September 18, 2019

Heading in to the Arctic, it’s important to make sure that you have all the right gear. We were fortunate that AWI provided our expedition gear: warm and weatherproof under and outer wear to protect us from the harsh conditions. Before departure, we had to try everything on and then pack the items into sea bags for transport onto the ship. This also allowed us our first close up view of Polarstern. 

The shipyard was a bustling place with the final push to load the ships; skid steers, cranes and people moving all about. There were containers being stacked one after another at the bow, an impressive amount of cargo was needed for the expedition. I had been waiting for this cruise since receiving my acceptance letter in March, it felt like the day would never come. Having our gear made everything suddenly feel very real. It must have been an impossibly long wait for the scientists responsible for the MOSAiC concept…over 10 years of planning.

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Gearing up (© Rosalie McKay)