As we continue on our course Saturday, the sun begins to rise over the Pacific Ocean and the islands appear magnificent in the distance. The seas are calm in the morning, bringing many of us to our feet after being seasick in the rough seas. The long night involved some laying in bed listening to the sound of the waves smacking the side of the hull sending the vibrations through your bones, and gazing at the stars twinkling in the night sky through a porthole.
As the sun sets and rises, students continue to take shifts watching the magnetometer, gravity and multi-beam data. And as the day continues, most students find a comfy place to lay their heads for a few hours. The library onboard offers a nice, cool,quiet place where we hang out watching movies, reading or playing games when we’re not on watch.
The observation deck gives great views of the open ocean and surrounding Hawaiian islands along with a nice breathe of fresh air. If you watch the seas closely, you may spot a whale breaching in the distance. In the evening just after sunset, our fellow Ph.D. student, Kendra Lynn, gives her last talk about the geology of Lanai and Kao’olawe. An excellent wrap up to our trip at sea.
As the skies darkened on Saturday night, the seas got a little rougher again, and Falkor continued it’s journey through the Pacific Ocean. Life at sea is a rude awakening for some, but there is now a feeling of contentment as the waves continuously break against the vessel.
