5 April Sea Day Eleven How Expeditions Work

Today was very busy for a sea day. I went to the weather balloon launch. We had humidity, high winds and rain. The other launch I attended was in perfect weather. We did the countdown; the balloon was released and went up for a couple of seconds. Then it headed into the ocean but righted itself and began its assent. We all applauded, but when we went to Expedition Central, it became evident the information being sent was minimal. In fact, almost nothing. We speculated the recorder hit the side of the deck on its way down, was damaged and stopped recording immediately after the launch. However, the scientists were not too upset stating it gave them additional knowledge of how the balloon operated in all kinds of weather.

Rick opted out of “The Sea Beneath Us” lecture given by Pierre from South Africa and the Historian on the ship. Basically, studies of the South Atlantic and the Caribbean were covered. Old and new photos made everyone aware of changes in the last century on procuring water samples from other places besides the surface and the instruments that were developed to get them and record the findings. Women and computers showed up in the most recent pictures.

A general assembly was held for a Q and A with the Expedition Leader Danny, David and Marc, the Program Coordinator. This kind of ship, what programs and experiments to offer as well as special onshore events are all new to Viking. Gathering the right staff, establishing what experiments to do, and having events coordinate with each other were challenges that are constantly being redefined. We all didn’t get the answers that we wanted. None of remaining guests have gotten the opportunity to go down in the submarine. It hasn’t functioned a lot of the time and now some of the places we are visiting will not provide permits for its use. So we probably won’t get to go down in the Viking sub, but we’ve signed up to go in another one on one of the islands.

Team trivia was another win for the ladies as we pulled ahead by one. Which country’s flag has only one color? A nap later in the afternoon made us miss the beginning of the Duo in the evening. Dinner was impossible…too many choices for everything. We both ended up with prime rib with peppercorn sauce, baked potatoes and grilled root vegetables.

Nearly empty, be interesting to see what it looks like when the ship is at capacity

Dessert is soooo hard!!!!

Cookies too

Sunset, no green flash at the equator.

An evening movie or documentary is offered almost every night. Tonight “The Aurora” was on, but half way through, we gave up the ghost. Not what we expected. Stargazing at 9 PM was a possibility, but was cancelled due to cloud cover. A very busy day.