Programs Blog

Author: Lev Janicki, Hamilton College

Ship’s Log

25 November 2023
Current Position: Docked in Auckland
Ship’s Heading and Speed: Stationary
Weather: Windy and Partially Cloudy

Ki Ora everybody! Today started very early for A Watch, I myself having the
0430 to 0600 shift with Jess. The sunrise was very disappointing as a couple
of buildings in Auckland’s port completely blocked all of the would be
pretty parts. Breakfast was biscuits and gravy. After breakfast A Watch did
chores, B Watch was on dishes in the galley, and C Watch got to work rinsing
the snack crumbs and land dirt off the deck. Once the ship’s duties were
completed the first orientation station rotation of the day could begin.

This morning we had the exciting lessons of line handling, lookout standing,
and learning how to use the J-frame and winch for science deployments. Line
handling is mostly about trying to manage the tension of the lines through
use of a technique called “palming,” where you use your palm to keep the
line pressed against the pin and the tension off of the part you have to
handle. Rocky’s lecture on lookout duties was mostly about how you should
report everything you see, especially the interesting clouds (for weather
reasons and because he likes a good cloud). It was sprinkled with anecdotes
about students who reported too much and students who reported too little
and the importance of a good lookout to assisting other mariners in
distress. Rocky also used the end of his time to go over helm standing a
little, the main point being that the Seamans steers weird and can vary in
how she handles depending on the weather and tack. J-Frame deployment was
the last of the morning rotations, and it was about having clear
communication and repeating orders back. All deployments must have Deb our
Chief Science Officer standing by. Notably, A Watch has begun to call Jess
J-Frame.

After rotations, lunch was ready to be served. I have been told lunch was a
dish called Daal; I only remember it being delicious as is standard with
Ashley’s cooking. Ashley has told us to be prepared for her cooking to get
worse as ingredients become more sparse further into our voyage, but I do
not believe her. After lunch we went directly into Siesta, during which I
elected to find a sunny spot out of the wind on the lab top to read. The
whereabouts of everyone else was a mystery to me – a good book can do that
to you. I was not the only reader, I was joined by Diego, Nick, Aly and
Jess, where we formed a cozy bunch in the sailbags. At 1600 snack was served
and Ashley outdid herself. Yesterday’s potato leek soup was used to make
incredibly fluffy and tasty rolls, served with garlic butter. We hovered and
swooped like seagulls until they were gone in a matter of minutes.

Our afternoon rotations covered a class discussion of some readings on the
Anthropocene, a demonstration of how to deploy the Neuston net, and another
episode of the Rocky show, this one on how to ascertain true wind speed and
direction. Before dinner, A Watch was given a chance to practice our line
handling skills through realigning the top yard. After dinner B and C
Watches helped put a deep reef in the mains’l (see photo). Unfortunately as
a proud member of A Watch, I missed the action down in the galley cleaning.
In some consolation, we were told we did a very efficient galley clean,
which I believe was due to the sheer amount of grease relocated to Jack’s
hands. I have hit my head on the same place in the stairs to the charthouse
possibly 3 times today, one of them very embarrassingly in front of Captain
Allison. I just received my night orders for 0000-0130, and I hope my head
remains un-bumped until at least after that time. The whole of the ship is
excited tomorrow to shove off hopefully around lunch!

Until the next adventure,
Lev Janicki (Hamilton College 2027)