The constant rolling of the ship did not rock me to sleep on the first night at sea, nor did it the second night.

If it had not been for the exclusive berth at the Waterfront in Cape Town that lured me aboard, I might not have set foot on the marine research vessel that was to take me all the way to Walvis Bay.

Whether it was a strategic move by the scientists or pure coincidence, but I boarded with a smile, without giving a second thought to my fears and worries about getting seasick.

The 64-metrelong German marine research vessel, the Alexander von Humboldt was berthed right opposite the Cape Grace hotel on the Waterfront. This is said to be the hotel of choice in the Mother City these days for Hollywood stars like Samuel Jackson. With Table Mountain keeping watch in the background, the vessel certainly occupied the best “parking space in town.”

Savouring the beautiful, calm weather in the “Cape of Storms” on our first night on board was spent in the harbour. That meant blissful sleep in a surprisingly spacious and very comfortable cabin, apparently more luxurious than our neighbours at the Cape Grace enjoyed, since they complained about the vessel’s diesel engine running all night.

I was starting to look forward to the trip that was supposed to give me an insight into what it is that marine scientists do at sea. But we were still in harbour and life at sea was surely going to offer plenty of surprises.

The von Humboldt is into the last month of a seven-month cruise in the Benguela current and the tropical waters off Angola to carry out an extensive range of research with more than 100 scientists from Germany, Namibia, South Africa and Angola on board. The vessel is run by the Baltic Sea Research Institute - Warnemünde at the University of Rostock in Germany.

According to Professor Bodo von Bodungen, Director of the Baltic Sea Research Institute and chief scientist on board, the 2.1 million Euro (N$17.4 million) research cruise took three years to organise.

In his characteristically easy-going and humorous manner, Bodo, as everyone calls him, recalls how the magic of Namibia’s sand dunes provided the spark for the cruise.

“I was watching a presentation by a Namibian scientist at a conference in Germany when she showed a slide of the sand dunes. I immediately felt as if I was on a high from smoking something.”

That was the birth of what would become known as the Alexander von Humboldt Angola-Benguela Expedition (AHAB).

Funding came from a number of international and regional institutions and organisations. This includes a ten per cent contribution by the two regional bodies of the Benguela Environment Fisheries Interaction & Training Programme (BENEFIT) and the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem (BCLME) Programme which served as good bait for German institutions to also contribute, according to Bodo. The biggest contribution of 100 000 Euro (N$830 000) came from the Baltic Sea Research Institute.

After some red tape issues with customs that took a couple of hours to sort out, leaving Cape Town harbour was both exciting and spectacular.

As Table Mountain grew smaller and Robben Island disappeared from view, the swell of the open sea took hold of the vessel and the rolling started.

With the security of dry land behind us, our first priority was a safety drill. This included the donning of a huge orange survival suit. Resembling a bunch of “drunken Oros mannetjies” stumbling about on the top deck, we got a good feel for the balance problems we would have to cope with for the next three days.

For the crew of 16, coping with the rolling ship has become second nature. Some of them have been on the ship for as long as 34 years. Sadly for them, the AHAB will be the last big cruise of the Humboldt. After two more short cruises, the vessel, built in 1967, will be decommissioned in September.

“This is a difficult time for the crew,” says Bodo. Many of them will be without work after September. The trip also holds a great deal of nostalgia for the older crew members.

“We are very happy the ship will end its life with a big cruise,” says Klaus Beckman, first technical officer, who has been on board since 1971. The fact that the vessel docked at Cape Town and Walvis Bay made the cruise very significant. In the 1970s, when the vessel also conducted research off the coast of southern Africa, he was not allowed to dock at the two ports because of the politics of the day.

“We would sail past Cape town and clearly sea Table Mountain. It was so exciting this time to be able to dock,” recalls Beckmann. Being part of the former East Germany, the vessel was banned from docking at Western ports during those years.

Beckmann, who is responsible for keeping the engine of the ship running, is immensely proud of his work.

“A ship is like a little city. It is only excellent team work that will ensure it runs smoothly,” he says.

Bodo agrees that the dedication of the crew clearly showed on the cruise so far and enabled the ship to do very well.

Despite being so far from there families, there were only four crew changes for the seven month voyage.

“It is amazing what an old ship can still do with a committed crew, and this distinguished the Von Humboldt crew over the years.”

Bodo feels the cruise has been successful so far.

“Despite really bad weather that made our work very difficult, we’ve had no major breakdowns.” He attributes this to a very well trained crew with a good understanding of the specialized work of the scientists. They also ensure all systems are well maintained, including the high-tech scientific and navigation equipment, the nine laboratories and other specialized gear on board.

Our cruise was fortunately not hit by bad weather. In fact the weather was excellent and the sea pleasantly calm with dolphins and seals playing in our wake, while albatrosses and petrels flew overhead.

Captain Gerhard Hertzig, who also writes 34 years of service on the Von Humboldt behind his name, commented that we could not have asked for better weather as we cruised on steadily at a speed of around 11 knots (20.4km/h).

But it would not be a scientific trip if it were not interrupted by frequent stops to take samples. In the true spirit of the great German explorer Alexander von Humboldt, whom Charles Darwin described as the “greatest scientific traveler who ever lived”, and the man reputed to have transformed Western science in the nineteenth century, the ship’s specialised equipment was put to good use in the name of science.

These are the times when the scientists’ eyes start glowing and they eagerly wait for whatever is brought up from the depths of the ocean. The first “treasure” delivered by the “grab sampler” was merely a load of smelly, dark green mud that was immediately claimed by one of the scientists as “my mud”.

It was only later when we were allowed a closer look under the microscope that some of the excitement about the wonders of their world could be understood.

Other methods of marine sampling used during the cruise included the ‘CTD sampler’ - consisting of a number of tubes to measure current, temperature and depth - the ‘multi-core sampler’ and ‘plankton nets’. The highly specialized underwater camera was the most exciting ‘toy’ even though the murky waters did not provide very clear underwater images.

The scientific focus of the vessel during the seven-month voyage is on environmental and ecological issues identified by researchers from Namibia, South Africa and Angola.

ENTERTAINMENT

While the scientists immersed themselves in their laboratories, I conducted my own research on the best ways of coping with the rolling action. It is important to know how much milk you can pour over your breakfast cereal to ensure it does not spill when the ship rolls from side to side. You also need to get into some shower gymnastics and close your eyes to keep the shampoo out and then you lose your sense of balance as a result.

In between trying to understand all the scientific lingo and experiments, there was enough time to meet in the pantry for tea and chocolate spread sandwiches (on top of being served huge meals, mostly including “kartoffeln” three times a day.)

Or when the sun is out, you can catch up on some reading on the top deck.

At night the ship’s DVD collection - ranging from Omar Shariff in Dr Zhivago to Leonardo DiCaprio in Titanic - offers some entertainment, while the duty free shop stocks included a good selection of KWV red wine.

But the best pastime turned out to be observing the “mad scientists” as I decided to call them affectionately.

When they are not totally absorbed in their laboratories fiddling with tubes, chemicals and pipettes, their peculiar habits, such as sipping red wine right after lunch, kept me fascinated.

While Bodo with his “Einstein hairdo” never ran out of jokes and entertaining antics, it was the “Teddyman” who tickled the women’s curiosity the most. It turned out that Teddy was a seasoned world traveler and well known on many research vessels.

Teddy’s owner, who ensures he does not miss out on any of the action on board - and that includes watching the sunset and sun bathing - never had a teddy bear as a child. Since he was given Teddy on his 18^th birthday, a lifelong relationship has evolved. So much so that Teddy is respectfully called “the one with the brains in the family.”