I didn't sleep well last night: A combination of too few hours and sheer
excitement about getting going! Lisbon seemed sad to see us go as the
beautiful weather we've had for a week suddenly disappeared! It was very
cold this morning and didn't really warm up all day. Lisbon has a very
pretty bridge similar to the San Fransisco Golden Gate bridge which we
passed under as we headed out to sea. I hadn't realised that Lisbon is
actually in an estuary where the wide part is upriver and the narrow
little bit is the way out to sea. A little weird but all the more
interesting for it.
Trev and I have been waiting for the air conditioning to be switched on
before we can switch on the laser. The air con uses ocean water as a heat
exchanger so it couldn't be turned on when we were tied up. I was a little
worried that it wouldn't be strong enough to deal with the 38oC we've seen
in the container during the week but I was glad to be proved wrong! Within
10 mins of switching the air con on full blast the container was 17oC and
we had to turn it down a bit! I suppose the cold overnight temperatures
also helped cool it down. Once the air con was sorted, we started on the
laser. The laser took a little longer to reach a constant temperature and
put our hearts cross-ways for a while before we got it sorted. Our only
other problem is the constant movement of the container on deck. Every
time the ship rolls (see glossary below) the container lifts out of its
mounts slightly and thumps back into place and the roll direction
reverses. Thankfully our laser is mounted on an anti-vibration mount but
the rest of our kit isn't and the computer is beginning to take a bit of a
battering. When we arrived in Lisbon we had to take the computer apart and
put everything back in again. And that was just the transport. Hopefully
it doesn't happen again. It will be a lot harder to take the computer out
now with the waves so high!
The passage south from Lisbon has been a little rougher than I thought.
I've just heard plates crashing to the floor in the mess. I was paranoid
about securing everything in my cabin and now I'm glad I was. Any drawer
left unlocked flies open with each roll. My cabin is fairly low down in
the ship and I can see the waves crashing onto my porthole window. It's
actually kinda cool after the first initial 'We're going to sink!!'
thoughts. I didn't want to take a sea sickness tablet until I needed it as
they make me too drowsy to work. So far my stomach has coped well. Not
everyone is so lucky but if I see someone get sick, that's me gone, so I'm
avoiding everyone who's queasy. Sometimes walking is a little
disorientating. It feels like I'm drunk without the pleasant not caring
feeling. Straight lines are not possible and I also managed to fall on my
ass in front of everyone but I'm hoping that's my stupid incident of the
cruise!
Glossary:
Pitch - Front to back movement of the ship. Easier on the stomach
Roll - Side to side rocking of the ship. Not easy on the head or stomach.
Known to cause puking.
Forward - The pointy end of the ship
Aft - The blunt end of the ship
Port - The left side as you look forward
Starboard - The other left side as you look forward
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