Daily Journal

June 17, 2010

By David M. Lawrence

We continue eastward today, only about three days from reaching the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Winds have been blowing, but in the wrong direction for us to make headway by sail. We began the morning relying upon the wind, and deployed a carousel and neuston tow, and conducted a surface station at 0800 hours with the sails up, but after the morning's sampling was over, we struck the sails and some of us (me) had to deal with that nagging thing about heights while furling our mains'l and mainstays'l.

The 0800 station was more challenging than usual. The carousel, which continuously measures a number of environmental variables as it is being lowered into the depths and raised back up, had a hose pop off on as we raised it the first time. The mishap affected the data being collected, so that after our half-hour neuston tow, we redeployed it. The second time it worked fine. Those of us working in the science lab that morning showed increasing competence and confidence – the second time around, we pretty much ran the deployment ourselves.

Learning to work independently has long been part of the SEA experience. It is certainly a tradition that the many alumni who volunteered for this cruise treasure.

In keeping with the emphasis on learning, all members of each watch must complete a checklist of skills before they and their fellow watch members will be allowed to go aloft in the rigging. Today, once I and SEA alumnus Ted Snedden got checked off, B Watch became the first of the three watches to complete the task. The knowledge and skills required include awareness of each watch's role in an emergency, such as a fire or man overboard; the components of a logbook entry; the names and parts of each sail; boxing (knowing the points of) the compass; reference points with respect to the ship itself; and tying a bowline knot behind our backs. My watchmate Marina Cassio was exceedingly patient in walking me through many of the skills. I don't feel I was one of her more promising students.

I had a treat today during our morning watch. Our neuston tow brought up – among other things – 10 Halobates. Halobates are the only marine insects. They are related to water striders (one of my favorite bugs) and occupy a similar niche: literally striding across the surface of the water. We also had a lot of blue copepods (a type of small crustacean) that I could easily see without a microscope. I had a lot of fun observing both in the lab.

One of my crewmates has a cold, one seems to have gotten too much sun, and quite a few feel exhausted as they adjust to sleeping odd hours in order to meet the demands of the watch rotation. Most of them are SEA veterans, so they know how to cope with life at sea and how to support one another. I find them good company.

As our engine pushes us on, I look forward to another day – if for no other reason because I know I'll get to sleep more than a couple of hours at a stretch once I get off midwatch in the wee hours of the morning. Frankly, however, there are many other reasons – 32 other members of the ship's company to share the experience with.