Introducing the R/V Melville

The day started well with a wide range of food for breakfast including three types of cake and several types of cheese.  Sadly I did not have enough time to sample all of these delicacies.  I had very little time to pack up all my stuff and struggle downstairs with it, only to find that everyone, except Rebecca, had already left in a taxi.  A lengthy check-out later it was time to lug my bags down to the port, let’s just say the sensible people took taxis and Rebecca and I had aching arms.  The R/V Melville was moored out in the bay, there was no space for her yet on the pier, so we had to wait for the little tender to come and pick us up.  It took several trips for all of us to get on board, the wind reminding those of us still stood on the dock that the summer down here is not so sunny and warm.

The choppy waters made for a bumpy and slightly damp ride out to the Melville and the bags were distinctly not dry by the time we arrived.  Getting on board was entertaining having to climb up the ladder and get the timing just right to avoid inconvenient incidents.  Thankfully all bags and people got on deck without mishap.  It was good to be back on a ship again, although I was feeling a little outnumbered (by Americans) and daunted by all the science ahead, the next few weeks were looking promising.

By good fortune my boxes were already on board and waiting for me to unpack them.  The main lab seemed huge and spacious and my little bench to one side seemed very small.  I unpacked most of my stuff and started to set up, knowing that it would probably all need rearranging before we set off.  The snow catcher box was of great interest seeing as it was the biggest and heaviest (probably) on board and no one had ever worked with it before.  There was also a question of how we were going to deploy it but that could be sorted out at a later date once everything else was in place. 

Unfortunately the Bigelow boxes were still loitering in Santiago due to customs and weight issues.  This obviously was very frustrating for the Bigelow guys since most of their equipment was not on the ship.  The agent was not being very helpful either.  The next few days for them were spent frantically e-mailing the agent to get the boxes to the ship on time. 

I spent the next few days trying to locate a cable to connect my microscope camera to the computer via an image box. Typically this was the one cable that was difficult to obtain and made even more difficult by the language barrier.  Ah well, I would just have to cope.  Meanwhile I set about dismantling a couple of USB cables to try and make one from scratch, no prizes for guessing that this did not work either.

We were moored up to the dockside for a couple of days before departure, which made coming back from an evening on the town easier.  However, the increased wind speed made the journey along the dock an adventure when we were popping on and off the ship during the day. 

Finally the Bigelow equipment turned up and the ship was a hive of activity.  I wrote many many post cards, hoping they would all reach the UK before me!  So, after a tasty dinner and final evening drinks it was time to say goodbye to land.