Journals 2003/2004

Lynn Masellis
McGinnis Middle School, Perth Amboy, NJ

Another beautiful day had begun on my a.m. shift. The wake up call came a little too early though, and I felt like I didn't get much sleep. Jerry being the nice guy and gentleman that he is -let me complete the computer data and he took on the deck duty. Later that morning, Dave saw a family of wild dolphins that were coming to ride the wake up at the bow of the boat. It was a great sight to see. They raced each other from wave to wave and their bodies were so strong. They kept up in front of the boat about twenty minutes or so. I just was amazed that they knew all those Sea World tricks without living in Sea World. What happy animals. You could here them communicating with each other. Wow! I was impressed with their ability to frolic and run in the open sea. They were content beings out in the wild. It was one of the highlights of the trip. They were just breath taking to watch. They would race each other for miles. What a great life in the sea.

About eleven o'clock in the morning we completed a survey with the little bongos. Of course we collected calanus, which took me forever to get sprayed out of the nets. That's okay because I have the whole afternoon to enjoy the surroundings and the scientists.

I decided to take a nap after lunch. I made a chef salad, and it was nice to have some good greens. Being out on the sea, lettuce had scheduled days, I didn't eat it everyday like on land, but Herb always had something cooking that I couldn't refuse. He brings joy to the "weary and shipwrecked." I tried to find a place on deck to snooze, but it was too hot. I went to the bridge to sleep in the shade and they began reconstructing the air conditioning unit right next to me. I moved again to the Galley and found a comfortable bench to nap upon. I figured hey the worst that could happen is that I wake up on time for dinner and be at the right place at the right time.

After dinner our shift started and we were to sample three stations. When we finished our first station I went up by the bow to watch the sun setting. It was so beautiful and peaceful. Two more stations and then bed time. After the second station, I told Jerry was going to take a shower. I got in there all excited because the captain had said only one shower every three days. This was my first shower, and it was the perfect time after the dishwasher had completed its cycle and the temperature of the water wasn't going to be too hot .I got my shower amenities and had the shower working. There was a spray they went into a sprinkle and then to drops. I had been tired all day and started getting a bit tired of everything. I gave my self a short cry and dried myself. I believed that my tears amounted to more water than the shower could spare me. I just wanted to get the day over and get a good night sleep. And when my shift was over back to my bunk I went.