December 11, 1999

Ross Hein (left) and Steve Dunbar (right) survey their handiwork: a spruced up Mark III Zodiac.

We are still weathered in with ice congesting the harbor. The temperature hit about 10 degrees (Celsius) and long icicles have formed along the edge of one of the nearby bergs. Occasional chunks of ice calve, slipping into the pack. Gulls and petrels wheel about, settling on small pieces of snow covered ice. With the ice, much of the field science comes to a halt, as there is no boating. We wait...

Steve and I spent the morning with Ross Hein, the Boating Supervisor at Palmer, going over the rules and regulations governing boat deployment and safety. Ross worked as a dive safety instructor at the University of California at Santa Cruz and has spent 4 seasons on the ice. He also heards up the water-based Search and Rescue (SAR) efforts on Station. For Steve, who has had extensive experience working with Zodiacs, it was just a review. Both he and Ross had been busy over the last two weeks preparing the Zodiac Mark III, which will be our main mode of transportation around the islands.

An elephant seal cow hauled out near the pier. (Photo by Steve Dunbar).

In the morning, a female elephant seal, or cow, wandered up from the pier and made her self at home in the middle of our main "street." Steve and Ross eventually shooed her back into the water, in order to get on with the day's business.

The afternoon activity included "house mouse"--a 1 and 1/2 hour weekly cleaning period, with all hands on deck. Along with a handful of other folks, I pulled kitchen detail and swept, mopped and cleaned. This was followed by the weekly Station meeting, where Bob Farrell, the Station Manager, reviews the weeks events and brings the community up to date. Other folks are welcome to chime in with news, concerns, etc.