9 October 2009 Today was a day of transit

Location: Lat: 77 05.753 N Long: 166 40.457W

Today was a day of transit. The next target bear is back near Barrow - across about 300 miles of open ocean. However, the weather is bad so rather than travel across open ocean, which would be very rocky and lead to lots of sea sickness, we have decided to take a longer route there. We are traveling around the ice edge in a big loop to get to our destination. Whenever the seas get too rough, the boat can go further into the ice. The ice helps to prevent the seas from getting rough. The wind blows over the top of the ice and isn't able to create as big of waves.

The scientist on board the ship used the time today to get caught up on data entry and analysis. I helped to enter some of the blood data into an excel spreadsheet. The ice diving team used the time to filter samples of ice and water. The water sample team was able to take more water samples and get started on another round of experiments. Overall, a sort of relaxed day on the boat.

I also used this time to brush up on my nautical terms. The following is a list of terms used on board the ship and then some definitions. Your challenge is to match them up! Good luck - check back tomorrow for the answers! Also, if you have other cool terms please post them in the "Ask the Team" section.

Nautical Terms:

1. Crow's Nest
2. Irish Pennet
3. Turn to
4. Head
5. Deck
6. Bulkhead
7. Overhead
8. Ladderwell
9. Galley
10. Line
11. Aft
12. Passageway
13. Starboard
14. Port
15. Covers
16. Mess deck
17. Boondockers
18. Reveille
19. Taps
20. Pipe
21. Hatches
22. Berthing Area

Definitions:

• Ceilings
• Floor
• Left side
• Boots
• Wake-up call
• Walls
• doors
• Tower on top of the bridge, used as a lookout
• Behind/Back
• Stairs
• Bathroom
• Hallway
• A loose string on your clothing/uniform
• To start
• Hats
• Dining area
• Room
• Lights out!
• Announcement over intercom system
• Kitchen
• Rope
• Right side

Impact Academy Students! Try to write a sentence using at least 4 of the terms! I'd love to read some of your clever sentences!

Here's one as an example: Every morning when I hear the reveille, I put on my boondockers and cover. Then, I head to the galley for breakfast.