antarctica. It doesn't look like we will be spending as much time in Australia as we originally thought. Will write more when we get there!

Saturday, December 11, 2004
The USNS Paul Buck has sailed from Sasebo to Onsan, Korea and is now at anchor in Pohang, Korea awaiting the final discharge before we sail for Australia to load up for Operation Deep Freeze. Life on the ship is normal and things have been going well. We have spent most of our time in port and not encountered any major weather. Reports say that global warming has made more and more ice break off the Ross Shelf and has created a more treacherous path for the ship to navigate. Plans are in the works to arrange for a Russian icebreaker to assist the US Coast Guard breaker to make a safe shipping lane down to the station. They are having problems trying to figure out how to fuel the Russian breaker because it runs on IFO (intermediate fuel oil) which our ship does not carry and has no accommodations for tank heating. IFO is very thick and needs to be heated to make it flow. One of the ideas being tossed around is to blend it with diesel fuel to soften it up. Our ship runs of HFO (heavy fuel oil) that is heated constantly to keep it from becoming a single hard block of sticky tar like substance. Will update as much as possible. [See photos from Pohang]

Friday, November 26, 2004
The USNS Paul Buck is in Sasebo, Japan now and has been in port or at anchor in the town for the past 3 days. The departure got delayed because of a change in schedule, meaning that unloading of fuel took place in two parts, the last of which is finishing today. Following the discharge of cargo the cargo tanks are going to need to be cleaned and the ship is scheduled to sail tomorrow morning at 9am. Right now I am on a train from Sasebo Japan to Nagasaki. Nagasaki was where one of the two atom bombs was dropped to end World War II, and I am planning to visit the museum and Peace Park while I am there. It is a rainy day but the temperature is not too cold to inhibit outdoor activities. The train ride is 2 hours each way. It should be exciting.
LATER THAT DAY:
Nagasaki was very powerful. I visited the Atom Bomb Museum and learned quite a bit about the event of the bombing, as well as the current state of nuclear weapons. I also took stroll around the Peace Park, which was very nice. We are sailing in the morning for Korea. [See photos from Nagasaki]

Wednesday, November 17, 2004
I am in port in Yokosuka Japan. We are on the navy base here. We are going back to Onson, Korea where we started, then to Sasebo, Japan and then to Yosu, Korea and then back to Yokosuka, Japan. After that is is up in the air but possibly Kawuglin and then to Australia and then down to the ice. The email on the ship is broken and even when it does work it is really expensive. But luckily we are in ports every few days

Monday, November 15, 2004
I finished that piece for the evaporator that took me all day and I got it in after hours last night. But it leaked because of one little mistake, and that really is annoying me. It would be nice if it worked but so is how life goes. The guys busted me up a little because of it but overall it isn’t that bad. Work today was kind of long; I wire brushed wrenches on the wire wheel - that was fun. I am now trying to get going on my sea project. We should be in Japan soon.

Sunday, November 14, 2004
Today I have been working on my welding job all day. The cut off wheel, what we use to cut pipe and metal, broke. So this has not been a very fun job. I started cutting the piece of pipe that I needed to cut with the torch, but we are running low on acetylene. So in other words it has been a long morning of trying to cut a huge pipe. Once it is all fit up, the welding will be really easy. It is just this part that is really hard. I need to make sure all sides of the pipe I cut are square and at the same height, then I need to make a mockup of it by doing a couple little welds and make sure it fits right, then I need to put it in and make sure it is going to work then I must take it out and weld it up!
On the ship, there is no electrician, no 3^rd engineer, and there are two Q-meds and one DEU, which makes this an amazingly small engine department, almost smaller than the stewards department. So in reality I have taken on some of the jobs of a 3^rd engineer but I am still lowest on the pecking order.

Saturday, November 13, 2004
I am on the ship now; I have my own room across from the Chief engineer and the captain. The food it pretty good. I am lucky because they have a stationary bike as well as a crude elliptical machine! That is good to keep me in shape. I will report more soon.

Friday, November 12, 2004
I left JFK at 12:30 PM on Thursday and have just gotten to my hotel room in Korea at 9:00am eastern time on Friday. It is 11 pm here and I just spend about an hour at the front desk here at the Lotte Hotel finding out how to get internet. The flight was absolutely amazing - it was a direct 14 hour flight from JFK to Korea. Tomorrow I will take a launch boat out to the Paul Buck, which is at anchor. It is expected to possibly go into port tomorrow. From there the current news is the ship will spend some more time in Asia going to various other Asian ports then head down to Australia in about 30 days and then Antarctica. It is just my luck that Korea is the only country I have been to where my phone doesn't work and they do not use the common SIM cards found everywhere else I have ever gone.

Wednesday, November 9, 2004
Tomorrow I will depart on a Delta flight out of JFK for Korea where I will meet up with the USNS Paul Buck. After days of waiting it has finally begun, the tickets purchased and the day set. My bags are packed and I have spent the last few days visiting my wonderful girlfriend Deanna at Vassar College. I have take the extra time to begin on my Sea Projects as well as workout. I am looking forward to getting underway. The cold is beginning to set in and realize how much colder it is going to become in the coming weeks. Luckily, I feel well equipped for the task ahead of me thanks to a number of people and organizations listed below.

Thursday, October 21, 2004
Time is counting down to the day I leave. That day however is still very much unknown. The last time I checked the USNS Paul Buck was in Pearl Harbor but its position now is thought to be on its way to Florida. This past week news from the Academy Training Representative (Sea Year Planner) was that we may be leaving as soon as October 28th. That will be a problem because exams here at the Academy are from October 25th to the 29th! Orders have been placed for extremely cold weather gear from Mountain Hard Wear and hopefully it will arrive in time for the early departure if in fact that is the case.

Monday, October 11, 2004
I am going to Antarctica in about a month as part of Operation Deep Freeze. The operation is a special assignment from the US Merchant Marine Academy in which two deck majors and two engine majors will be cadets on the two merchant ships going down for the supply effort. In addition to the two merchant ships there will be two US Coast Guard ice breakers that will forge a path through the ice. I will be flying into Singapore to embark on the USNS Paul Buck in mid to late November. This page will be updated weekly in an attempt to let everyone know what is going on. Please E-mail me any questions or suggestions that can make this page better.

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