Church's Diary, Part 4:
It's been four days since we left Port Fitzroy. Due to rough seas, the originally planned six-day voyage may be delayed to eight days before we reach our destination. However, the most troublesome issue these past two days isn't the rough seas, but rather that many of the scientific expedition members are seasick.
The Discovery carried a total of 73 people this time. In addition to the sailors and marine scientists who regularly participate in scientific research missions at sea, there were 27 scientists who were participating in oceanographic research for the first time. Among them were six very important figures, including Mr. Robbins. Stephen Robbins and Mrs. Larry.
For those who don't often go to sea, seasickness is normal; it would be abnormal not to get seasick. Even seasoned sailors who have been at sea for over a decade experience seasickness sometimes. However, if many people are seasick, taking care of them can be quite a hassle. From the second day after we set sail until today, more than thirty people have developed seasickness symptoms. Some have recovered, but more than ten are in serious condition, especially Mrs. Larry and Miss Alice.
When they left Port Fitzroy, everyone was still excited about witnessing a rare snowfall at sea, and their spirits were high. But by evening, Miss Alice began to feel unwell. She first complained of dizziness and couldn't eat dinner, and after returning to her cabin to rest, she started vomiting incessantly.
Alice was originally sent as Mrs. Larry's assistant to help and care for her. But now, since there are only two ladies on board, Mrs. Larry has to take care of her instead. And the most crucial problem is that Mrs. Larry is also seasick.
I've always wondered why people who have never experienced the storms of the sea are chosen to participate in oceanographic archaeology. Didn't they have better options when selecting candidates?
Mr. Robbins defended Mrs. Larry. Mrs. Larry, saying that she was one of the world's finest archaeologists and philologists, and the most authoritative expert on Ancient Egypt culture and pyramids, and that they needed her for this expedition. He added that Mrs. Larry frequently traveled between the Sahara Desert and various ancient civilization sites on the mainland, rarely traveling by boat, so seasickness was inevitable.
If needing an archaeologist is a given, then what puzzles me is why marine scientific expeditions need a pyramid research expert who is well-versed in Ancient Egypt culture? The pyramids are in the desert along the distant Nile, while we are on the vast ocean on the other side of the world.
Robbins later explained my question to me. During this time, my sailors and I got to know the scientists who were seasick, and they told me that about 700 nautical miles north of Ghost Island, where we were going, people had discovered the ruins of an ancient building on the seabed, where there was an upside-down pyramid.
I don't quite understand how the upside-down pyramids were built. Maybe they have nothing to do with the tombs of the Ancient Egypt pharaohs, but are simply the work of nature! So I'm not too concerned about that; I'll find out when I get there. What I'm most worried about is their health. Seasickness isn't exactly an illness, but if it gets severe, dehydration, shock, or even death can occur.
Everyone else was alright, since they were easier to take care of. The only headache was Mrs. Larry and her assistant, Miss Alice. Mrs. Larry was also very stubborn and insisted on not letting men into their rooms. Apart from bringing them food and medicine, there was nothing else we could do.
Mrs. Larry was notoriously rigid and stubborn. She was Germany, or perhaps originally Finland, who later married Germany. Her full name was Larry Yeg. We should have called her Mrs. Yeger, but she disliked her husband's surname and wouldn't allow it. She was a very serious and unapproachable person, and if you called her Mrs. Yeger. Mrs. Yeger, her face would turn ashen as the rust on an old ship's anchor. I heard that because of this, she and her husband didn't speak to each other for three years. I don't know if that's true, but I think she probably disliked Germany and Germany names, rather than her husband.
Alice was a lively and lovely girl, and everyone on the ship loved to chat with her. Alice loved to laugh, and when she laughed, she had two shallow dimples. It was said that she had a little bit of Eskimo ancestry, but only a little bit; judging from her appearance alone, she was a pure European.
But now, both of them are lying in the cabin like patients, unable to get up, yet they won't allow men to come in and take care of them. We can only knock on their door when it's mealtime. At that time, Mrs. Larry will drag her heavy body to get up and open the door, struggling to take the food and medicine from our hands, and then hand us the garbage bags filled with their vomit. At that moment, a deep apology will appear on Mrs. Larry's stern face. Sometimes she will even say, "I'm sorry for troubling you."
My crew members were always laughing and enjoying themselves. Those who were used to the storms of the sea didn't care about such troubles, unlike the leisurely old men and women on shore who schemed and plotted all the time. In a sailor's philosophy of survival, unity was paramount; without working together, one couldn't face the relentless waves. To the sea, life was but a fleeting, insignificant wave. No matter how many people, how beautiful the women, how valuable the goods, or how powerful the people on board, Poseidon, the god of the sea, didn't care!
Anderson caught two kawa fish and had the chef make soup for Alice and the others. I said that we had plenty of fish in our cold storage if we wanted to eat fish, but kawa meat is coarse and dry, and it takes a lot of seasoning to remove its fishy smell. Even the Māori who like to eat kawa don't think it tastes good, but only because it is easy to catch and can be eaten as a substitute for red meat to some extent.
Anderson, however, claimed that KAWA could replenish the body's fluids and nutrients lost due to vomiting, and cited a strange Eastern philosophical theory, saying that salmon frozen in cold storage lived in the cold northern regions, so the fish was also very cold in nature and needed to be eaten with a strong amount of wasabi or chili. He argued that people who were seasick were weak and their spleen and stomach were not suitable for eating such cold food, and they should not eat wasabi or chili.
I'm curious when this guy learned these strange theories. All he does all day is fish. Does he think that just sitting quietly fishing can communicate with the souls of ancient Eastern philosophers? Not only do I think his theories are unreliable, but the other crew members also think they are unreliable. Only Mr. Robbins thinks it's worth a try. Anyway, we need to cook separate meals for Mrs. Larry and Alice, and the ingredients in the dining cabin don't seem to appeal to them.
And you know what? After the KAWA fish soup was made and served to them, they actually ate it and didn't vomit. I mean, they didn't vomit from afternoon until evening, and in the evening, Mrs. Larry even came out and chatted with Mr. Robbins for a while. It was truly a miracle!