24.01.2013 (Thursday). We wake up
under a gray sky. Sea fairly wavy as yesterday. We are well into the Drake Passage. For breakfast, we get a warm dish consisting of pieces of chicken
swimming in molten cheese. Excellent ballast for the stomach. No more seasickness.
At 03:00, Olaf Ziemann calls me. He tells me that he sawed the lander in two
parts. It was not easy to remove them from the hold. However the two parts have
been re-soldered in their workshop. At first glance, Olaf and his team did a great job. On the bridge, I
observed that one of the front windows show cracks. One of the second officers
(Igor Hering) explains me why: during the previous cruise, the Polarstern had
to go deep into compact ice and the cracks result from the intense lateral pressure
of the ice against the ship. Despite the cracks, he says that there is no risk
that the window collapses. At the daily meeting of 19:30, Julian Gutt tells us
that we will arrive at Joinville Island on 25.01.2013 and will sample on
26.01.2013 at about 100 m depth: Agassiz trawl (AGT) at 12:15, Rauschert dredge
(RD) at 15:00.
The lander has been re-soldered in the workshop.
The Polarstern in the Drake Passage.
(Cédric)
The day goes quietly. We are still
heading to our first station which will be at the North of Joinville Island, to
the tip of the peninsula. Outside, the sky is cloudy, the air is very wet. We
can clearly feel a change in temperature. I can’t stay outside for much more
than 15-20 min anymore. I finish some work on the computer. In the evening, I
go outside for some more sightseeing and to my surprise, see my first iceberg!
I wasn’t expecting to see one so soon.
(Marie)
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