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Teacher
Logbook:
Wednesday August 2, 2000
Carol
and Mary Beth's Observations
Today Carol and I decided to spend some time on food and laundry, two
of life's most important concerns. You may have wondered how is the food
on a ship out at sea for months at a time? When going out to sea for a
long time do you bring every piece of clothing you own or do you resort
to wearing dirty clothes for part of the trip? Should we bring food in
case the ship's food is like cafeteria food? These were questions we asked
early on in our preparations to board NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown.
Remarkable entrees come
out of the galley of this ship. Each day a full breakfast, including eggs,
bacon and hash browns is served up for those just waking up or for those
just going to bed. No bologna sandwiches for this crew at lunch. Hot meals
are served for lunch every day from 1100 to 1200. Dinner is served from
1630 to 1730 (that is 4:30 to 5:30 for you land lubbers). Eccentric entrees
from around the world are served each and every night. You can choose
from meat, seafood, poultry and even vegetarian dishes. The food is abundant
and taking seconds is encouraged. Everyday a new dessert taunts the pallet.
Birthday cakes and ice cream mountains have been some of my favorites.
How does the Chief Steward
Lito Santos prepare the menu for a long cruise? Lito chooses from 45 menus
he has stored on computer. He takes inventory of what is aboard the ship
and then heads to the grocery store. The ship is equipped with a large,
walk-in refrigerator (yes - that is Mary Beth trying to get away with
some whipped cream from the fridge for her sundae) as well as a walk-in
freezer to store food for long cruises.
Three crewmembers, working
in the galley, serve up approximately 45 people at each meal. These men
work hard and prepare excellent food for the crew and the scientists.
We would like to thank Chief Steward Lito Santos, 2nd Cook Jim Scott and
Dr. R.P. Dexter for all their hard work and dedication to serving NOAA
Ship Ronald H. Brown.
Laundry is the least favorite
on our must do list. However, it is so nice to put on clean clothes after
a shower. Not to worry, we are not walking around in week old dirty clothes.
The laundry on the RHB is outstanding. Yes, that is Carol doing another
load. There are three commercial front loading washers and four dryers.
There is no waiting for a free washer on this cruise. We were told not
to take up space with laundry supplies. Everything from laundry detergent
to fabric softener is store in the locker next to the dryers. We haven't
used the iron and ironing board, but it is there for our use. Laundry
baskets have made the whole job very easy.
Do we have water shortages
with so much water usage? There is plenty of water for the forty-four
people on this trip. The ship is making 3,000 gallons of water each day.
If the demand requires, the ship can use both reverse osmosis and evaporators
to produce 12,000 gallons a day. Even though there is plenty of water,
we do not waste it. At the beginning of the cruise we were reminded that
"Navy showers" are the rule around here. Wet down, turn the water off
and soap up. The water is soft and soaps easily. Turn the water on and
rinse quickly. The shower controls are designed to deliver warm rinse
water.
Look for our last update
tomorrow as we get ready to set foot on land again!
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The Brown's galley crew keeping the ship running.
Mary Beth in the main refrigerator
getting some whip cream for those desserts.
Carol doing her laundry
down in the lower decks.
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