Eating with Engineers

Today was a little slower, and a good catch up day. Theresa really didn’t bounce back until about lunch time. We rocked and rolled much of the night, but not nearly as bad as the late afternoon Friday. We kept 60+ kph (40 mph) winds most of the night. I (Bill) woke up at 2:30AM, as it was light and we hadn’t closed the drapes. Sunrise wasn’t to be until 3:45 or something, but it is grey and light long before that.
We attended a lecture on whales and dolphins this morning, and were interrupted not once, but twice by the Captain telling everyone there was a whale sighted near us. We saw the spouts, and even got a couple of pictures (but nothing that would wow anyone—a tiny wisp of mist on the wide sea). Nevertheless, it was fun. It was also frigid. 1C (34F) and still 25-40 mph winds was a chilly without coats and gloves. But, by the time you run down to get them, the whales would be gone.
I also attended a history lecture and one on glaciers, ice, and icebergs. All were interesting to me, but I attended to the latter two alone. I’m starting to wonder when the mid-term will be?
We had (as every night) a briefing of tomorrow’s plan. We are going to South Orkney, and the initial plan is to see Monroe Island, where we might see more penguins (Adelie this time) and Leopard seals. Leopard seals are the most dangerous (I think) in that they are known to attack Zodiac boats. Most of the rest of the seals, if you give them a wide enough berth, they are content to ignore you. Not so much with the Leopards. But, we are expecting bad weather there, with high winds, high swells, and in short, bad conditions for Zodiacs.
So, plan B is to head to a cove on the south side of one of the islands (I forgot which one). But, there, we should see more Adelie Penguins, better weather, perhaps better scenery, etc.
Someone asked what Plan C was…leave for the next day’s destination!! Actually, the Expedition Team works pretty hard (or so they tell us) in these situations making the best of it. But, we know much of this is weather and situation dependent, so we’ll just take it in stride. Tonight’s dinner was a “sort of formal” night. So, most people dressed up. I was very pleased when I found the “invitation” to have tonight’s dinner with him!! There were six of us at the table, Theresa and I, another couple, Dimitar (the Chief Engineer) and Rob (the naturalist who gave the Whales and Dolphin lecture—with field trips!). Actually, four of the six of us were Engineers. We had an interesting conversation, but honestly, we haven’t had many meals that were not interesting. Anyway, I had an opportunity to ask lots of questions of Dimitar, and stumped him a few times. He told us the roll of the ship was 12 degrees last night, and the ship was capable of 42 degrees. The ship’s hull skin is 25mm (1 inch) thick, and made of “high-tensile steel”. I wanted an ASTM or trade spec, but I think I was asking a bit much. (He is to get back to me on the CG of the ship with respect to the water line.) Of course, there was a bit of talk on airplanes (always some room for that conversation). Rob, a New Zealander, had some interesting perspectives and stories too. He has seen a lot in the photography world, so there was a lot of material.