10 March 2012 Calm waters, pipe cleaning, and beautiful scenery

Journal

Speed 3.4 knots (kts)
Course 358.8

Well, delays are still plaguing our trip, so I decided today would be a good day to impersonate the captain of our ship! How do I look? Probably not as good as Captain Sebastian, but that's okay.

Captain's chair — Sitting in the bridge in one of the many chairs that resembles the actual Captain’s chair (photo courtesy of Natalie Orejola)

Instead of heading out into the ocean, we headed backwards for some scenic views of Patagonia. It looks like tomorrow we'll finally be able to start our voyage across the terrifying (more about that tomorrow). It's apparently the roughest seas in the world and you might not hear too much from me for a couple days if I end up getting seasick.

While we were in calm waters, the Marine GeologyThe science that deals with the dynamics and physical history of the earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the physical, chemical, and biological changes that the earth has undergone or is undergoing. and Geosciences scientists went to work cleaning a bunch of plastic pipes that are used to take core samples of marine sediment. The fabulous scientists below are showing off their fancy science work attire that included rain gear overalls and waterproof steel-toed boots.

What to wear when cleaning pipes — (From l to r): Ilona Matulaitis, Kara Vadman, Natalie Elking, and Manique Talaia-Murray

They even let me get in on the action a little bit. I finally got to use some of the special gear that Camilo gave me in Punta Arenas! You can see the huge rack of clean pipes that were finally filled up when we were all done.