Journals 2006/2007

Mark Harris
Layton High School, Layton, UT

"Stenella Abundance Research Project (STAR)" July 23, 2006 - August 14, 2006

Journal Index: July 23 - 24 - 25 - 26 - 27 - 28 - 29        30 - 31 August 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9            10 - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 Additional Resources

August 11, 2006
Humboldt Squid Tonight

Big catch tonight

I am back doing the CTD launch in the morning, 2 days off to sleep in were nice. Back out in the small boat with Joao, a former Portuguese fisherman, looking for turtles. Joao always warns us before jumping in after a turtle to check for sharks. Sharks do eat sea turtles and I kind of like Joao warning us. I believe he does really care about us. We caught 3 on this outing and 1 was all tangled up in a gill net. After cutting the net off I know we made that turtle's life a lot better.

The afternoon was spent doing fire drills, man overboard drills and abandon ship drills. The crew is really good at what they do and safety always seems to be their major concern.

Each crew member takes the time to explain - wear a hard hat, put on a lifejacket, or be careful. It is so eay just to yell at someone and say "put it on". This crew is a joy to associate with and each crew member I will remember for a very long time.

I would like to make a quick note to say thank you to my bunk mate Jose, Joao, Chico, Ryan and Sam for letting me help launch the boat and fish your long lines, thank you for being who you are, you are the best.

Steak and crab legs tonight for dinner, we do eat well. Lito, our cook, did cook for a 3 star general while he was in the Navy. I certainly did not lose any weight on this cruise.

Another big Humboldt squid night, we caught over 30 squid in about 1 hour. As I was landing a squid I reached over to pull him in and his one last act of defiance was to squirt me in the chest with sea water. Everyone chuckled but I did land him. This was another long night recording and sampling all of the squid.