BOWLS Cruise Blog

Day 5
June 26, 2014
45° 51.186' N 125° 09.300' W

Some of the team enjoying a meal together

After five days on the ship, I am finally settling in to life at sea. The hours are irregular and work days can be long, but that is a cheap price to pay for having the chance to collect animals few people have ever seen. We all share a small room with another person, and each room has a closet and sink. There is a shared laundry facility at the front of the ship that the scientists and crew take turns using depending on the day. It’s actually quite similar to a dorm, but the food is much better! Yesterday we had biscuits and gravy for breakfast, BBQ pork sandwiches for lunch, and rack of lamb for dinner. Soda, hot coffee and tea are always available to pick us up in the morning or help us power through a long day. Plus, there’s all the ice cream we can eat!

This is one of the rooms the team members stay in while on the cruise

Much of our days are spent either in the dry lab, on deck retrieving samples from the landers, or in the cold lab on the second deck. Looking through microscopes to indentify tiny marine animals while the boat is swaying in the water can be quiet difficult to get used to. But with a little practice even that becomes second nature….as long as the seas are not too rough. Much of the way we process our samples is similar to how we would do it on land.

We only have a limited number of days at sea, so we try to utilize them as efficiently as possible. When we do have a break, people can be found in the lab playing card games, reading a book from the ship’s library, or watching a movie in the lounge. Once you get over the rocking of the boat, life at sea is pretty great!

Nathan Whelan

Postdoctoral scholar

Auburn University

Last updated: 06/27/2014