Penguin Pete's Diary
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30/11/00 53° 00'36"S, 73° 22'48"E
Left Heard Is. 7pm Ship's time.
We are currently 4 hours behind eastern summer time. The weather was good for most of the few days we were here, so all the planned programs and food supply work went without a hitch. It is back to the ho hum of the open ocean for a few days now until we get to the ice and things start to get a bit more interesting.
"The location depicted in the shot is the northern flank of Davis Dome and the Big Ben plateau. Mawson Peak, the highest point of Big Ben, actually lies on the southern side of the mountain and rises an additional 700m above Davis Dome. Since the AA was confined to the N and NE of the island it wasn't possible for us to see the full extent of Big Ben." (Photo and text: Meg Dugdale, Station Leader, Mawson)It's a bit quiet, so I will tell you a bit about the ship today (if you remember this from last year's description, you can skip this bit). She (I am reliably informed that all ships are called SHE) is called the RSV Aurora Australis, where RSV stands for "Research and Supply Vessel". As you can see from the pictures scattered about, she is painted orange. I guess so that she is easy to see in the ice. She is small for an ice breaker, at about 94m in length, but still a big boat.
The facilities on board include (from top down), the monkey deck - open air, but good views all round. It gets a bit cold and quite windy up here when we are down south, but its worth visiting regularly. Next down is the bridge. Apart from the obvious steering and navigating functions that occur here, this is also a favorite meeting place, and where most of the bird and whale spotting occurs. The bridge is usually closed when in difficult navigation conditions (usually only when in port), or during helicopter operations.
Next level down is the captain, senior crew and voyage management quarters. Not much happens here for the average passenger.
Next down is the hospital, doctors quarters, and more crew accomodation. Out the back at this level is also the hangar and helipad. We are not carrying helicopters on this voyage, so the hangar space is being used for cargo. The helipad is the biggest open area on the ship, so is often used as a walking track for people who want a bit of exercise in the open air, and can walk when the ship is pitching and rolling.
Helipad and hangar during muster practice.Deck D is the passenger accomodation (I am in D1 - front right, sorry, starboard!). There is also a video room on this level, and the laundries (one for us, and one for them).
Down to E is the business part of the ship for most of us. The kitchen and mess are here, and take up most of the space. As I mentioned in an earlier entry, part of the mess area has been converted to a lounge this year, and is quite an improvement. Aft (another nautical term for you) of the mess are a number of labs where a lot of the science work happens. There is very little happening on this voyage, so they are mostly empty. I have been occupying the electronics lab, trying to get a bit of work done en route. There is also the instrument room, where all the computer and data collection equipment resides. There are a number of other labs for biology work, some cold stores for samples etc, and a conference room. Out the back is the trawl deck, full of winches and cables and lots of heavy greasy machines. The trawl deck is closed at the moment as we are getting a lot of waves breaking over it. Out the front is the "tween" deck. This is the cargo bay.
Down again (below water level now), and there is a bit of space here for 2 gyms and a bar. Most of this level and below is the engine and plant rooms. Normally a no go area for passengers. Now if you see a picture of the boat, you have some idea of where all the windows and doors lead!
