Crossing the line

As we head south over the equator, tradition insists that all those who are crossing for the first time participate in a ceremony presided over by King Neptune. In reality, not only were all the FIDS brought before the court but also various crew, either because they were crossing for the first time, were leaving the ship or a range of other excuses.

On the arrival of King Neptune with his bride on the aft-deck he was greeted by the Captain, who ceremonially accedes authority on the ship.

Captain Marshall greets King Neptune (above) and
King Neptune (Julia- Steward) with his bride (Danny- 2nd Cook) (below)

At this point, all celebrants scatter to hide on the ship to avoid the wrath of King Neptune. Given that we outnumbered the 'policmen' (other members of the crew armed with rubber truncheons and fortified by beer), we stuck to a pre-arranged plan and took hold of the highest point on the ship, 'Monkey Island', which lies above the bridge deck.

Flour and water bombs along with eggs were enough to dissuade the policemen for a while. Eventually, beaten back by the use of fire hoses- welcome given the heat- a quiet tête-à-tête resulted in us being brought before King Neptune's court.

At Neptune's Court

After being tried on charges, which invariably include crossing the line without Neptune's permission, a summary conviction leads to swift justice. Despite being required professionally elsewhere, I could not avoid the (now mock) haircut administered by the 'barber', medicine (chilli and vinegar) from the 'doctor', before being covered in slops which had been brewing for days in the galley assisted by yeast and various other special additives.

Before and After Slops

Several days on and I have yet to get rid of the stench. Otherwise, we sail on, on as yet calm seas with flying fish all around; all being well we should be in Montevideo, Uruguay for the 23rd November.

Shorts and T-shirts

Having transferred off a few passengers by boat while offshore from Vigo, it has been a run south through the Atlantic. The Bay of Biscay was fortunately calm and so far we have yet to experience bad weather. As we travel south, we pass close to various islands: Madeira, The Canaries and most recently, the Cape Verde Islands.

Madeira (with Tula, our cargo tender in the foreground)

To prevent us getting to idle as the ship settles into a routine all the FIDS out helping to re-paint the ship or at work in the engine room. (the Falkland Island Dependencies Survey was the predecessor to BAS and is used to describe all those sailing who are non-crew). Unfortunately, the paint seems to mostly end up on us rather than the ship. However, good weather has also meant Saturday night barbies on the aft deck.

This is situated under the helicopter deck (not currently used for helicopters as it has half a dozen heavy vehicles destined for Halley stowed on it) and cannot be more than a couple of feet off the water, which you can just about see in the dark above.

Rememberance Sunday was marked here by the crew and FIDS gathering for a moment of silence and a measure of rum. Being on a ship such as this is a reminder, at this time, of those merchant seaman who have lost their lives in time of war alongside the other services.

We continue south at about 11 knots per hour, from the Cape Verde Islands we head towards Fernando de Noronha off the Brazilian coast, this may all sound circuitous but is a surprisingly direct route. Before that we must traverse the equator and with that 'crossing the line'...

Underway at last

I left the UK in the late hours of Saturday night (28th) on the RRS (Royal Research Ship) Ernest Shackleton. It is one of two ships operated by BAS (British Antarctic Survey) and is used mainly to transport cargo down South. Apart from the crew of 23, there are a further 10 passengers, of whom 4 are going only as far as Vigo (Northern Spain) our first stop. The plan is to trial some science equipment in the Bay of Biscay, hence the early stop.

RRS Ernest Shackleton

See the link left for more info about the Shackleton and our current position.

As we slipped down the Humber in the middle of the night though I have to admit I am going to miss the UK along with family and friends, given that it is a year tomorrow since the job interview, it is great to be finally underway. The Antarctic is still a couple of months away however and we are will not arrive at Halley around late December, giving me plenty of time on the ship. She has a reputation as a 'Vomit Comet' due to her movement; I have never been seasick and have no intention of changing!

The other BAS ship, RRS James Clark Ross, left around two months ago and is carrying out science cruises in the South Atlantic. Winter sea ice in the Weddell Sea (the area around Halley Bay) precludes an earlier departure for the Shackleton. Most of the Halley team, for both the winter and summer seasons, fly into Montevideo (Uruguay) and we will pick them up when we arrive there towards the end of November.