One small little comment to make because some of you might notice…I got a haircut. Let me know what you think when you see the pictures.
The final part of Boating 1 is where we first get to do something “hands on” occurred in the boathouse and was dedicated to the hands-on material needed while boating. This included going over the material that is in the boating bags and survival caches on the islands, how to assemble the tents, start the stove, and tie needed knots.
The boating bag and survival caches have needed supplies in case you become stranded. The boat bag has tools to fix the engine, a GPS handheld device with Palmer Station’s coordinates programmed into it, signal flares, etc. So far I have never needed anything out of the boat bag other than the tools and a spare fuel line when ours got clogged last year. The survival cache has a tent in it, among other things, and they are located on the islands around Palmer Station. If you need something to survive a few days on your own, most likely it is in the survival caches.
We also practiced assembling the tent that would be in a survival cache and this went pretty well. I think it is humorous that we assemble the tent in a heated room for this class but if we ever needed to use the tent, most likely it would be very windy and not at all like the conditions we were experiencing. The tent could hold several people and there are additional sleeping bags in the survival caches so it would provide sufficient shelter for a short period of time.
The stove is another item found in the survival caches. This year, I was the one that demonstrated starting the stove to the group and it went off without a hitch. I now feel comfortable with starting stoves of that type but still hope that I will always make it back to station for meals.
Knot tying was the last part of Boating 1. The only real knot that needs to be learned in order to tie the boat off is the bowline. For some reason, I have trouble with this knot. I am continuing to practice on it, but it is completely different when you practice on small ropes and then have to tie the boat’s large rope up the same way.
Well, that is it for Boating 1…but we still have to get to Boating 2!
Boating 2 is where we are actually able to get out in the boat and see the different islands and practice our operating skills. I love Boating 2!
The first things that we did for Boating 2 were to sign out on the blackboard and get into our float coats. We then went down to the boat and listened to Doug tell us our checklist we should go through when entering the boat.
We want to make sure the boat is fully inflated, we have our boat bag (with tools, spare fuel hose, etc.), and we have an extra fuel tank (with fuel in it) among other things.
Once out, we learned about the islands and what their names were. Palmer Station has many islands in close proximity to it. The rule for boating is we are allowed to go as far out as two miles from station. On our boating map, there is a blue line that shows the limit we are allowed to go out to as well as the island names inside of this limit. Also, on most of the islands, there is a landing site. We practiced bringing the zodiac up to these spots so that people would be able to get off on the island. Everyone got a turn at operating the boat and landing on one of the islands.
One of the things that we also practice is extraction from the water. Doug throws a small bag in the water and we have to pilot the zodiac around where someone else in the boat can pick the bag up. Once we figure that out, Doug then jumps overboard into the water and we have to pull him into the boat. This is a very difficult task to perform as I have discovered in my diving experiences. Once everyone has mastered pulling Doug in, we head back home.
Now, I am able to operate any of the boats at Palmer Station as long as I have someone else with me who has been through the Boating 2 course.
I hope to be able to tell you about some of my adventures out in the boat in the coming weeks. Please feel free to write and ask me questions about anything you might want to know.