The ship’s tossing more noticeably this morning and I feel nervous at the impending weather that we’ll be hitting later today, which will stay with us for about 24 hours. Perhaps to take our minds off it, the voyage leaders have announced the special occasions on which we can have alcohol. Saturday night is a “half” special occasion, with a ration of two beers (which really means it’s a two-thirds special, but let’s not quibble). Tuesday, Melbourne cup day, we get one beer to drink while watching the race. And next Friday, I think, we go all out for a full 100% special occasion, three beers and a barbecue on the helideck. Not being a big beer drinker I hope they have an alcohol equivalent system in place. Although by then I’d probably take anything on offer.

Tonight’s a trivia night. It will be interesting to see how that goes in a five metre swell. The Aurora Australis crew members are dedicated and long term fundraisers for Camp Quality, so our donations for participating go into the kitty for that excellent cause.

Seasickness, I’ve discovered, gets worse the more you move around. The trick is to minimise stimulation so the brain doesn’t have too many competing visuals to process. Lying down with closed eyes is best if you’re feeling really crook. Travelling around the ship and going up and down stairs can be tricky. To my surprise, working helps quite a bit. The concentrated focus gives me something else to think about. So I’m writing today. The quality may be dubious, but at least it’s words on a page.

We have a program of slide shows and talks each night, all put on by expeditioners who feel like getting up and having a rave about their area of interest. So far we’ve had our resident nature photographer give several talks and slideshows on her adventures around the world (which made me really wish I’d become a photographer), a couple of guys who worked in Laos with helicopters retrieving remains of US soldiers from the Vietnam War (many years after the fact), and a chap who worked for several years in search and rescue at Mount Cook in New Zealand, saving walkers and climbers who got themselves into trouble in alpine areas. Today’s slide shows include “Antarctica – According to a Boilermaker named Horse” and two researchers talking about their penguin research program this summer at Davis.

You’d never think, looking around at all of us lining up for breakfast, that this is such an extraordinary collection of individuals.

OK, time to face the weather. “Material”, I have to remind myself. Great material.