The adventures of Half-Hitch Holland

Hi folks. Just a quick entry today because I am officially knackered after my first night shift. I learnt how to use the salinometer, which involves putting a bottle of salty water near a machine and twiddling dials for hours on end while it emits a soothing humming noise. I will be seeing a lot more of that machine from now on, and will probably develop a symbiotic relationship with it, talking in clicks and whirrs and feeding on salt.

The shift definitely has its benefits though; for starters everything is quieter so it is possible to get more work done, and for seconders you have a legitimate excuse to go to the bar at 8 o'clock in the morning immediately after a cooked breakfast! The latter is a very strange experience.

The best thing of all, though, is being up to watch the sunrise. Today's was a particularly good one, as we were steaming through some heavy sea ice with lots of tasty bergs in, so I thought I would share it with you all. Disappointingly, the photos are particularly bad, but you get the general idea.

It is astonishing how many different forms ice can take when subjected to various melting and freezing processes. Anyway, I'd better be off to the bar because it's 10am and past my bedtime...