As goodbyes were being said on the Oden to Paul and Matt, arriving on the scene to take their place for Leg 2 of the expedition were Ola Persson and Dan Wolfe. The journey continues…heading from Alaska back to Norway with an expected arrival of October 4th.
19 August 2014, by Dan Wolfe:
Dan Wolfe
We arrived in Barrow, AK yesterday, meeting up with all of the crew and scientific party that will be rotating onto the ship over the next day or two. There are a lot of details that need to be taken care of like taking on fuel and food supplies and waiting for customs officials to fly in from Anchorage so that the people on the ship can be welcomed to the United States. There is a contingent of Swedish staffwho are responsible solely for handling these things, but will not be sailing with us. They are even arranging for all the Swedish citizens to vote in their national election.
Barrow, a town of ~4,500 people, has not changed significantly in my mind since I first visited in the early 1970s. Many of the old buildings are still here, though they do have a new hospital and school. In the coming weeks I will try to keep of the blog and give my take how the Arctic appears to me.
19 August 2014, by Ola Persson:
Ola Persson
Currently, there is an exchange of scientists and crew going on in Barrow. The Oden is anchored a little more than 3 miles offshore of Barrow, and the exchange of science and ship crew will occur tomorrow (Aug 20) when the U.S. customs officials arrive.
A small boat carrying 20 people at a time will exchange the 60+ people plus luggage using four round trips. Since there is no harbor in Barrow (because it is so shallow) this small boat pulls directly on the beach to load/offload people and cargo. Some of the people onshore, including myself, went out to the Oden today to talk with the people we are replacing, and to transfer the operations of the onboard instruments.
