Rockin' and a rollin'

The ship ran into some rough seas last night, which resulted in the cancellation of the night’s activities and a decision to move forward to our other stations. The waves were pounding onto the deck as the scientists tried to maneuver the CTD back from the sea onto the deck. Dr. Stuart Wakeham and his CTD team were splashed repeatedly by the angry seas in a scene similar to those on ‘Deadliest Catch’ (only with warmer water)! Inside, chairs and unsecured items went flying or toppling over. This made matters worse on deck since it was already dark and the scientists deploying equipment would not be able to see the large waves before they strike – a dangerous position to be in, and hence the reason sampling for the night was scrubbed. Other students working inside confined laboratories were fighting bruises and seasickness as the rough seas tossed their samples and themselves about as the boat continued to rock throughout the night. We arrived briefly at an intermediate station today to run a quick CTD cast and now continue on to our next short station, which will be reached tonight during the smaller hours of the morning. The seas have finally calmed a bit making sampling, working, and sleeping easier on all of us.