22 May 2004 - Part 2

Joined: 23 Mar 2004 Posts: 87

May 22, 2004 Saturday
10:30 PM Alaska time

We are traveling to the East Hanna Shoals so I used the travel time
today to wander up and down the levels of the ship and get a better feel
for the layout of the Healy. There are signs in the stairwells
identifying the main features of each level. It is easy to lose track
of where you are so the signs are very handy. The highest I climbed was
to the bridge. I felt the sway of the ship much more intensely at this
height. While I was on the bridge, the Coast Guard crew saw two polar
bear approximately one mile off the port bow. The bears were too far
away to alert the rest of the ship. The furthest down I explored was to
the laundry and gym. They are located six decks below the bridge. The
sway of the ship seemed subdued there, but the crack, smack sounds of
the ship hitting the ice were much louder.

Stairwell sign identifying the bridge.

The bridge crew observing two polar bears.

Four of the eight washing machines on the Healy.

We must use a special, concentrated laundry detergent when washing clothes – only one squirt per load.

There are eight clothes dryers on the Healy.

Coast Guard personnel, Meghan Wolf from Fredericksburg, Virginia and Devin Pritchard from Dallas, Texas running on the gym’s treadmills.

To see photographs taken by Steve Roberts of UCAR/JOSS, click here.