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February 1, 2000 |
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pitching and rolling part 2 |
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Position: Scotia Sea Today's Bird Sightings: Mammal Sightings: Today's Reading: The Voyage of the Beagle by Charles Darwin
Copyright © 2000, Janet I. Egan |
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Apparently some of last night's waves got to about 50 feet. Most of them were about 30 feet. People are saying the wind got to force 13.5 on the Beaufort Scale, which I thought only goes to 12. This was a major topic of discussion at breakfast and again at lunch. By lunch the waves had grown to 55 feet and the wind to something off the charts. Thank goodness the sea is calmer now. The sun is even out. We're back on course for South Georgia, having ridden out the storm on a safer course. The boat is still rocking more than I would like. I'm amazed that I haven't been seasick. That meclazine stuff really works. I only take one at night and that's it. That's only half the recommended dose. Sleeping last night was a little better the the previous night. I wedged a pillow under the foot of the mattress and the bathrobe, folded into a thick rectangular solid, under the head of the mattress to create a dip in the middle so less sliding back and forth and hitting my head on the wall of the cabin. I still felt myself slide up over the head of the bed toward the wall a time or two but managed not to collide with it. The portholes in the lower cabins are still closed. That makes our cabin pitch dark unless you keep the light on. My roommate has been seasick and staying in bed since the rough weather started after we left Elephant Island just like she was when we crossed the Drake Passage from Ushuaia. I've been trying to stay out of the cabin as much as possible. At least in the lounge you can look out at the waves and get some light. I skipped the first lecture this morning because I couldn't stand the thought of the darkened lecture hall. I stared out the windows at the wandering albatrosses instead. I haven't dared to go up on deck yet today. The bridge, which is the only safe and comfortable place is really crowded. I guess we are allowed out on the pool deck at the stern again although the side door next to the lecture hall is still tied shut. Bob's lecture about South Georgia was pretty good, the part I heard. I fell sound asleep and woke up long after the lecture had ended and the people had left. The lecture hall is sleep inducing with the shades down, the lights off, and the boat rocking. Kind of womb-like. I dreamed of a flock of tundra swans last night. How odd. When I mentioned it in the lounge this morning somebody pointed out that the music in the lounge last night was Wagner so I must have been subliminally thinking of the Ice Maiden. The music in the lounge is weird: sometimes a medley of classical themes, other times mournful Celtic tunes in some ethereal voice that somebody says is Lorena McKennit. At lunch, Pete said we lost a whole day to the storm. That means less time South Georgia - darn. I suppose that's all part of the adventure - getting up close and personal with the forces of nature. Antarctica recedes like a dream state. Was I really there? Were those real penguins, fur seals, icebergs, sheathbills, leopard seals, weddell seals. ... ? The only reality is the rocking of the boat and keeping my coffee and cereal from flying across the room. The stark open sea has replaced the rock and ice vistas. We are again accompanied by wandering albatrosses. People are saying they are seeing Antarctic prions. I should go out there and look. Even when I study the book, the differences between prions are so small and subtle that I don't know how people can pick them out when they're dipping in and out of the waves. Somebody just spotted a soft-plumaged petrel out the window. Greg just appeared to tells us there's a lot of black-bellied storm petrels out there now. I feel like some powerful force is holding me down and I am slow to go down to my cabin to fetch my binoculars and jacket and go up to the bridge. Announcement over the PA: they're going to open the doors to the outer decks even though we're still rolling 15 degrees. Guess that's my cue to get out there and get those prions and petrels straight. |
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