Thursday, May 29, 2008

Mariner's Travels VIII

Wow, that path is totally confusing. The first leg of the cruise is finished and people will be exchanged for fuel (I think that is right, or maybe they will refuel and exchange some people. That still sounds weird, do you need a receipt to exchange a person ?) The second leg will have them doing some more dredging at Peggy Ridge, which is in the same general area. To get there they need to cross longitude 180, once again.

But first time was spent in Suva for the fuel and people exchange. They got off the boat but not for very long since they were anchored in the harbor for about 12 hours waiting for a berth. Instead of heading straight into town after "finding a parking spot" then hung out on the pier. It was too dark to go exploring the shops and sites. Maybe next time just before heading home.

Back to Sea. Our Mariner is now in charge of where to dredge. Her first attempt came up "mud and pumice :(". From the look of the sad face, it was not a good first attempt. She wants glass, the Mariners gold. Think glassy thoughts for her.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Mariner's Travels VII

A slight detour was taken to Samoa, previously Western Samoa, to tend to an engineer who needed medical attention. This is the large detour in the track. The ship ended up in Apia, Samoa but no one was let off the ship at all for a speeding trip back to the Lau Basin. From the docked ship it looked like a nice place to go on vacation.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Mariner's Travels VI

As I stated before, swath bathymetry mapping can be totally boring. It apparently can make you sail around in circles, too. But we have some really good news: The Styrofoam cups made it to the bottom of the ocean and came back up *really* tiny and perfect. Ah, science. Also found on the seafloor were

  • A tectonic mess
  • Not a simple spreading center
  • A stack of pancakes
  • Some donuts, hopefully not Dunkin'
  • A Lobster
These are all made of rocks, so I guess the last one would be a "Rock Lobster"

Monday, May 12, 2008

Mariner's Travels V

Swath bathymetry mapping can be totally boring, especially in the middle of the ocean. Back and forth, back and forth. Almost like mowing the lawn. It is much more exciting with volcanoes, spreading centers, and fracture zones. In the end this will help find that buried treasure.

Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Mariner's Travels IV

Time to cross the International Date Line. It is yesterday, it is today, it is yesterday. After some engine trouble (the wind must have died down) the voyage is quickly back on. Scally wags are getting their sea legs, but no treasure to speak of as of yet. Details are currently slim.

Sunday, May 04, 2008

Mariner's Travels III

After dredging volcanoes near Vanuatu, it was time to head towards Fiji. This time the treasure containing precious glass. It is time to head to Lau for the remainder of the voyage. Hopefully, the Fiji treasure will bode well for Lau.

Friday, May 02, 2008

Mariner's Travels II

There is lots of dredging of the sea floor currently on going, but the booty they are looking for still evades them. The food on board the vessel apparently is better than expected, so scurvy *should* not be an issue. Some new sailors are still getting their sea legs, but the old dogs are accustomed to the "just-right" rolling conditions.

Thursday, May 01, 2008

Mariner's Travels

The Mariner is out to sea. I have tried to convince her to identify where she is and what she might be doing. She started off in Nouméa, New Caledonia and has headed east. Updates to be coming.