“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.

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.

KATHERINE: Walking on deck, I welcomed our first sunny day at HTHH; however, upon reaching the island, I was greeted by hot black sand and an all-consuming heat that would last all day. Soon, as a part of the bird/vegetation team, Emily, Arielle, Cam, and I headed towards the southwest corner of the island, which boarders Hunga Ha’apai (which I think looks like a dragon lying down). Its red eye watched over us as we drew near.

As we labored down into the zodiac with our gear and rations, the ocean splashed violently around us. Those with hats cowered under the power of the southeasterly winds, and those in the front surrendered to the incessant spraying of the ocean.

The Program: It seems so long ago, on June 10th, that 22 students and three faculty met to begin S-287 Protecting the Phoenix Islands (aka: PIPA – Phoenix Islands Protected Area). That evening after a number of introductions and orientations it was explained to the students that the cottages were much more than accommodations.

The Robert C. Seamans experienced moderately high winds and seas during the first couple days of our trip, but weather over the last few days has calmed significantly, with wind from the east north easterly direction dropping to a Beaufort force 2 yesterday and sea swell in the range of 3-6 ft.

Student Researchers Investigate the Microbiome of the Sargasso Sea

In the high seas region of the Sargasso Sea, college researchers pluck samples from the ocean’s twilight zone to study how microbes might affect climate change. On March 30th, undergraduates of Sea Education Association’s Marine Biodiversity and Conservation Program (MBC) boarded the SSV Corwith Cramer, and sailed East from Key West, FL toward the Sargasso Sea, also known as the North Atlantic Gyre. Student researchers Sharla Friend, Mary Noyes and Sarah Stover investigated the microbial biodiversity of the Sargasso Sea’s deep and surface regions, specifically targeting the twilight zone; the region where the sun’s light begins to fade away, sampling communities from as deep as 650m which is about a half mile below the sea’s surface is nearly.

There has been a photo of the Corwith Cramer in my room for the past 11 years. It has had a place in my childhood home, college dorm room, and even my current house. The form has changed overtime – at one point the 8x10 framed photograph was replaced by a 2ft x 3ft poster print, but the image has remained the same.

This morning we sailed from the Bermuda exclusive economic zone (EEZ) into the “area beyond national jurisdiction” (aka the “high seas”) in deepwater (about 5,000 meters) on the Cramer. Our progress is marked by twice-a-day collections of ocean water as well as surface and deep-ocean net tows.

You know you have made some great life choices when your dinner is interrupted by a surprise whale watching session.