Rough Sea
By Dan // Friday 28 Sep // 21:45:07 // 5 Comments
As Wednesday night rolled on the wind got strong. By Thursday morning, it was almost impossible to stand up, let alone get dressed or move around the ship. By 10 o’clock all of us who had managed to get up and weren’t still lying in bed feeling sick and unable to move were lying on the floor, sliding from side to side in hysterics. Such a ridiculous situation every time you tried to move your balance was completely thrown. Even sitting on the seats, the waves and wet floor would bring you sliding down, so became obvious that the best bet was to stay down.
The watches continued as usual but with somewhat reduced in personnel. All of us when on deck were wearing harnesses to be on the safe side, managed to shoot a great bit of video of Matt parting with his breakfast over the side panning round to Brian receiving a huge wave straight in the face (watch out for this on You Tube). After our early morning watch 2am. tried to sleep but couldn’t, the wind had dropped somewhat and we were running on engine, this changes the whole motion of the ship. With the sails up -whilst at an angle the ship is held stable, when they are down the movement is not only up and down but also side-to-side. I tried propping myself in but just could get comfortable. In the end I resorted to lying up stairs with the bench pushed against the other and managed to wedge myself under the table -this stopped me rolling from side to side and finally I managed to sleep. Today the wind has dropped although is now coming at us fro the West to South West which isn’t so good for us as that is the way we are heading -so into the wind. Must admit I’d thought that the whole journey could have been as rough as yesterday, so we’ve been lucky. If clear skies tonight we should see the Northern Lights.
First thing tomorrow we should see the ice shelf but it won’t be till Sunday that we get to Scoresbysund, still hoping that the ice will have cleared so we will be able to enter -otherwise we’ll have to head on down to some other smaller fiords further South.
Managed to do a little art – thinking about ways to record a trip like this. I found a ball bearing and by placing paper on a walled plastic sheet with colored ink poured around it, produced line drawings of the ships movements -as the ball rolled in response to the rocking and rolling on the ship. Need to perfect this but the idea works well.
Tags: Dan Harvey
5 Comments
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Well done all of you! As a complete landlubber, I know I’d be a real wimp in those conditions. What are you up to, Vicky? Are you getting any sleep at all, being sick or what? We are thinking of you. Did you get my email about the Jumblies having green heads clearly because they too were sea sick and blue hands because of the freezing cold. I reckon they got to your uncharted waters before you and that you are all actually in the Torrible Zone and the Lands of the Chankly Bore! Love Ma
That sounds awful đ I hope the Northern Lights make up for it!
Amy Balkin! Are you alive?
What a way to go! Is it worse that the sea-sickness on the Devil’s Dancefloor? My heart goes out to you, though my feet are resolutely landlocked. By the sound of it, as initiation ceremonies go, this has to be one to beat them all. I really hope that Greenland has arrived and you have had chance to get some fresh air on terra firma. With love, Heather & Adele XX
Feeling every surge, pitch, sway and slam with you and so very relieved to hear that episode’s over. Having slayed the seadragon, now you get the treasure…ice, ice ice. You lucky people, it looks beautiful, in that terrible and consuming Arctic way. Sending løv every icy crystal of the way, Michèle