CHAPTER 5: IC - At Sea > NYC to Panama

[Mr. Handy]

"Just one," says Katie. "Why is it called the 'flying bridge?'"

[Job]

"Just one," says Katie. "Why is it called the 'flying bridge?'"

"Ah, Miss Wright, that's a good question that I should've anticipated from an aviator. The flying bridge is simply a term identifying the highest navigational bridge on a ship, which is often an open deck above a ship's pilot house. Because it's usually an open area at the highest point on a ship where the captain stands and steers, it is said that this may give one the illusion of flying along the ocean."

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Job.

[Mr. Handy]

"Ah, thank you," says Katie. "That makes sense." She smiles, knowing that she doesn't have to be content with the mere illusion of flying.

[Seon]

"Interesting..." Ernest said as Katie's question was answered.

"Why do we keep weapons and other pieces of equipment in the bridge?"

[Job]

"Ah, Mr. Roosevelt, that's another good question. The Captain is responsible for getting us from New York City to Antarctica, thus the Captain requires all equipment to be within easy reach. The bridge is his command center. While we're on board this ship, all communications, all movement, and all activities are the Captain's responsibility, including maintaining order. Thus, the shotguns.

"Once we set foot on Antarctica, then the expedition is the responsibility of James Starkweather and Professor Moore, but until then, Captain Vredenburgh is master and commander. Now, if there are no further questions...," said First Officer Turlow as he turned towards the stairway down.

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Job. (the tortured one)

[Seon]

Ernest cringed when the officer mentioned "maintaining order," but seemed to have no other objections.

[Mr. Handy]

Katie follows First Officer Turlow down the stairs.

[Job]

At the bottom of the stairway, Turlow pointed out a water closet on his left, saying "Having females aboard ship on our expedition is a rarity, Miss Wright, and I'm sure that you don't need me to say what I'm about to say, however my responsibilities as First Officer require that I do so. To avoid any embarrassment, please confirm whether the latrines are in use before you enter and also be sure to lock the hallway door while you are inside. I can assure you that our crewmen are all professionals, however on a long expedition away from civilization, we must take every precaution and minimize temptation for the men."

"And here," as he turned down the left-hand corridor, "is our radio room, as you can tell by the small plaque on the door." When he knocked and opened the door, you gazed into a room that was absolutely filled with cigarette smoke, electrical equipment, and the intermingled sound of static and voices. A stocky man with dark hair smiled at you from his chair, briefly waved a lit cigarette, and immediately returned his attention to his signals. Long and short-wave radios were bolted down into metal racks and wires snaked everywhere; behind the racks connecting to various units, between the racks collected into bundles, rising above to the ceiling area onto shelves and into pipes, and down onto the floor where they were either taped or covered with rugs. A series of tables ran half the length of the room just in front of the racks and on top of these rested microphones, morse code units, telephones, and a number of gray boxes that were adorned with meticulously-labeled switches and dials. In a sturdy chest against the wall farthest from the door were several large lead-acid batteries.

Pictured above, Louis Laroche at work.

First Officer Turlow then completed his tour of the Bridge Deck by pointing out doors to the Captain's Quarters and the Owner's Suite, but declined to open the doors, saying, "You're only permitted entrance into these rooms at the request of Captain Vredenburgh, Commander Starkweather, or Professor Moore."

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Job. (the tortured one)

[Mr. Handy]

"All right," says Katie. "What's the range on the ship's radios, I wonder?"

[Job]

"All right," says Katie. "What's the range on the ship's radios, I wonder?"

Louis raised his hand to get Katie's attention while he continued talking into his large desk microphone, then signalled with one finger to ask her group to wait as he finished his message, "...and we will depart at oh-eight-hundred hours on the twenty-first. Gabrielle out."

He then turned and smiled at Katie, "Your question is a good one but I'm afraid that I won't have a good answer for you. However, before I provide my answer, I don't believe that we've been properly introduced." He reached out to shake hands, saying, "I'm Louis Laroche, radioman extraordinaire, and you might be?"

After everyone has become acquainted, Louis turns back to Katie and continues: "With today's modern radio technology, low powered radio signals can reach anywhere on the globe. We simply bounce the short-wavelength signals off the earth's ionosphere. We call them "skip bands."

"Unfortunately, Antarctica presents us with a difficult challenge. Our icy continent is haunted by the presence of the aurora australis--better known as the "southern lights." This great magnetic storm is present year round and disrupts not only all radio communications, but also the accuracy of compasses. Reliable radio traffic from Antarctica is therefore a fragile and transient thing. It can only be achieved by using lower frequencies, the so-called "ground waves" that are used by AM radio stations, but these require much larger antennas and more powerful transmitters, something you'll only find aboard our ship and at our expedition's base camp.

"So I believe the real answer to your question is that we expect our base camp in Antarctica to communicate with the Gabrielle using low frequency radio, unless a flare-up in the aurora or a surface storm prevents even that. And the Gabrielle will relay communications to New York City using the skip bands whenever the aurora permits."

I hope that I haven't confused you..." Louis stopped talking.

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Job. (the tortured one)

[Mr. Handy]

Katie grins back and shakes the radioman's hand with a firm grip. "Nice to meet you," she says. "I'm Katie Wright, aviatrix extraordinaire." She nods as she listens to his explanation. "No, I get it. Are the expedition's aircraft equipped with radios? How does communication work between them and the base camp?"

[Job]

Katie ... nods as she listens to his explanation. "No, I get it. Are the expedition's aircraft equipped with radios? How does communication work between them and the base camp?"

Turlow smiled, "The expedition's aircraft are indeed outfitted with radios so that may communicate with the base camp. These radios only have a range of a few hundred miles, but we expect these to be more than sufficient for our purposes. We also have a few portable radios that our sled groups will take with them when laying food and fuel depots.

Our expedition is fortunate because this situation is very different from conditions that prevailed on this same continent scarcely two decades ago; when exploring parties set out on their lonely journeys and remained in the fields for months on end with no communication with their bases. When Scott and Amundsen patiently waited out the winter to begin their competing dashes to the Pole, with scarcely 450 miles between them, the one was as ignorant of the other's movements as if they had been separated by the Poles."

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Job. (the tortured one)

[Mr. Handy]

"Or Shackleton's expedition," says Katie. "They were stuck in Antarctica for well over a year, and they had no idea of how the Great War was going during that time."

[Job]

"Or Shackleton's expedition," says Katie. "They were stuck in Antarctica for well over a year, and they had no idea of how the Great War was going during that time."

"Exactly so," responded the First Officer. "And we not only have superior communications technology, but also that of aviation! Our modern aeroplanes coupled with your reputed talents will no doubt do much to ensure our success where others have failed!"

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Job. (the tortured one)

[Mr. Handy]

"Thank you, First Officer," says Katie with a grin. "I've been following advances in aviation, and I look forward to seeing the latest aircraft up close."

[Job]

"Thank you, First Officer," says Katie with a grin. "I've been following advances in aviation, and I look forward to seeing the latest aircraft up close."

"Yes, you'll see the stored aircraft when we reach the lower hold. Alright, let's proceed down to the Main deck," said the First Officer.

"You should already be well aware of the general layout of the Main deck because that is where your cabins are located, so I'll merely show you a couple of areas that may have escaped your attention." As he led you through the Ship's Mess, Turlow pointed to two doors along the far wall, on each side of a large wooden bookcase. "Those two doors lead to a storage area where we keep our life preservers and fire-fighting equipment. Also inside that storage room is an exterior hatch that opens to the Main Deck proper so that our crew may readily access that equipment if something should happen outside."

"To the left of the storage area is cabin that serves as our medical office, and doctors Green and Watkins both sleep that area. Behind us, I'm sure that you've already found the ship's galley and the officer's mess, so I'll leave those off of our tour."

As you exit the mess, Turlow points out a door along the wall that leads to the engine room. He opens it and you are immediately assaulted with loud noise and the smell of exhaust fumes. The First Officer beckons you forward to enter before him.



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Job. (the tortured one)

[Mr. Handy]

Katie goes through the door, eager to check out the engines.

[Job]

You enter at the top of an open space leading down into the engine room. It is a five story climb down ladders to the main floor, through a number of platforms containing pipes, wiring, machinery, generators, and pumps. The large area is hot and noisy, although surprisingly well lit with a skylight and also numerous wall-mounted lightbulbs spread about, each protected within a metal cage.

At the top of the metal catwalk, First Officer Turlow described the "reciprocating steam engine, supporting a top speed of 12 knots and consuming 0.14 tons of fuel per nautical mile when traveling at 11 knots. The Gabrielle has a maximum cruising range of about 12,000 miles."



At the engineer's position, two levels down and approximately midway from the main floor, were a telegraph, telephones, and a voice tube that ensured reliable communications with the bridge. The on duty engineer, William Wheeler, offered cotton earplugs to all. The First Officer quickly accepted and donned a pair.


Pictured above, William Wheeler (sans earplugs), one of three ship's engineers

At the bottom were two huge, roaring oil boilers set forward of the main engine, which was beating rhythmically. The further down one climbed, the louder the noise and the more pronounced the vibrations. When standing next to the boilers and engines, the noise was nigh intolerable, even with earplugs in place.

Turlow led the team abaft the main engine and pointed out the rotating tree-trunk-sized propeller shaft and its long, dark tunnel leading sternward.

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Job. (the tortured one)

[Mr. Handy]

Katie looks around in wonder. "This sure puts airplane engines to shame!" she yells to be heard over the engine noise. "Of course, it would be extremely hard to get something this massive to fly! They're doing some amazing things with zeppelins, though, so maybe one day..."

[Job]

The First Officer nodded, chuckled a bit at Katie's remark, then motioned for everyone to begin their climb from the heart of the Gabrielle.

Once back on the main deck, Turlow said, "There are cabin areas at the far end of the SS Gabrielle's bow and also its stern. The bow structure is called the "forecastle", or "fo'c's'le" as you'll hear the crew pronounce it. The cabin structure at the stern is named the "aftercastle". Since these are merely crew cabin areas, we won't be spending any time there and instead will now make our way to the Tween Deck.

Link to ship floorplans

Any questions before we proceed?

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Job. (the tortured one)