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On-Board the M/V Arctic SunriseDay Five - November 23, 1999"The Rolly Pollies" |
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The temperature has dropped from a slightly chill 14 degrees Centigrade in Hobart down to a very brisk four degrees Centigrade. The sea has gone from gentle bath tub ripples to 5 meter waves. The wind is at 30 knots (about 35 miles per hour) , and the ship has become a roller coaster ride that never ends. We are in the thick of it now. We are into the “Rolly Pollies” |
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It’s the kind of ocean where while you are trying to sleep you get tossed in the air, over and over, by the motion of the ship. The ship goes up one wave and down the other side then gets her bow tossed up into the air by the next one. That’s when you wake up in mid air. Your body is no longer touching your mattress, but somewhere above it. Hopefully somewhere directly above it, or the next few seconds are going to hurt. “Yieeeeeoofff” You land safely back in your bunk, and hear your cabin mate cursing in Dutch and English in the bunk below you. Catch some sleep as best you can because this is going to go on all night, and for days to come. |
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We have already come through the “Roaring 40s” the area between forty and fifty degrees latitude. Latitudes are the lines that run horizontally on a map and are parallel to the equator. The farther you get from the equator - which is at zero degrees latitude - the higher the latitude, and we are very far from the equator. The ship is now at about 53 degrees south. Firmly into the “Ferocious Fifties”, which are definitely worse then the 40s. Down this far south the ocean goes all the way around the globe without much in the way of land, and the wind and the waves whip right around with nothing to slow them down. It is the roughest piece of sea water on the planet, and we have to get through it to get to the illegal Japanese whalers. | ||
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What is really impressive is the way the crew just carries on. Today for example we were pushing through waves over five meters high. Tossing and rolling the ship like a toy. Spray is coming as high as the bridge, which is 8.5 meters above the waterline normally. The arrow on the barometer has been fixed to “stormy” for three days now, and the water temperature is four degrees Centigrade. |
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So, with all of this, RP - our outboard motor mechanic - decides he should go out and check on the speed boats. Make sure they are still tied down properly. To do this he puts on a life jacket and a raincoat (remember that ice water spray covering the ship). Then he gets someone to watch in case he falls over board. Not that he would last long in this water. And off he goes, checking the ropes. It’s impressive because it’s not heroic. Engineers are down in the engine room keeping her going, deck hands are in the hold doing some welding, a Mate’s on the bridge keeping a watch out. It’s just another day on the ship. |
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