{Moderator's comment: Kevin's entry is so long and detailed that we are splitting it into two parts. Look for part two on Saturday, 28 February!}
Here I am again, to tell you more about our experiences down here at Palmer Station. We have now been here a week and it honestly feels like a lot longer. I do not know what that means either!
In my last journal entry I told you about the clothes that I wear down here and included those that I wear out in the boat. But here is the tricky part…they do not let just anyone out in the zodiacs! You have to pass through a class with some rigorous coursework that makes you squirm in your seat. Okay, maybe it is not exactly as I just led you to believe, but there is a course that you must pass in order to be allowed even in the zodiac, and then some further work in order to be allowed to operate the zodiac.
These two classes are conveniently called “Boating 1” and “Boating 2”…I will let you figure out which one comes first!
Boating 1 does not even take you out in the zodiacs. Instead, we all met in the lounge and sat back and watched a video on boating around Palmer Station and how to survive on one of the islands if you were to get stranded in a storm. A recommendation for all of you teachers out there is to not plan something like watching a video in a dark room in big cushiony chairs right after a big lunch. I have to admit that I really wanted to fall asleep during the film, but I was strong and kept me eyes open.
After the video, Doug Fink (Palmer Station’s boating coordinator) passed out some papers with the guidelines for boating around Palmer Station. He told us how many people are allowed in the boats, how we should drive through ice (slowly), when we are not allowed to go out (sustained winds above 20 knots), what we have to wear (float coat), how to sign out, and basic other information needed so that we are safe in the zodiac and the station knows where we are.
There must be at least 2 operators in the boat at any one time. This is a safety precaution that you can think of as a spare tire on your car. If something happens to the first operator, you want to have a back-up in order to get the group back to safety. However, I am not about to call any of the people out in the zodiac with me a spare tire! There is also a maximum number of people allowed out in the zodiacs. The large zodiacs (Mark V) that we use can have a maximum of 10 people in them. There are also smaller zodiacs (Mark III) that the birders use and they can hold up to 6 people.
Driving a boat through ice is often inevitable down here at Palmer Station. The most common type of ice we see is called brash ice. This ice is the remnants of icebergs and pieces of ice that have broken off of glaciers. The pieces can be as large as boulders or as small as ice cubes. We move slowly through it in order to make sure the zodiac does not get any holes as well as making sure that we do not damage the propeller on the engine.
We are not allowed out in high winds because they could potentially flip our zodiac over and that would dump us into the frigid water. Also, the high winds can often blow storms in very quickly and these storms can make visibility next to impossible and thus make navigating home much more dangerous.
We wear coats called “float coats” while we are out in the zodiacs. The only people that do not have to wear a float coat when in the boat are the divers if they have their drysuits on AND sealed. The float coats are very warm and very buoyant but the most important feature on them is something called a “beaver tail” that hangs down in the back and clips in the front of the coat. When this is clipped in, the “float coat” would stay on you if you fell in the water instead of getting pulled over your head.
There is also a blackboard in the main hallway in the Bio-Lab building. This is the blackboard where people sign out if they are going to be away from the station. You put the names of the people, the place you are going, time leaving and estimated time of return, whether you are in a boat, how many radios you have, and what you will call yourself over the radio. All of this information is important in case of a fire alarm. If someone is signed out, then they are not expected to be around during the alarm. However, if you are not signed out, and the alarm is going, then the fire team is going to think you are trapped in the building and go in to save you.
All of the information Doug shared with us was just the kind of information to make sure we are safe and responsible when we are boating.