I don’t know what I was expecting when I signed up for the expedition, but I guess I didn’t think about how far away the South Pacific is by ship. The Arkham here cruises about 25 knots, that’s about 30 mph for the rest of you, so it’s going to take us a few days to get down the east coast. Then we’re across the gulf, through the Panama Canal, and on out to the Pacific.
I’ll take us several weeks to get there, and another few weeks to get back. I suppose we could have just stayed home then flown down to meet the ship in a few weeks, but we’re going to be starting research as soon as we enter the Pacific. Well, Dr. Parimala and I are. Dr. Stepherson is an anthropologist and is planning to do a study of the original inhabitants of the South Pacific. The rest of us may be almost done by then.
Anyway, today we spent most of our time going over shipboard procedures and drills, Captain Anderson wanted to make sure that all of us knew how things worked on board and to make sure that all of us knew what to do in the event of an emergency. Even pitching in to help where needed.
It took all day. I’m sore. I guess I’ve spent too much time in the classroom and not enough time in the field. Hopefully, this trip will fix that.