Werner Siefer studied biology and is now working as science editor for the news magazine “Focus” in Munich, Germany. Participating to the CIESM SUB2 cruise was his first experience on a research vessel. During his stay on board of the R/V Urania, he was following the daily life onboard: The every day tasks of the crew, their professional dealing of unexpected situations as well as the work of the marine scientists.
His new experience with the rough winter sea-conditions in the Mediterranean - a region many people only know as a pleasant, sunny place from their summer vacations – provided him with lots of material for interesting stories and reportages and will certainly leave traces in his writing.
His article on the observations he made during the geoscientific campaign will be soon available on the CIESM website and, in the German-speaking countries, in a forthcoming issue of the weekly journal “Focus”.
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A foretaste of the log and the article of the journalist, Werner Siefer
(Original text in German)
"Aus meinen Tagebuch: Vor Sizilien, die See liegt ruhig, ein paar Cumulus ziehen am sonst blauen Himmel. Rückreise. Vorne sitzt der erste Steuermann mit Trainingsanzug und Pilotenbrille. Er raucht und grüßt und schaut dahin und ruht sich aus. Das Meer, denke ich, ist ein Spiegel der Kräfte, die auf es wirken. Die Schrauben der Urania mit ihren 2 mal 1000 KW starken Motoren treiben das Schiff kraftvoll voran. Am Heck hinterlassen sie einen Gischt-Strudel, der aber schon 200 Meter weiter wieder völlig verschluckt ist vom Blau. Nur ein Sturmwind wie gestern kann diese schwabbelnde Masse zu hohen Wänden auftürmen, die Tage brauchen, um wieder zu verflachen oder sich endlich an irgendwelchen fernen Ufern zu brechen. Erst wirklich große Kräfte hinterlassen auf dem Meer einen bleibenden Eindruck. Und wenn es sich wirklich verändert, dann hat sich unser Planet verändert."
(Translation in English)
“From my diary: Sicily ahead, the Sea lies calm, a few Cumulus stain the blue sky. On the way back. In front sits the steersman with a sweat suit and the kind of glasses that pilots use to wear. He smokes and greets and looks around and rests. The Sea, I think, is a mirror of the forces affecting it. The ship’s propellers of the Urania with its two 1000 kilowatts heavy motors push the vessel powerful ahead. At stern they leave a spray swirl behind, which is, though, already after 200 meters entirely swallowed by the big blue. Only a storm wind, like yesterday’s, can pile up this wobbling mass to high walls that need days to flatten again or finally to break at any shore far away. Only very strong forces leave a permanent imprint on the sea. And, when it really changed, then our planet has changed.”
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