I am home

Science group in the hanger of the Polar Sea. Photo taken by Daniel Cox of Natural Exposures. I learned a lot from him, and you should check out his website.
First Arctic roller coaster ride!
You got to get in the ice somehow!
I nick named that light, Ol' Misery!
Pancake ice!
twisted rope
I am not sure why I am having such a hard time with that cord, but it is kicking my butt.
On top of the world.
bow head whale skull, taken in Barrow.



I am home. I made it to the Arctic, and now I am back. Mark welcomed me home with a big hug and kiss, and informed me that I wasn't allowed to leave again. I need to thank him, for all the work he did on my blog, without him, this blog never would have happened. I also want to thank my shipmates, both Coast Guard and civilian for allowing me to get to know you.

All and all it was a wonderful experience. I got to go to a place many don't, see things few do, and be a part of major film project. It was a true honor. It wasn't easy though, and it wasn't very glamorous, as you can tell from my pained expression working with an extension cord. For as great as it was to be underway, it's great to be back home. Thanks for following my blog.


Always,
Pam

You think you hate it now just wait until you put it on

Its cold in the arctic, one must dress warm

Hey hey Boo Boo lets go steal some picnic baskets

This beautiful she bear came within ten feet of the stern of the cutter yesterday. She sniffed the air, dug at some snow, even got on her hind quarters and begged for some bacon covered doughnuts. She stuck around for half hour before she bunkered down in the snow to get out of the driving wind. She returned an hour later to see if we had any treats for her. It is pretty exciting to get within a few feet of a wild polar bear. I don't think I could have gotten any closer if I was at a zoo.

Make the cold stop

Today is a frosty 12 degrees with the wind blowing 30 knots sustained andchilling the air to -12 degrees. Burrrrr

I'll just forget about working on my tan.

Today is the coldest day in the Arctic yet. With temperatures peaking in the teens and frigid gust of 30 knot winds, buttoning ones jacket is a must. The five minutes of standing in formation for quarters resulted in teary eyes and runny noses. In one of the photos the deck department is struggling to put down the safety nets around the flight deck because of strong, blowing winds

What do you mean it doesn't run on twisted up rubber bands and gerbils in wheels?

After an extensive two hour tour of the five engine compartments on board this massive cutter I have come to the conclusion that this ship must be some kind of an engineering master piece and the fact that more stuff on this boat doesn't break all the time is no less than a marvel. There are so many moving parts interconnected and so much horsepower to allow this boat to keep trucking even when something breaks. The Polar Sea has six 16 cylinder engines capable of producing some 18,000 shaft horsepower and three gas turbines in reserve for breaking thick ice capable of producing 75,000 shaft horsepower. I was amazed and really impressed with the machinery technicians onboard.

Ice, we ain't scared of no ice

This photo was taken last night from the bridge when we came across our thickest patch of ice yet. I heard an unconfirmed report that the ice was 8 ft. thick. We broke through though. I spent the rest of the night listening to ice crush around the hull, and felt my bed shake like I was I stuck in an all hours earthquake.

They tried to ditch me

I was on the ice pack the other day documenting dive operations when one of the Lieutenants noticed that the ship was drifting off the spot it was parked. The ship drifted so much that they had to send a helicopter to come pick us up, rather than using the crane. It was my shortest helicopter ride to date.

Why say no when it feels so good to say yes!

As a bold act of declaring, "We know what we are doing," the cooks from the Coast Guard Cutter Polar Sea garnished this mornings doughnuts with salty, smoked bacon. Bacon, the versatile meat product that is, is often found in the meals served aboard the Polar Sea. When some people complained about the overabundance of bacon goodness the cooks lashed out in a Twisted Sister moment of, we are not going to take it, and put the bacon on the
doughnuts. Take that bacon haters.

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