Educational Activities

Journal Entry
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Friday
September 5, 2003
Lat 26.60N Lon -179.40 E

Today was our first day of heading back towards Hawaii. A little bitter-sweet, but the ending is too far away to get sad yet. Since we are heading back, the Trade Winds are hitting us at a different angle, and the boat is a little more bouncy than usual. We were steaming east nearly all day and did not do very much work. But we did stop long enough to do a dive op, and Daryl got to go snorkeling! She was as excited as we were to be able to go and see what the Big Blue looks like, up close and personal. I had been up late for a couple of nights, so I was grabbing a little bunk time when she left, but I was on deck when she got back, and she was grinning like a kid in a candy shop. Pretty much like Dora and me a few days earlier.

Because we are steaming back to Hawaii, we are going to be spending less time doing sampling. Oddly, we all seem to be missing the work we do when the MOCNESS and the CDT are running. By the way, Dora and Daryl, since they work with the MOCNESS nets, are now known as Mocky Moc and the Funky Bunch. I’m not really sure which one is the Funky Bunch, and it seems safer to keep any opinions to myself.

After the required “watching the sun go down” break, we spent some time up on the bridge deck. Being up high magnifies the motion of the ship as it moves through the swells. Last night was choppier than usual and we actually got some salt spray, all the way up on the bridge deck. It’s a lot like a small roller coaster. It’s nice to be able to appreciate the fun without being sick. So far, no one has gotten sick since the initial round of unpleasantness. Unpleasantness doesn’t really get the whole idea across, but some things you just have to experience.

Mr. John Praytor

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