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Life on board the Tangaroa
Imagine 44 people confined to a small hotel for 50 days, attending a science workshop that runs 24 hours a day. This sums up life onboard. Add the sea motion and the sub-zero temperature factor and you get the full image. Cold and snow means staying indoors until work takes you out on deck, apart from short visits to look at the view of icebergs and the wildlife of course. To counteract the confined environment life is made as comfortable as possible with three cooked meals a day at 7am, 11.30am and 5pm, with plenty of snacks for in-between. There are TV/DVD lounges and quiet areas, a large DVD collection, library, gym, sauna, single or double berth cabins with ensuite, and email service home (and work of course). Unfortunately there is no internet available and all communications are satellite based.
Since the Tangaroa is a research ship all onboard have specific tasks. Everyone is working watches, the majority on a 12 hour on - 12 hour off cycle, the deck officers four hour on eight hour off and others such as the engineers on day work and night call-out. All personnel are kitted out with cold weather work clothing from thermal underwear and socks, gloves, balaclava, thermal boots and a thermal/floatation worksuit. As in all institutional type environments there is a set hierarchy. The captain is in charge of all ship operations, navigation and safety and the voyage leader has overall control of the research program.
IPY Blogs week 2
Cold Fingers on a warm day
We crossed the Antarctic Circle and I was soon reminded that operating cameras and keeping fingers warm can be a challenge. With temperature around 0 degrees, considered a warm day, I set my camera up on deck to record entering the pack ice for the first time. Soon the polar chill began to penetrate my gloved hands. While dexterous fingers are needed to operate the camera, hands need to be covered in about three layers of glove, mitt and wind-proof outer in order to respond to commands. It's one of the great curses of filming here but a small price to pay for the privilege of recording the work of scientists, 50 years after the last International Polar Year.
Max Quinn, Film Maker
Galley and mess room or for landlubbers: kitchen and dining room
If the bridge is the brain of the ship, the Mess is its heart. Here crew and scientist come together for meals, to meet as a group, to chat and enjoy each other’s company. Everyone is looking forward to the daily dishes the cooks have created. If the food is good, everyone is happy. Careful planning is essential. Once you sail, and you forgot something, you can’t go back. There is one down side to working in the Galley, on bad weather days, the rolling of the ship causes equipment to move around and pots can jump off the stove, which means staying alert to avoid being injured and having to cook something new!
Brian Samuels, Cook
See video The ships galley
Getting into a routine
As we edged closer to the ice, everyone got into the routine of the watches, to set their sleep patterns. The ship seems emptier and quieter now, with only half the number of people up at any one time. Everyone still gets together at the regular emergency drills. Meetings are taking place more frequently: to plan for difficulties that may arise once we arrive at the sampling stations and to prepare for sampling. In the colder temperatures, the hot food the galley team prepares is much appreciated and hot drinks are now a staple diet. Everyone is dressing for the cold, with multiple layers of thermals, woolly hats, scarves and gloves.
Stacey Mulgrew
See video A guided tour of the Tangaroa
A student’s life on board the Tangaroa
Life on board has been great and it is easy to get into a routine of yummy meals and evening movie sessions. Since setting sail a week ago I have set up my lab space and prepared some work. As we carefully wind our way through the pack ice it feels like we have finally arrived in Antarctica. This is especially apparent when I have to put on all my cold weather gear to help with the incubators outside. Well looked after with a never-ending supply of ice cream, cheese and chocky biscuits, I am looking forward to seeing all the weird and wonderful Antarctic animals.
Matt Knox, Student, University of Waikato
The ship’s surgery
I did not need to think twice to join the Tangaroa as the ship’s doctor, to set up a surgery in the world’s most stunning scenery. While our hospital facilities are limited, we have medication capable of treating everything from athletes’ foot to indigestion. We have a range of surgical instruments, some basic dentistry gear, dressings, plaster for fractures, a defibrillator and emergency resuscitation gear. Hopefully none of it will ever be needed! One potential risk is hypothermia (the body’s core temperature drops below normal). To treat this we have a 'Bair Hugger', a large baffled blanket that fills with heated air and cocoons the patient, allowing slow but safe and steady reheating of the body’s core.
Jenny Vissor, Doctor
