Cruise Q & A with Meredith Keelan Click here to submit a question! Approximately, how hot do the mud volcanoes get, (as in how high does the temp. get and how low does it get?) What is the weather like?  Can you see land when you're at sea?   Are you guys in the Gulf or the Caribbean?  How deep is the water on average?  Why does the water look so blue?   Have seen any marine mammals yet? What is your job on board, and do you like it as well as teaching? Have you had any frightening moments since you've been on board? What things do you miss most from home? Are you on Daylight Savings time there?   How do you deal with sea sickness? Are there any cute guys on the ship?   Are you working on your tan? What is the date of your return? Do you have any music to listen to? If you ran out of food on the ship what would you eat? Have you seen any suspicious pirate ships? Are there any cute guys on the ship for you? How much water does the ship have to take in for it to sink?

Amanda asks: Approximately, how hot do the mud volcanoes get, (as in how high does the temp. get and how low does it get?) At the surface a mud volcano has temperatures that are similar to the surrounding air or water.  For example, mud volcanoes onland Trinidad have the same temperature as the surrounding air and offshore Barbados, the temperature at the surface of a mud volcano was approx. 2 (C).  The temperature of the fluids from offshore Barbados mud volcanoes show an increasing temperature with depth.  At 12 m depth, the temperature was 8 (C). back to top John O'Brien from Van Vleck ISD asks: What is the weather like?  Is it cold...Is it hot? Can you see land when you're at sea?  Are you guys in the Gulf or the Caribbean?  How deep is the water on average?  Is it blue?  Why does the water look so blue?  Do things look the same (Colors) at different depths of water?   We are in the Caribbean sea, and right now harbored in the port of Willemsted Curacao, a territory of the Netherlands.  There is a very interesting mix of Dutch and the Caribbean. All the buildings have the Dutch architecture but very brightly painted and  of course there is much tropical folage. The waters are typicaly deep blue at sea and that incredible turquios when the waves break. At some points you can see 100 feet down. The salinity is very high compared to home, and you can float very easily. Water depths vary; here in port the water is still probably 20' but just 1 mile off shore and it jumps up to 8,000! The Center Beam Sounding regularly shows depths of 3500m. The temperature is probably 75, and very refreshing! I will assume the water does heat up some in the peak summer.  The sun is brutal, and sun screen is always requried. back to top The Xeriscape Class from Van Vleck ISD asks: We would like to know if you have seen any marine mammals yet. What is your job on board, and do you like it as well as teaching? Have you had any frightening moments since you've been on board? What things do you miss most from home? I personally have seen no mammals except the ones on the ship! But, yesterday, Wed. May 5 there was sighting of Sperm Whale. Some others were up on flying bridge and saw the blow, and fluke (tail). The whale was about 1.5 miles off ship. The MMO's have been hearing dolpins regularly as we have been in much shallower waters. Tuesday night, while close to Venezuelan coast (15 miles) we saw a flock of Flamingos!!!!! They have huge nesting ground on island of Bonaire, but at night fly to Venezuela to feed. My job on the ship? whatever they tell me to do, but I jump in to it all. When we first sailed I helped deploy the streamers and hang the birds on the streamer.  It was a lot of physical work, but by doing that I got better understanding of what those things really do. That took about 6 hours. The watches consist of "watching" tv screens and computer screens to make sure everything is doing what they are supposed to be.  There are about 20 screens in all. We have to make sure each shot is recorded and that the screen changes. Two watches yesterday were not paying attention and we lost 3 hours of data, around  500 shots! Other screens are actual monitors of the fan tail so we can see when crew is out on a boom working on guns in case one should have accident and fall. We also have to change data tapes every 103 shots and record the shots, files, tape number and what the location is. Watches that go smoothly are VERY BORING!!!, so I am very glad shifts are only 4 hours. Compared to teaching? I will take teaching, as there is something new everyday. I am very glad I took this opportunity to do something totally different. Will I do this again? Ask me in 4 more weeks! From the science aspect I am learning much about how this geologic data is taken, recorded and interpreted and that has been very interesting. It really is a guessing game and jig-saw puzzle to figure out what all this data means.  In short, don't pass up any opportunity laid in your lap. Frightening moments?  No; about the only thing I have been even remotely worried about is getting sick, and thanks to God I haven't. We still have some people that after 3 weeks are still sick. I will say I have be very surprised at the size of some of the swells that have come up along side the ship. Yesterday morning I was out on fantail with a crew member, watching sun rise and we turned to see a wave about 15' over our head. Fortunately we rode over the top of it, but that does get your "juices flowing."  Do I miss home? Yes, I miss my dogs, and a bed and shower that don't move! and Quiet!!!!!! I guess you guys want me to say I miss you too.  I do... I have no one to yell at here!!! back to top Larissa asks: Are you on Daylight Savings time there? No. We are 1 hour ahead of Van Vleck. Many other countries in the world, including the countries here in the Caribbean, don't practice daylight savings time.   The sun comes up around 6:15 and it's dark by about 7:15. When the sun goes down it is very dark, but with the full moon the other night it was remarkably light out. I can see why during WWII Navy ships were easily spotted by subs. back to top Lorentha and Doug ask: What kind of suggestions do you have for people that are going on a long boat trip?  How do you deal with sea sickness? If you have never been on a ship I would definitely do the ear patch or Dramamine. I have been on large cruise ships and they too move a lot in high seas It also helps to get your cabin on the lowest deck and in the middle of the ship. Down there you don't feel the movement quite as much. The FOOD is GREAT!!! and on cruise ships you are pay more for the nicer rooms, but everyone eats the same food. Cruises now are very reasonably priced; In fact I'm planning to take a cruise to Alaska next July 2005! back to top Nicole Asks: Are there any cute guys on the ship?  Are you working on your tan?  Nicole, there is more to people than their looks, and besides, I'm too old to worry about that. But, surprisingly most of the crew is married and again, from all over the world. (Chile, Puerto Rico, India, Canada, Great Britain) As far as working on a tan, the sun is brutal here, literally 15-20 minutes and you are burning. SPF 30 is must. The other week when we had the emergency and had to pull in all the equipment I sun burned my ears and they are still peeling. back to top Dru Asks: What is the date of your return?  Right now it looks like we will be in San Juan, Puerto Rico on June 4th and fly home June 5th. I am sure I will be more than ready for a bed, a, shower, and some food that sits still! This has still been a great experience. Where I go to from here is the next question. back to top Cowboy Asks: Do you have any music to listen to? That's a good question. The music runs the entire spectrum (thank God not including "Metal"). Up in the galley you may hear everything from old country (Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynett) to 50"s and 60's music to old time 40's and 50's swing and big-band, so that keeps things interesting. The movie selection is likewise, broad and varied. There are classic films like African Queen, as well as newer movies such as Lord of the Rings II. back to top   Gabby Asks: How much water does the ship have to take in for it to sink? I don't think that is something they "test". All the outer hatches of the ship are water tight as well as the windows. No interior doors are water tight, but they are all fire proof. I have not idea how much water the Ewing could handle before we went under, but we do have regular fire, Man-overboard and abandon-ship drills. That isn't even a question I would ask a crewman...that's like asking for trouble! back to top Colleen Asks: Are there any cute guys on the ship for you?  We probably have 2 very different definitions of Cute! But, regardless with the exception of about 6 guys, all are married and of those 6 I'm old enough to be their mother. Not to mention I'm the 2nd oldest person on the ship! Just call me Granny! back to top Amanda asks: Do you feel like the girl in Titanic? Not Quite. The Titanic was a very different ship from this. As I told Gabby, this ship would probably be very difficult to sink, not to mention the Titanic was probably 8 times longer and by volume 20 times more massive. The Titanic sunk because the lower deck frames (interior cross walls) did not go to the ceilings. So as compartments on the Titanic filled the water was allowed to spill over to the next. On this ship and most ships now, walls go to the ceilings and there are water tight doors inside and out to prevent too much water entering. A bigger fear is being thrown overboard by a wave or just loosing your balance. In fact, in the waters we are in right now there is a local fisherman who fell overboard. He has been missing for several days. We have had people up on deck scanning for him and have seen the search plane overhead. That is a fear I try to keep in the back of my head...way back! But honestly I can't think of any point in time where I have been afraid, not even when I have been out on the gun boom hanging 25 feet out over the water! back to top Cody Asks: Have you seen any suspicious pirate ships?  I guess you have heard the Pirate story, and thankfully NO! But that is a real issue in the open seas and we did have a safety meeting about that last week. Generally the Pirates are looking for money, and they want to hit and run so if we don't stop they will have a difficult time boarding. The Ewing has a special crew that will deal with that if it should happen. I stand a far better chance of getting mugged in the parking lot of HEB than by Pirates in the Caribbean! back to top Gabby Asks: If you ran out of food on the ship what would you eat? They actually plan for trips lasting longer than scheduled. I know while we were in Curacao we did take on more fresh milk, fruit, and veggies...those are the things that go bad. Our sister ship, the Seward Johnson II will be going into Trinidad for fuel and they will probably pick up a few supplies for us also. But this ship has a huge frozen food locker and equally large refrigerator and pantry. Plus, much of the food is from scratch so things like flour and sugar last forever. So, running out of food is not an issue either...still fitting into my 4 pairs of shorts IS! back to top