Polar Sea? Really? That's neat... what are they showing?
That was a really good boat. See all that red paint? A few layers down... some of that paint was mine. :-) A while ago.
The Polar class are amazing boats. Flabbergasting amounts of power. 20,000 shaft horsepower to ~three~, count 'em, three shafts, for 60,000 HP to the solid stainless variable pitch props. 16ft diameter water-thrashin' monsters they are.
That ship could ~cruise~ through ten-foot thick ice at an easy six or seven knots. Just drive through it. We didn't have to start the "backing-and-ramming" technique until it got to 20+ feet. When backing and ramming, she broke through ice 50 or 60 feet thick, many times.
Neat stuff. :-)
It showed it doing some ice breaking - was pretty cool :~)
Are you in SF?
I'd wayyyyy rather be in a ship that can break ice than in a sub that can travel under.
Nothing to do with anything, of course. Just reminded me of a book I read awhile back that had a lot of ice breaking parts - thriller by Alistair McLean. Ice Station Zebra. Considering I'm skeered of enclosed spaces, I had no business reading it. *shudder* Enclosed space under water AND under ice. Ack and double ack.
And, of course, as if it wasn't enough to give me the heebie-jeebies as it was, they had to go and have a fire, too.
Ungh...