Wrapping up

We did eat those mahimahi for dinner - chief steward prepared them deliciously with herbs and nuts (and evidently I'd miscounted - a total of 7 were caught. Some math teacher . . . ) We also ate the two small tuna (aku) which were caught later in the day.

I got to tour the engine room today. I was noisy, clean, spacious and interesting. (I expected a dark, cramped, and perhaps greasy place, and it was none of that.) I wore ear protection (my new friends for this trip anyway) and was still astonished at the volume level.

We've finished our work here at Station ALOHA (that's an acronym, I'm not shouting) and we're headed back to port with one stop (Station Kaena) during the night tonight.

The scientists here try to take advantage of every window to collect some data, so often one package is ready for deployment when another comes aboard (We hate to lose observing time, right astronomers?). Also, whenever we're traveling around the station (within an imaginary circle), we often deploy nets to catch critters. Right now, we're far from any research station and moving too fast for most science, but those are the right times to get "Maggie" in the water. Maggie the magnetometer gets towed behind the ship and is helping to map the magnetism of the sea floor. Maps like the ones she's contributing to were key to understanding plate tectonics - you may have heard of magnetic stripes on the sea floor convincing scientists that the sea floor is indeed spreading apart from a central ridge.

I have a few comments to respond to. First, was I tagging when the DP (Dynamic Positioning - aha, I remembered the name!) system was broken? I'm not sure. I couldn't feel any difference from the back deck. I'd have to check some ship logs to find out. Second, what does the buoy look like? We're not getting too close to it, so I've only seen it at a distance of perhaps 100 yards, and from my perspective, it looks about the same as it did a year ago. I'm sure when they go to pick it up and replace it (which happens next week), they'll find it foul with fowl poo. I have pictures to show once I'm home - we'll try to zoom in and get a better look.

Tomorrow the cruise ends at about 8am. We're expected to throw our sheets and towels in the laundry room, clean our bathrooms (four people in two adjacent cabins share a toilet and shower), eat an early breakfast, and be on our way. I'll be flying home in the afternoon, so we'll see how my day will go. I won't be surprised if I'm asked to help unload gear; I am trying to be helpful here. I'll also try to finagle a ride to the airport.

Aloha,
Patricia