Wednesday | May 11th

Randall and I do a big cleaning for the CREW QUARTERS INSPECTION that takes place this morning by the Captain…gotta keep accomodations in a neat, orderly condition, as this “is not only seamanlike and courteous to your roomates to keep your cabin shipshape, but it is good health and safety policy as well.  The Captain will be inspecting for the following:  

1. Deck vacuumed
2. Beds made
3. Floor free of debris and clutter
4. No burned out bulbs
5. Plumbing functional, no leaks
6. No food
7. Clothing stowed
8. Air handlers operational
9. Extinguishers visible/free of blockage
10. Escape hatches clear
11. No foul smells or other signs of unsanitary conditions
12. Any deficiencies will be noted at the time of the inspection and will have a scheduled follow up to confirm conditions are rectified.  If you have any questions, please check with the Capain or the Chief Mate…”

  Talk with Chris who is a pilot and who worked in 1996 on the Wilderness Explorer and actually has film of me swimming out onto an ice-berg an sitting on it like a seal! 

  Today I give a presentation with Kim Dahm.  She introduces fish found in Alaska and mentions the 5 species of salmon.  She lets me do the 2^nd half of her program which covers salmon farming.  I go over everything that I spent months writing about last year while preparing for the book that I am in Sea Voices.  It was a blast to be re-gurgitating this material.  The discussion went on with many questions and I brought up many issues, including:  farmed Atlantic salmon are dyed pink color; pesticide use to kill lice and how lice infest waters for the out-migrating juvenile salmon and the in-migrating salmon; heavy metals copper used on the nets; food waste and fecal waste and hypoxic environment; Norwegians using 2.5 to 10 pounds of wild caught fish for every pound of farmed fish;  the use of Seafood watch cards put out by the Monterey Bay Aquarium, etc.  I showed a Powerpoint slide show that I made/adapted it for today from three years ago during my last Alaska season. 

  In the afternoon, I gave a talk on the top deck after changing my mind about doing it in the lounge due to the big swells on glassy waters that we experienced after moving into Queen Charlotte Sound.  People were feeling sea-sick but the weather was terrific.  I did my El Nino/La Nina “What is drifting on Ocean Currents” talk with the props only depicting:  Asia, New Guinea, South America, North America ;SE and NE Trade winds; Equatorial Current, SST sea-surface temperatures; Indonesian and Tahitian Low, North Pacific High; Jet Stream; Storms; Humboldt Current; Biological Diversity; Inhibition of bio-p; equatorial counter current, etc. and talked about the global impacts of El Nino and La Nina.    I then segued into marine debris talk with all of my props and had a blast doing so while watching one-by-one many folks heading for the downstairs to get sea-sick.  They lasted quite a while.  I talked about m time on the Lady Washington with the vomitorium of sick kids and teachers and how each minute seemed like an hour and every hour an eternity.   Went to the bridge and noticed the Captain was motoring at 5 knots and our 4-5 hour crossing was really taking a longer time, like 7p.m.  I take a one hour nap and enjoy meetings and dinners with fellow crew…we all seem to be really happy and make a great team.    At night, Lauri and Kim do a trivia team quiz…I help a team with some of the answers.   Tomorrow I give a bear orientation talk, which should be fun.   Bears:  The differences between a Grizzly bear and a Brown bear and how black bears come in all colors, including a glacier bear and the spirit bear  

• ·         I will tell bear stories
• ·         How to act around bears
• ·         What if you are attacked what do you do black bear - fight, brown bear - play dead
• ·         Moose…run!  They might chase you for 1 or 2 miles!  Never run!!!!

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