Florida State University : Research in Review

Day 19 - Wednesday, 10/1/08

Position: N33 12.83 W120 32.97

We are headed home, and on a good note. After an early start (6 a.m.) the team certainly had to think that wouldn’t happen. Our fifth cast in a row came up completely mudless.

It sounds trite, but it’s nonetheless true, and worth mentioning. One last cast was ordered, and this time with rubber bands—yes, rubber bands—strategically placed on a key corer part involved in the triggering process. Voila! Of the seven coring tubes we mounted, six brought back the goods. No sooner was the last cast on deck (at 11) than the captain let go with a blast from the Sur’s horn. Mission accomplished—we’re going home!

It was a fitting end to what has been an almost picture-perfect research mission, and a tidy present for chief scientist Thistle, who celebrated a birthday today. Tonight following dinner, Chef Karen came through with a chocolate cake, decorated by students.

On the long ride home, we have lots of packing and cleaning up to do. In fact, the science team got a big jump on things today, crating up boxes of supplies and sorting through equipment. Our freezer now holds an estimated 750 cups of samples—Erin is the keeper of the official tally. That’s hundreds of pounds of mud headed for Tallahassee where it will await a long and tedious process of analysis.

At the rate we’re making tracks for the hill, we should be in port by early Saturday. We’re heading into 3- to 5-foot seas at about 7 knots, and we’ve got a good 220 nautical miles ahead of us.

Tomorrow, with little else to do but sit back and enjoy the ride, we should be able to chat with some of the students and find out what they’ve learned on this trip and what it’s meant to them.