29-30 July
Believe it or not, yesterday (29 July) was the hottest day here in Vancouver since 1853. 34 Celsius. Although such one is quite acceptable (Athens hits 40 C easily this period), it was inconvenient. For the locals it was not a big surprise either. In the last 100 years a slow and constant increase in temperature is observed in the area. Combined with the abrupt changes of the weather make the environmental damage obvious. This is even more clear in the northern parts of Canada where the people see the ice melting more and more with the years. From one side they like it (who likes cold weather?) but from the other a deadly phenomenon takes place.
Back to our boat. I would like to speak about the most heavy and difficult task: Safety. There are numerous levels of emergency, as well as thousand preventive measures for safety. The tools take about 60% of the boat's volume. For every little machinery the captain keeps a spare part to fix it if it is broken. There are additional water and gas tanks everywhere, except the huge barrels underneath. Three additional small boats equipped with food and water are ready to host us in case of emergency. Two electronic communication devices are ready to send our position over satellite to neaby stations. And lastly the are numerous tips and tricks to prevent any type of danger before it becomes... danger.
My company through all this trip is my Laptop. A Dell D410, bought second-hand for only 200 Euros, has proved a tough and reliable tool everywhere: from the convenient home of my relatives till the roof of the boat.
Believe it or not, yesterday (29 July) was the hottest day here in Vancouver since 1853. 34 Celsius. Although such one is quite acceptable (Athens hits 40 C easily this period), it was inconvenient. For the locals it was not a big surprise either. In the last 100 years a slow and constant increase in temperature is observed in the area. Combined with the abrupt changes of the weather make the environmental damage obvious. This is even more clear in the northern parts of Canada where the people see the ice melting more and more with the years. From one side they like it (who likes cold weather?) but from the other a deadly phenomenon takes place.
Back to our boat. I would like to speak about the most heavy and difficult task: Safety. There are numerous levels of emergency, as well as thousand preventive measures for safety. The tools take about 60% of the boat's volume. For every little machinery the captain keeps a spare part to fix it if it is broken. There are additional water and gas tanks everywhere, except the huge barrels underneath. Three additional small boats equipped with food and water are ready to host us in case of emergency. Two electronic communication devices are ready to send our position over satellite to neaby stations. And lastly the are numerous tips and tricks to prevent any type of danger before it becomes... danger.
My company through all this trip is my Laptop. A Dell D410, bought second-hand for only 200 Euros, has proved a tough and reliable tool everywhere: from the convenient home of my relatives till the roof of the boat.
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