Most people of my generation will think of something slightly different than a research vessel upon hearing the name “Falkor.”
Falkor is the luck dragon from the German fantasy novel The Never Ending Story – Research Vessel Falkor is named after this character. If you have the chance to visit the ship, you will notice several passages of the book inscribed on its walls. There are many references to this story throughout the ship. I have to confess I have never read the book – but I have seen the awesome 80’s movie version (which despite its name does have an ending). You should also check out the incredibly cheesy and catchy song of the same name.
Anyway, I digress – in a previous blog I described a typical work shift at night. Today I thought I would share some of the other recreational things that may occur onboard of R/V Falkor.
The Schedule
As I am working on the nights watch it is a bit difficult to say when my day starts. I guess it would be around 5pm, when I usually get out of bed. I swiftly head up to the monkey deck to get a bit of fresh air and sunshine and occasionally chill out on the hammock and take in the sunset. That is right, my sunrise is the sunset.
After that it is down to the mess hall for dinner… actually, it is technically breakfast. The chefs cook up some delicious food, although it can be slightly strange having a full course meal with your morning (evening) coffee.
After dinner (or is it breakfast?) I try to relax a bit visiting the staff lounge (I am very proud to announce that I am currently undefeated in both FIFA and Tekken… just thought you should know).
In shape
I will often get to the gym before starting my shift. A bit of advice for anyone, trying to run on a treadmill on a moving ship can prove to be difficult! But you can get used to it with time, just try to avoid doing so when R/V Falkor has reached the end of the imaginary line through which it scans the seafloor, because at that point it will begin turning and changing course… and so will you.
Every so often I will get together with somebody of the crew to do something a little different, such as a movie on the big screen, karaoke or even relaxing in a homemade pool on the fore deck. You might think I am joking, but last night we saw the stars on our own private pool. Let me tell you, the night sky, coming from someone who has been living in Singapore for a couple of years, is a rare thing to be able to admire. The Milky Way floated on top of us clearly while we listened to the bow break through the small waves. Perfection.
Work
My watch begins at midnight and goes on until 8 in the morning. During my watch I have to mind all of the computer screens and regularly log the information they provide. I also spend a good bit of my time processing the bathymetry data that we have acquired while cruising over the imaginary lines I talked about before. Occasionally, I will write pieces for our online blog.
Time passes by quicker than you would imagine. Around 6am the sun starts to rise and I try to steal a few minutes to check it out. Science is amazing, and if you can have a good time with the people that are next to you while conducting experiments, life can be very nice indeed.
