26 June 2018 Safety First!

This morning consisted of being safe on board. Our first task was to unpack all our equipment that had either been brought with us, delivered by air cargo or picked up by the ship in Dutch Harbor or Seward, Alaska. This meant that the equipment was spread out over the ship and we wanted to get it all in situ in the wet and dry labs on board. Because we are on a boat, we had to strap it down to stop it shifting so this created creative solutions for storage and placement. Laptops need to be on grip mats, microscopes are tethered to the desks and totes strapped down.

Orientation was at 10 am. This consisted of introductions to key crew, basic rules of the boat and safety. The immersion suit was the final part of this training. An immersion suit is used for survival when in the ocean. It is designed to keep the water out and provide some protection from the elements. It was a little awkward to put on but I managed.

Once we set sail on time at 12:30pm, we had a fire drill and an abandon ship drill where we all had to muster in various places with our lifejackets and immersion suits. Everything went smoothly. I was very impressed in the way the Sikuliaq takes safety seriously and the training was very easy to follow.

The rest of the day was spent setting up, exploring and discussing the best way to reduce our use of data, as we are allowed only 150mb a day! We are all running on the bare minimum hehehe. My last visit was to the bridge. It was a great view from up there and a beautiful way to end the day.