Day Sixteen

Howdy all,

So this is my last *cry* post from the R/V Wecoma this cruise.  How very sad!

We are currently down in Monterey Bay about a mile offshore, but we wouldn't know it because it is very foggy.  I was picturing warm, sunny weather down here but it is quite the opposite!  We have our fog horn going, and there is actually about zero visibility around the boat.  I hope the weather is a bit nice for us onshore tomorrow.

This morning we had fun though.  The water was very smooth, and somebody brought their laptop on deck with some nice swing music, and we had a mini dance party for about 20 minutes.  At that point in the day it looked like the sun was really going to try and come out, but alas, it did not.

Today we have run five stations on the Monterey Bay transect line (well, we are at our fifth now), so at least I kept busy!  I saw an albatross when I was out on deck earlier, but that is about all the excitement we have gotten.  Apparently somebody saw a seal earlier today but I missed that.

So yes, it is sadly time that I have to go back to the 'real' world, and get off the ship in the morning.  I believe we are going out on the zodiac, so that should be very interesting with all of our luggage!  Then we will be going to Monterey and visiting the aquarium and having lunch.   The plan is to hang around the Santa Cruz/Monterey area tomorrow, then drive to Eureka on Saturday, and from Eureka to Corvallis on Sunday.  I should be back sometime Sunday evening.

I've made lots of good friends and had an amazing (but hopefully not once-in-a-lifetime) experience on this boat, and it has solidified my love for the ocean even more.  I feel fortunate to have a career which affords such wonderful opportunities, and also that I enjoy it so much.  I remember the first day on the ship when I was nervous even to be out on deck!  I think this cruise will really be an important building block for my future.

I am also amazed how well everyone- crew, scientists, grad students, students - gets along so well.  It made it a wonderful experience to be on the ship.

Thank you all for reading my blog while I was at sea!  I will probably post some updates for the next couple of days as well.

Signing off,
Shea