And so as quickly this trip began, it ends. With the ship back in harbor right where we set sail from five weeks ago at a glance it can seem like we never left. Thankfully, we still have the memories, photos and friendships left over to remind us of this amazing experience.

It’s the first April 6th here on the Robert C. Seamans! We will cross the international dateline and move back a day at one am our time tonight. I am a part of A watch here on ship, and today A watch had morning watch from 7 am to 1 pm and will have watch dawn watch at the time change, from 1 am tonight to 7 am tomorrow morning—the second April 6th!

We have now been at sea for four days! Everyone is starting to get in the swing of our watch schedules of 6 hours on and 12 hours off. Slowly but surely we are beginning to stop crashing into walls every second, hitting our heads everywhere we go, and learning how to not have everything spill off the rolling tables at meals.

Sneakers in a sea of Chacos.

Everywhere I go, I am surrounded by Chacos. It seems to be the shoe of choice for adventurers, sailors, biologists, and study abroad students.

Today was an exciting day for all aboard the Cramer.  From a scientific standpoint we have entered into the predicted spawning area of the American eel, Anguilla rostrata.

It’s our third day at sea! After the initial shock of getting used to the constant rolling waves, and the many subsequent donations made to Neptune in hopes of a safe voyage, it seems as though people are starting to get their sea legs.

What a whirlwind these past four days have been! We are in full swing now; Mama Cramer is under sail as we cruise past Eleuthera and into the open ocean. It is wonderful to see everyone becoming more familiar with her, getting the hang of very busy watch schedules and all the various tasks that must be performed to ensure that she is in true working ship shape.

The students of SEA Semester class S-285, Oceans & Climate, have all arrived safely in New Zealand and are now settled in aboard their home for the next five-and-a-half weeks, the SSV Robert C. Seamans. Be sure to follow their voyage on this blog.

The students of Class S-285, Oceans & Climate, join the SSV Robert C. Seamans in Lyttelton, New Zealand on March 28th. The voyage ends in Papeete, Tahiti on May 4th, after port stops in the Chatham Islands and Raiatea.

One thousand nine hundred and ninety eight nautical miles, one thousand five hundred and thirty six eggs, and over eight hundred cookies later we have arrived at the end of our voyage.

This day has been a whirlwind of emotions and envirox as we spent our final day aboard the Seamans.