Day 3 - Preparations for departure.

We arrive at the ship, the James Clark Ross. The skipper, Hamish, his crew, Jean-Baptiste and the other Scientists are there to meet us. The sun is shining and the waves are calm. We all know it won’t be like this further south.

The James Clark Ross (JCR) with Falkland Island coastline in the background.

Work begins. Setting up data systems in the UIC room, replacing O-rings and unpacking ARGO floats. CTDs are affixed, VMPs are assembled and ADCPs are powered up. I am left concerned that the boat will sink under the weight of all these TLAs. 

Photo: Julian gleefully inspects the CTD rosette.
 
A tummy bug, picked up on the journey across the equator, means a few of us (mostly me) are talking down the big white telephone sooner than we expected. The finest Falklands rack of lamb is enjoyed by most of the team at a local hotel dinner. A kind of farewell to the last patch of land we’ll see in a while.