It’s Monday on board the R/V Roger Revelle, and I am impressed that I am even aware of the day of the week. The days have begun to bleed into each other, but Monday is one of the few exceptions. Granted I wasn’t the biggest fan of Mondays to begin with, just indifferent. However, on the ship Monday may easily be my least favorite day of the week, because it is the day that is furthest from the next Sunday, which is steak-dinner day.The picture to the right shows some of the food that is prepared for us during lunch. Now imagine one of those trays filled with freshly grilled steak... Credit for the photo goes to James Holmes.
Long story short, the meals that the stewards prepare for us in the galley are excellent. They are also all-you-can-eat, although care must be taken when doing so because we have a distinctly limited supply. Wasting food is probably one of the worst things you can do on the ship, so I try to adhere to three principles with regards to my meals:
1) Eat everything you take.
2) Take only what you think you can eat.
3) Never directly touch any food.
The first two principles are perhaps self-explanatory. The third is because we want to be very cleanly since a bug could spread like wildfire among the crew. There are always tongs or a scoop available to take food with. We are encouraged to use them, lest the entire tray, easily enough to feed ~20 people, be thrown out.
Also, dinner on Sunday is steak. Boy howdy do I love Sundays.
While we’re on the subject of food, let’s talk about drink as well. All American research vessels are dry. No alcohol. No illicit substances. No exceptions. I don’t mind so much, though I know folks who may. On the flip side, between the healthy, delicious meals and the draconian libation policies, going on a research cruise is a great way to detox. You’ll be clean by the end of one of these stints whether you want to be or not!
-John DeSanto
No comments:
Post a Comment