Educational Activities

Journal Entry
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Sunday
September 14, 2003

Well, I barely got out of bed this morning in time to fill the collecting jars with water for the first dive. Heather and I in our sleepy state of confusion, did not check the operations board for updates. When we were almost finished filling the jars, Heather went into the main lab and came back smiling really big. Nikki, she said, “We don’t have a dive this morning. The message on the board says…all done”. Even though we had wasted twenty minutes filling the jars with water we were ecstatic. “We’re heading for land?” I said.

I was so excited, I immediately went to tell everybody else that was waking up. Then, I went to dump the water out of the jars and Tracy came in the wet lab and saw me with the jars. “Nikki”, he said…”we aren’t diving this morning” and I replied, “I know I want to know how to clean and pack these things to go home!”

I spent most of the day washing out igloo chests, collecting jars, and incubator containers with soapy water, rinsing with fresh water and drying everything. I was so happy to hear we were heading for Honolulu, I did not care how hot it was on the back of the deck. Tracy was busy cleaning the huge MOCNESS nets and hanging them on clothes lines to dry on the back of the deck also. Packing never seemed so enjoyable.

We packed up as much of the lab as we could, then, we sat around and watched movies in the middle of the afternoon. It did not matter what the movie was, we were just all so tired, we dropped in front of the DVD player.

Tyson and Paul made a wonderful dinner. We ate filet mignon, baked potatoes, and salads with strawberry shortcake for dessert. It was as if they saved one of our last meals together for the very best. I spent time with the new friends I have made here on the ship. Mike, Mamoon, Krish. Dora, and I spent time laughing and talking about life after supper. It was like old friends making plans to see each other again. We talked about the many digital images I’ve taken and how to share them with others. We bought t-shirts from the first mate that have “New Horizon” on them. We were ready to go home, see our families, and back to our normal routines in life.

As I laid in bed trying to fall asleep, I thought of the wonderful opportunity to be on a research vessel. All the new things I have learned, the people I have worked with and I am very grateful to them all. Good luck to all the RoMP/STEAMER crew of 2003…I will miss you. Thanks for the many hours to learn and laugh. Thanks to the crew of the New Horizon for getting us back to Honolulu safely. Sincerely.

Dr. Nikki Hanegan

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