Home Again

We have been steadily steaming southward for a few days, and today we will make land. After my last minute experiments of the previous post, I broke down my station very quickly and had much stronger guys than me box up the fluorometer for its trip back to Maine. Now all we have to do is pack up Ocean Station Java and offload!

Thanks for following me around the north Pacific, the ship and science crew are off for one last night of celebration in Seattle. There has been talk of buying shots...

Until my next trip, Jen

Happy Birthday to Bill

Let me wish Bill, our teacher-at-sea, a happy 50th! Thanks to you, there was cake and ice cream for dessert! Check out the link to his blog (top left) for a 7th-grade teacher's view of science at sea.

Got the urge to do a solar simulator experiment last night, but our lab benches are such that I had to find a way to raise the solar simulator about 4 1/2 inches up. Went scrounging for wood scrap, and came up with a plan after enlisting the help of Morgan and Elio. We ended up stacking together 2x2s, screwing them into the bench, balancing the solar simulator on top, and tying the whole thing down. Success! Or, to quote Elio, “That is the sketchiest setup I have ever seen.”

Am please to report that the experiment itself went off without a hitch. And the solar simulator is still upright. Ha!

Twice is Nice - Tasu Sound

Mark told us at last night’s meeting that the whole science team would get a tour of Tasu Sound in separate boat trips. That makes twice we have done sightseeing on the clock, which is atypical but highly prized. Ship time = money whether we are on board or not, so cheers to Bethany, whose grant is funding this trip! I have not had this much down time at sea since my 1st science cruise for a summer undergraduate research job.

So after they returned from sampling, several of us loaded into the workboat for our 3 hour tour. The engine died once, but Paul the Chief Engineer kept us going. The snaps speak for themselves, really (thanks Traci for the outstanding shot of the eagle’s butt). A sea lion gave us his equivalent of the finger as we motored by his rock on the way back to the ship – “You woke me up! You bastards!”

Bethany later found a site advertising a fishing resort in Tasu Sound, and it looks mighty inviting. It seems we could have just parked the ship in the narrows and caught dinner.

HiSeasNet is DOWN

My long silence followed by a flurry of posts is due to two things. First, I performed overnight sampling events twice last week in addition to normal daylight CTDs, and have been slowly readjusting my sleep schedule to daylight time. Secondly, every time I looked at our satellite internet monitor recently, the above message was displayed. Our heading tended westward-ish (offshore) last week. Given the orientation of our satellite antenna, westward=no internet.

We are turned onshore now towards the Queen Charlotte Islands, specifically near Tasu Sound. Mark plans a transect up the Sound in a smaller workboat with the other lead investigators, so we will be on station there for 03June AM. Am v. jealous about them getting to leave the boat again, but then again they can’t go on land. These islands are Canadian and it would be a huge customs hassle if anyone were to stroll around.

The Morning After

UGH... Patron Silver is not my friend.

Bye, Ketchikan, it was a great time! Slowly recovering on the 02-Deck near the bow, where views are lovely, and the waves are blessedly calm. We will move at leisurely speed through the Clarence Straits, with plans are to turn southeast eventually and move south along the western coast of the Queen Charlotte Islands. Our first station will be just off the tip of Graham Island. But for now, perhaps a nap...

All ashore

The rumors were true! true! true! We had one day to wander around Ketchikan, and it was quite lovely. A group of us headed off in search of a hike recommended by one of the crew. It looked a bit sketchy at first, but we bypassed the landfill and began climbing to the first scenic overlook. Further on the trail was blocked by snow and ice, so no summit, but the forest more than made up for it. It became misty and rainy, and the climb was 1000 vertical feet over the mile distance, but everyone agreed it was well worth it. Lunch followed on the cruise ship strip, and while the restaurant was theme park in style, burgers and beer never tasted so good. If you are ever in Ketchikan, the local brew Moose Drool is highly recommended.


After lunch we split up, and Kathy and I wandered up Creek Street. Guess why it’s so named? Kathy picked up some more coffee beans at a local shop – Three Peckered Billy Goat. It’s quite tasty.

I went back to the ship to nap and clean up for a sushi dinner. We wandered over to The Elbow Room in time to commiserate with Lisa over the Ottawa Senators first loss in the Stanley cup playoffs. Nice ambience, strong drinks, and very friendly – they cheered when Kathy and I walked into the bar, and it wasn’t for the hockey game. However the night was young, so we moved on to Annabelle’s restaurant where we ran into 3 of the PI’s having dinner. From there we ended up at The Artic Cat, notable for its pool table and the statue of humping grizzlies on the back deck.

We went stumbling home around 2 AM, and tried to reconnect with part of the group back at The Elbow Room, but no joy. So we settled for one last shot before the long walk through town back to the Coast Guard station where we had docked. FYI, Patron Silver will in fact keep you warm for about 20 minutes or so.