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Dolphins, Dolphins and more Dolphins!!!

July 06, 2026
Catherine and Mulsy do their six minute observations

Saturday, 4 July 2026
Noon Position: 040° 46.119′ W x 070° 32.171′ W 
Ship Heading: 005°
Ship Speed: 3 knots
Log: 98.3 nm
Weather / Wind: Clear, winds NW
Continental Shelf

Happy Fourth of July! There is no land in sight, so unfortunately we didn’t see any fireworks but don’t worry- our high spirits are still going strong. The Cramer has started to sail south and is on the continental shelf. A Watch started off the day with a dawn watch by analyzing salinity and temperature. In fact, during class time at 1430 they did a deck and science report for the group, followed by Jeff’s demonstration of sea convection currents and stratification.

Jeff gives a demonstration on convection currents, water density, and stratification to the crew and students

For breakfast, Ava and Jeremy prepared us some delicious French toast, eggs, and amazing glizzzies. For lunch there was chicken tenders, mac and cheese and potato salad. For dinner there was juicy burgers with homemade buns… AND a cake for Nico’s birthday! Happy birthday Nico!!! 

In the afternoon Amaru pulled out his guitar and was serenading us all on the deck. We almost fell asleep it was so relaxing. One of the highlights from the day was when a group of us went to the jiggly wiggly headrig and talked about some fun stuff with our safety harnesses on.

Students sit on the quarter deck and chat during afternoon watch (left to right: Justin, Catherine, Amaru, Mulsy, Isaac, Sam, Collin, Gulia, Jonah)

Around sunset, 5 of us were out at the tip of the boat where we saw dolphins jumping out of the water. Justin slept for quite a bit of the day but he somehow was up during the peak dolphin hours. The dolphins weren’t as impressive as the manta rays though, but at one point there were around 8 of them swimming near the tip of the boat. 

The wind picked up a lot when many of us were asleep, the boat was tilting to what felt like 45 degrees and A watch had a lot to do with the help of the professional crew to manage the sails! To wind down many students were journaling for their loved ones. Be sure to read them when they get home!

-Mulsy and Justin (B watch)

PS There was a cold front passage through the night bringing gusty winds that topped out at 36 knots.  However, these conditions only lasted about half an hour.  The ship did heel over more than we had seen previously on this trip; and A Watch helped furl several sails that were lowered in the middle of the night.  A fair bit of rain followed afterwards with lightening in the distance.  All are safe and sound.  We have since reset the sails and are making our way to our next science station!  

Cheers, Jeff – Chief Scientist.