Programs Blog

Sunday, 23 March, 2025

1200 Position: 43º 56.3’ S x 174º 11.2’ E

Ship’s Heading: 320º psc

Ship’s Speed: 2.2 kt

Log: 2066 nm

1300 Turnover: Sailing under the stays’ls, Jib, and JT, c/o 320psc, Wind Force 3 SW x W, Seas 3 ft NW, Visibility: limited

Description of Location: Approximately 50 nm east of Akaroa Head

As Chief Engineer on board, my priority is to keep the behind-the-scenes systems running smoothly for this voyage and many to come; that the 500 horsepower marine diesel main engine starts without question, that, in the case of an emergency, the fire and bilge pumps will prime and pump reliably, that the generators keep the lights on, the reefer cold, and the heads flushing, that if we need to drop the anchor, we can haul it back up, that the watermakers continue to morph sea water into potable water, and that we have enough fuel to get us home if the winds fail to cooperate.

Amid all that seriousness, one of the best parts about my job is that I get to be curious and share in the curiosity and infectious enthusiasm of the students. From the numerous semesters I’ve sailed, it is difficult to escape the ever-present truth that there is always something more to learn, as an engineer, as a mariner and shipmate, as an educator, and as a human trying to make the most of each day on this vessel, our 41-meter mobile island of a home. 

As we sail along comparing the ports of Aotearoa New Zealand, the ship is a respectable port of its own. We have a steel hull with aluminum housetop infrastructure to keep the ocean and weather of Aeoteroa (Land of the Long White Cloud) at bay. The limited resources we share are plenty to go around and much to be grateful for, but shorter showers, every three days, is perhaps the most apt reminder that the seemingly unlimited resources we have on land are more precious than ever. We have canvas, running rigging (the lines we haul on), and standing rigging (the metal stays tensioned to hold the masts and spars in place) working in harmony, fused with our sweat and hard work, to propel us on the wind. We have science equipment to deploy, data to collect, and samples to process to give our transit purpose. Most importantly, we have the ship’s community, unique to each voyage, this time created with the 31 folks aboard, our group that has and continues to learn, grow, and be curious together. In a world where curiosity does not always feel welcome, I strive to stay my most inquisitive and hope that encourages others to be brave enough to find and follow that within themselves as well.

Today was a wonderful day filled with surprises and joy shrouded in a bleak and persistent grayness of rare fog in ANZ waters. The fog couldn’t dampen our spirits however, as dolphins and albatross danced around the ship throughout the morning and delighted in some curiosity of their own, our neuston net deployment! Not to be outdone and to help highlight the engine spaces that a member of the on-watch team walks through once an hour, every hour of every day, Ang and Caitie from B watch accompanied me and Beth for a photo shoot in the engine room! Thanks Kenzie, 1st Marine Tech, for the pictures!

To round out the excitement for the day, late afternoon we had an impromptu man overboard drill as Chief Mate Eric’s new possum fur hat took a leap into the ocean waves. Morale hit an all-time high upon successful retrieval!

For those of you at home who are curious too, here are some quick status numbers with only 4 days left in the trip!

Average potable water consumed/day: 317 gallons or 10.2 gal/person/day

Because of our reverse osmosis watermakers (2) on board, we have a total capacity of approximately 2600 gallons of potable water.

Average diesel fuel used/day: 60 gallons or 1.9 gal/person/day

All topped up we started the trip with 5720 gallons of diesel and have over half of that left!

Clare Feely, Chief Engineer

Shout out to my loved ones back home! Mari, I can’t wait to see you and DJ soon xo

Captions:

1. Engine Room Photoshoot One: Clare, Caitie and Ang
2. Engine Room Photoshoot Two: Clare, Caitie, Ang and Beth
3. Engine Room Photoshoot Three: Ang (in the bilge), Caitie and Clare