Final Post

We're wrapping up the cruise here on R/V Roger Revelle, almost back to Honolulu. Which wasn't our original end port, but French Polynesia closed its borders less than 2 weeks before we were supposed to go there and fly home. So instead we had to wrap up operations a few days early and head back to the Northern Hemisphere. We have had nearly 12 days to finish working up on our data, pack our gear, and enjoy socializing in our COVID-free bubble. I am taking advantage of the latter and, for once after a long cruise, not particularly looking forward to leaving the ship. 

This is also going to be my last cruise, I am taking a new job at UC San Diego and won't be going to sea anymore. Writing these blogs has helped me realized how much I enjoy communicating science though, and that's the career I am pursuing! It's bittersweet and there is much I will miss, as listed below. 

Tournaments. The ping pong table is now cleared off and hosting many competitive matches. The acronym machine is at work, with this one being called the "Shellback Championship: Roger's International Ping-Pong Slam" or SCRIPPS. Love it. The cribbage tournament was "Barney's Antarctic fLoating Cribbage Hurrah" or BALCH (the name of our beloved chief scientist). 

Sunsets. We had some lovely ones on this cruise. My favorite was a foggy day where the orange and pink coloration was bouncing off everything. Just look at this screenshot of the external cameras!

The people. This is what has kept me coming out to sea for as long as I have. I love meeting new people and spending time with them. I always make friends with the people on my watch, might as well since you spend 12 hours a day with them, every day! And then there are other people I almost never see, sometimes good friends from previous trips. On this trip in particular, social time has been my favorite part of every day. It's something I will never take for granted again after this pandemic year of limited interactions.

The random ways we amuse ourselves. For example, the ship's electrician Shaun made an air-powered trident capable of launching lemon slices. Everyone who wanted to go to launch one off the fantail as we crossed back in to the Northern Hemisphere. What a life!

Thanks for following along with this cruise. I hope you've enjoyed seeing the adventures we had in our COVID-free bubble in the Southern Ocean. And maybe even learned some things along the way.

Check out the Reddit AMA I helped with this week. It was fun to answer questions in real time and we got some great ones! 

And science writer / journalist Giuliana Viglione wrote many great blog posts as well, check those out!