The End is in Sight!

The final samples were analyzed last night, ushering in the new chore of packing. Finding all of the boxes and specialized crates and covers and foam inserts for gear is a lot like a scavenger hunt on the ship. After 8 weeks, you think you know where everything is…

Just after dinner tonight, many of us went out to the bow and to our delight could see the islands of Tahiti and Moorea about 30 miles away. The end is (literally) in sight! Due to favorable winds and a string of good luck, we’ll be arriving in port 2 days early.

Tahiti Nui behind me and the much smaller Moorea to the right.

We were treated to one of the best sunsets of the 56 days.

Tomorrow at 5:30 a.m. we are meeting a pilot boat. This allows the Pape’ete port captain to come aboard our ship and drive it to the dock. That might seem odd to those who don’t sail, but it’s extremely common. Ports are busy and often tightly packed places with a lot of expensive things you don’t want to crash into! Having 1 or 2 dedicated people who know the port well is the best way to make a safe landing.

After we arrive the customs officials will board our ship and set about checking and stamping our passports for our official entrance into French Polynesia. After that, it’s time to work, work, work! There are over 100 loads that have to be craned off of the ship and loaded into cargo containers for shipment back to the many labs in the USA.

Everyone is really looking forward to cold Hinanos and trying the local favorite of chow mein on a baguette. Sounds weird, but we’ve been eating chocolate chip cookies and bacon for breakfast so it’s par for the course.

Ok, not every day. But it is a delicious treat when it happens! Rob brings Laura, Claire and myself “breakfast” while we sample.

And now to wrap up the cruise, a few photos of us having fun:

Dan Ohnemus in his penguin costume and safety gear during McLane pump deployment on Halloween. [photo courtesy of Brett Longworth]

Mai the mess attendant setting off expired flares during a safety meeting. [photo courtesy of Brett Longworth]

Joe Resing dressed up for the celebrity photo shoot / crossing the international dateline. [photo courtesy of Bettina Sohst]

Me and my styrafoam head before (left) and after (right) being sent down into a trench under ~5,200 meters of seawater.

Orlando the oiler preparing some fresh sashimi. We caught 3 fish in 8 weeks – proof of the damage done by overfishing the oceans. [photo courtesy of Brett Longworth]

Me making latkes the last night of Chanukah. [photo courtesy of Brett Longworth]

Brian the AB holding up a flying fish that jumped on deck. [photo courtesy of Brett Longworth]

Some of us scientists hanging out at the bow, looking for Caroline Island. [photo courtesy of Katlin Bowman]

I hope you’ve learned something new about oceanography during the last 8 weeks. You, the American taxpayers, make research expeditions like this possible. Remember us the next time the government announces a shutdown or slashes to the National Science Foundation budget – everyone on board this ship has been [and will continue to be] directly impacted by these events.

Thanks for reading along!

[photo courtesy of Katlin Bowman]

Almost Christmas

It’s almost Christmas, and we’re almost done! We’re currently finishing our last station and will be arriving in Tahiti by Friday morning.

The scientists are lucky, because we all get to leave the ship and go home (or stay on vacation in Tahiti) for Christmas. Some of the crew also get to leave, but a number of them are staying on (and more crew are joining them) because the next group of scientists is meeting the ship and sailing for Samoa on the 27^th. To boost their spirits as well as our own we’ve been busy decorating the ship for Christmas for the last 2 weeks.

Remember those Jack-o-lantern turned turkeys? Says hello to their latest reincarnation!

The ship has 2 trees, one in the lounge which Claire and I helped to decorate, and another smaller one in the mess:

Plenty of lights are strung up around the lab spaces:

Spike in front of “Café Thorium”, named because of the espresso machine they installed in their lab van (and because they measure thorium).

The inside of the GEOTRACES sampling van at night.

And AB Michele has gone around turning things into a paper-y winter wonderland (very similar to the scene from the movie Elf):

Inspired by the Advent calendar from my mom, I re-wrote the classic poem ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas and sketched scenes to accompany it. This proved an excellent activity when waiting for casts that ran late or when unable to sleep.

It tells the tale of St. Nick visiting the ship in his canoe pulled by his 8 flying fish, and below are 2 of the sketches:

“When out near the bow there arose such a clatter, I sprang from my van to see what was the 

 matter.”

“When, what to my wondering eyes should appear, But a miniature canoe and eight flying fish.“

The Golden Dragon

We opened today with a sunrise over Caroline Island, which is the most eastern landmass you can find on the “future” side of the International Dateline. The gorgeous sunset gave way to signs of island life (various tropical birds) and a view 4 miles offshore of the island revealed a small sandy beach and lush palm trees (through binoculars). It looked like the tropical island paradise everyone envisions in their dreams! 

Sunrise at the Dateline, ~5:30 a.m.

Sunrise here started around 5 a.m., so some people (like Sarah Nicholas – U Mn) came in pajamas!

Ocean-goers believe crossing the Equator for your first time (when you become a “shellback”) is a right of passage on a ship; similarly, so is crossing of the International Dateline (“Order of the Golden Dragon”). Celebrating is mostly a way to stave off boredom and rejuvenate spirits, although there is definitely a sense of tradition about the whole ordeal. Heading into our last station of the cruise, we definitely needed a morale boost. Although a few curmudgeonly old timers thought our crossing didn’t count (because we’re not at the 180° line), they were quickly outnumbered and overruled. Officially, we have crossed into the future!

The red line is the International Dateline, and we’re at the yellow star just across it.

Chris German (WHOI) points out the “line” as we pass it and Bettina Sohst (Old Dominion University) looks on.

A few crew members and Chris German the co-chief scientist organized a small ceremony for us involving certificates handed out by Captain Russ and a silly photo-shoot (Hollywood style).

 

Yours truly posing in the photo-shoot.

That was followed by a music video screening that Kris the Chief Mate has been working on for the better part of 6 weeks. Inspired by our obsessive cleanroom mannerisms in the lab, it was to the song Can’t Touch This.

Between the Eastern-most Order of the Golden Dragon ceremony and cramming 40+ people into the TV lounge to laughing at ourselves dance in the music video, we are now mentally ready for the final gauntlet (even if our bodies aren’t)!

Almost done!

The Crew

Today we’re at station 34 of 36!

The most important people on the R/V Thompson are her crew; none of our work would be possible without them doing their jobs; their willingness to go above and beyond makes our jobs a good bit easier.

On our ship is:

Captain Russ: responsible for the overall operations of the ship, loads of paperwork, and any disciplinary action that might arise (yep, they even have a brig on this ship!). But don’t get the wrong idea; he’s regularly seen doing deck work, holding tag lines for crane loads, and carrying our heavy seawaters up to their storage spots on various decks. This is a very rare quality in a captain, and we find it awesome!

Captain Russ (background) holds a safety line along with AB Dave (left) and AB Jason (right) as Chief Mate Kris (center) directs the crane operator. This is every bit as crazy as Bettina Sohst’s photo makes it look!

Chief (first) Mate Kris, 2^nd Mate Matt, and 3^rd Mate Kim: each of whom is responsible for two 4 hours shifts on the bridge during the day. They keep the ship on course and let us know when it’s safe to deploy our equipment over the side. Last week I was up with Kim when a fishing vessel radioed us and she was responsible for communicating our heading and making sure there was no collision.  Kris also doubles as our medic on the ship, and maintains the small hospital on board.

Kim on watch up on the bridge [photo by Bettina Sohst].

Chief Engineer Jim: the title implies his role. Jim is in charge of making sure the ship is able to run, from the big things like the diesel engines that propel us and power generators, to the freezers staying cold, the air conditioning running, the sewage tanks not overflowing, and the water system which continually makes fresh water.

Engineers Andy, Mike & Mark: are the certified engineers that work under Jim’s direction to keep things running smoothly. They do it all, from fixing broken heads [toilets] to repairing the toaster. They have an extensive workshop and can even machine parts when needed. Also, Andy is our barber (but he seems to only give buzz cuts).

Oilers Ves, Scott, Orlando, and Mario : Similarly to the engineers, these 4 keep the ship running. The only difference I’ve found is they haven’t earned their engineer’s certificate yet.

[left to right, in order of heads] Orlando, Ves, Mike, Dave, and Rob carrying a fire hose (photo by Katlin Bowman).

  

ABs Mike, Rob, Brian, Dave, Michele, and Jason: The able bodied sea(wo)men are here to do whatever needs doing. They clean the “public” heads, run the winch for deck ops, chip paint, wash the floors, repair ventilation, help us carry heavy things around the ship, fetch spray paint for Thanksgiving turkeys… you name it and they can do it. Today, Michele even dug out the Christmas tree and a few of us helped her put it up in the lounge!

ABs Brian, Jason, and Dave [1^st, 3^rd, and 4^th from foreground] help us move boxes filled with samples [photo by Bettina Sohst].

Galley staff: Cook Dan, 2^nd Cook Liz, and Mess Attendant Mai. Liz wakes up before dawn (~04:30) every day to start breakfast; Dan joins her shortly after she gets the baked goods (coffee cake, scones, and sometimes brownies!) to make eggs, bacon, quiche, etc. They have breakfast, lunch and dinner ready exactly on time every day. Over the course of 60 days that’s 9,900 meals for all of us! They quite impressively managed to keep the green lettuce going for 47 days, and we’re still eating fresh plums and apples. No scurvy on this ship! Mai has 2 important roles: washing all our dishes and keeping the snack bar stocked. 

Marine Technicians Patrick and Stephan: Technically not part of the crew, these two are responsible for keeping us scientists from running amuck. They are our liaisons with the bridge for deck ops, and help us fix our gear when it breaks, and overall provide scientists support for their work.  

 Patrick overseeing a deployment.

  

In addition to the daily roles they play, everyone above is also in charge of specific tasks when it comes to abandoning ship, (wo)man overboard, or a fire. This is really important, so they meet weekly on safety and have drills at least once a month which everyone participates in. Earlier this week we did an abandon ship and fire drill.

The crew is reminded of abandon ship procedures.

 

Michele and Ves practice deploying the ladder for climbing overboard. Apparently we aren’t supposed to just jump in during emergencies.

 

Each firefighter has someone to help dress them. Here Dan helps Ves suit up; Liz helps Michele, and Orlando helps AB Mike.

Fire hoses are tested, which requires a lot of strength. Mario, Dan, Liz and Mike shoot one overboard.

During all of this, the scientists retrieve their survival gear and meet at our muster point for roll call. The large gathering of disheveled people looks a lot like kids getting ready to board a bus home from summer camp. 

Gretchen Swarr (WHOI) smirks at me while Bettina Sohst (Old Dominion University) tries to nap [the drill caught her during her off shift].

Rob Sherrell (Rutgers) also sleeps (seeing a pattern yet?)

 

Nick Hawco and Brett Longworth (both WHOI) look on as Sarah Nicholas (U Mn) demonstrates her preparedness for evacuation.

 

Our co-chief scientists Chris German (WHOI) and Jim Moffett (Univ. of Southern California) trying to get arrested by the fashion police, instilling confidence in us, mustering.