The Evening Monday 11th September 1933
The party continues until well after sunset - champagne flows freely and Starkweather and Moore both toast the future and the expeditions good fortune, grinning ear to ear. Peter Sykes entertains the party with old Newfoundland whalers chanteys accompanied by spoons and cook-pot drums, and offers to teach the words to whomever wants to learn. The evening also offers an ideal chance for the more well-travelled members of the team regale one another with tales of previous great adventures they have had and disasters they have witnessed.
The ship moves smoothly through Atlantic waters. The rise and fall of the vessel in the waves, while noticeable, is gentle and soothing, accompanied by the continuous faint thrum of the great engines below decks. Everyone is a little wobbly at first, until they get their sea legs, but within hours the motion of the ship seems natural. The champagne naturally helps quite a lot with this environmental adjustment.
SS Gabrielle Atlantic Ocean, off the US Eastern Board
08:00am (EST) Tuesday 12th September 1933
Course = 180°
Speed = 11 knots
Position = N37°22 W074°0
Mapquest Map Link
The Gabrielle makes steady progress though the night, the crew taking their watches as the members of the Starkweather-Moore expedition sleep. As the explorers rise from their bunks in the morning they find that the day is overcast, but fine. A gusty wind is blowing and the grey Northern Atlantic is choppy, but still not enough to threaten the stomachs of any but the weakest of constitutions.
After freshening up and dressing most members of the expedition make their way to their respective messes for breakfast with the crew.
[OOC: Meals are communal affairs, served family style from the cooks big pots in the galley.
Kitt (as the only lady aboard), James (an expedition financier) and Professor Graves are expected to join Captain Vredenburgh, his officers, Starkweather, Moore and the expeditions other Professors (Griffith, Bryce, Myers and Albemarle) in the Officers Mess. Meals here are leisurely affairs, with fine porcelain and silver, followed by brandy and cigars after dinner.
The other twenty-odd expedition members gather in the Crews Mess aft, and eat their meals off of scuffed steel and crockery. The crews sitting is usually a loud friendly affair.]
Breakfast for the expedition is served from 89 a.m. each morning. A small chalkboard is set up in both mess halls. They are updated every morning to show the ships position in latitude and longitude, the times of sunrise and sunset, the predicted weather, and any assignments or classes offered for the day.
Tuesday 12th September 1933
Latitude: N 37° 30
Longitude 74° 00
Sunrise: 05:35
Sunset: 18:08
Todays Weather: Overcast, possible rain
Wind Speed: 10-20 mph
Todays Classes:
Morning:
Sykes - Clothes and Equipment Officers Mess
Greene - Antarctic First-Aid Expedition Lab
Pulaski & Frodesen Sledding Aftcastle
Afternoon:
G & N Sorensen - Technical Climbing Crews Mess
Miles - Aeroplane Maintenance - #2 Tweendeck Hold
Gilmore - The Pabodie Ice-Drill Operation - #1 Tweendeck Hold
Moore - Antarctic Exploration Officers Mess
Evening:
Griffith - Antarctic Geology Officers Mess
Halperin - Aerial Navigation Expediton Lab
Laroche Basic Wireless Operation Ships Radio Room
Professor Moore makes it clear to everybody that he expects each member of the team to make good use of the time available to prepare for the expedition.
There is a tremendous amount of expertise aboard this ship; so lets make sure that we share as much of that knowledge around as we can! I expect anybody not running a class to sign up for one.
In the crews mess Doctor Hunky Richard Greene suggests that the deck space could be used for a friendly sporting tournament during the voyage, at least while the weather is good, his idea is met with enthusiasm by the Sorensen Brothers and also by Samuel Winslow, they sign up immediately as does James Starkweather as soon as he hears about it.