This morning started off slow with a late wake-up for A Watch as we had watch till 1 AM last night. I slowly rose out of my bunk in the forward ship and made my way to grab some waffles. Watch began at 13:00 and A watch had the privilege of making sure we stayed on the right course as we began to approach Fiji.

“Two turns right!” Allison, our chief mate, shouts.

“Two turns right!” I call out. Grabbing the top spoke of the helm, I rotate the wheel, my hand moving from my shoulders to my ankles to my shoulders and then to my ankles one more time and then the turns are complete, each movement more difficult than the next.

Perched upon the narrow wooden platform, partially up the foremast, I secured myself to the shrouds with my black and gold harness. I dangled my toes over the edge, 40 feet above the surface of the ocean. My harness straps pinched my thighs as I scooted closer to overcautiously grasp the sturdy rigging. I

At the helm, the wheel jerking my arms along with the swells, I struggled to see the heading as rain sheeted sideways into my face, leaving only one eye functional. The dull red light that normally lights up the compass at night blocked by the rain drops resting on the top of the compass dome.

SEA Semester students make discoveries while exploring Earth’s newest island, Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai!

What a week! Having just finished an expedition to the earth’s newest landmass, Hunga Tonga - Hunga Ha’apai (HTHH) in the Kingdom of Tonga a few days ago, I thought I’d write a few thoughts on this latest expedition to Earth’s newest landmass.

My digital Timex watch startled me as Tuesday turned to Wednesday and the 15th advanced to the 16th. I scanned attentively from the bowsprit for any boats or land masses lurking in the dark, partially aided by the sparkling lights scattered along the island walls astern.

Hello!

Today, we departed Nuku’alofa under a hot afternoon sun and fair wind. The dock where the ship has spent the past few days moored is tantalizingly close to the outer islands and light green coral reefs, so to find myself traveling back onto greeny blue water is a long-awaited treat. It’s a tall order to report out all that I have experienced in the past week, so to sum it up I will simply say I am humbled.

Emerging from the doghouse, I was greeted by a cool morning breeze that brushed from the port side of the deck. Having just completed the 0600 boat check, I found that the sunrise had begun while I was below deck. Moving to the rail, I fell into conversation with my 0500-0630 dock watch buddy Zuri, when I noticed a spot of white foam in the distance.

Under the moonlight of Friday, October 11, 2019, I eagerly trekked across Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha’apai (HTHH) with a team from Sea Education Association (SEA) and NASA to complete one final mission: to measure temperatures around the perimeter of the volcano’s crater lake.