Not a Dull Moment........Ever.

so, some say that the adventure usually begins when the plans break down and are not realized.  well, did we have some sort of excitement less than a week into the cruise.  whilst testing out our various toys at the iceberg C18 (or the big ice cube as one person called it), one of us came down with a medical condition that required more expertise than what the medics on the boat can give.  although not life threatening, it was a condition that could not wait five weeks to be treated. so, the decision was made for an 18 hr steam to King George Island, home of the Chilean Base called Frei.  Frei is the only base on the antarctic peninsula that has an airstrip, making it the ideal location for medical emergencies the required air lifts back to Punta Arenas.  not only is the base big, but is surrounded by bases from many other countries.  from japan to korea to russisa, I counted 6 bases in Maxwell Bay alone.  it was like we sailed into a major metropolitan area.  it was strange.

in Maxwell Bay, we waited for the Chilean doctor to come on board and evaluated the patient and then eventually take the patient to the station for more observations.  of course, during this time, science was on hold.  today, we got the word that the patient was stable and doing well and the RV Lawrence M. Gould was en route to rendezvous with us to take him back to PA.  Our Chief scientist made the best use of the time we had here by continuing to allow testing of certain equipment to continue.  

After the science meeting (after lunch), I headed up to the bridge to see where the LMG would be.  They had arrived around noon time and was stopped a couple of miles away from us.  after some lighthearted radio traffic, the LMG steamed toward us, stopped not too far off the bow of the NBP and spun in place, delighting all on board the LMG and those who were out on deck watching from the NBP.

the patient was transferred to the LMG successfully.  now we are en route to deeper waters to test out our rov after that....another 18 hr steam back to C18, the large ice cube.