Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Drake Passage, days 5-6

Rocking gently to sleep was fine, but in the middle of the night we really hit the Drake Passage and my Nook and notebook slid off the shelf at the head of my berth and onto my bed! Things got a bit rougher but still not too bad. We spent the second day in the Drake having lectures on protocol for Antarctica and getting fitted for our waterproof overalls, parkas, and rubber boots that we will wear during excursions to shore.

After two days of the Drake Passage we headed to King George Island where the marathon would take place. Unfortunately the weather suddenly got much worse, with 40 mph wind and a 20 degree temperature drop. The spray from the boat crashing into the waves was freezing on the deck, and the excursion for the morning was cancelled. We also had the disheartening news that the weather was too bad for the crew to set up for the race, and the race would be delayed if they could not get to the island that day.

Fortunately late in the day they made a mad dash to the island and did what they could to get the course marked etc. We had a "vacuum party" which is the staff inspecting and vacuuming every piece of clothing, running shoes, and bags that we would be taking to the island for the race. The extreme care to not introduce any species or germs to Antarctica is very impressive, and wonderful. We had to disinfect our running shoes and scrape them clean, then put them in our bags since we would wear the rubber boots to get to the island, then change into our running shoes.
my roommate cleaning her running shoes

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