Programs Blog

Date: April 22, 2025

Time: 1630

Location: Southern South Pacific Gyre

Weather: 17⁰C and cloudy

Easter was one of the many celebrations we got to enjoy on the ship. Happy Easter! My name is Britney, and I’m so thrilled to be a part of this cruise track. The day started with a beautiful sunrise. Charlotte was so excited about its beauty she made sure everyone got a realistic explanation of this glorious morning sunrise. Next up, we started seeing dyed eggs appearing in weird places. Hmmm…we should have guessed with our abundance of eggs that some would be used for such an occasion. There were also lots of chocolate eggs in the mixture—not my cup of tea, but I had fun watching everyone enjoy their chocolate fix. We made sure those on watch also had the opportunity to enjoy as well. The person on the helm was the designated bunny on shift during their rotation.

I was standing lookout for watch when I heard Captain Rick going around saying swim call in 15 minutes! I thought I was doomed as I was on watch and wouldn’t be able to join this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. My Easter got even better when Rocky, the chief mate, came around and said I was relieved from lookout to go swimming in the open ocean. We were at a depth of just over 5000 meters! We mustered on the quarterdeck to go over the “pool” rules and regulations set by the staff. One of which was how we could jump of the bowsprit.

I felt safe swimming as the staff was so supportive with their safety measures. After swimming we had an afternoon snack of hot cross buns and finished the day with a glorious salmon dinner. We couldn’t have asked for a better Easter! 

Easter Monday came quickly with our spirits still raised from our joyful Easter Sunday. To our surprise there was something in store to make it even better, LEFT TURN DAY! We have been headed east for most of the trip so far and as you may know we had some real unappealing weather. Left turn day meant we turned north, a closer step to French Polynesia and leaving the cold weather behind and welcoming the tropics aboard.

I had the helm when the captain instructed us to turn our course. I steered the Robert C. Seamans to the left, an incredible opportunity. We celebrated the day by doing some left-turn activities, including left-sided clothing and left-sided hairstyles, including me who did some left-turn French braids. We also dressed up for the weather we wish it was, which will be here shortly now that we are headed north.

A report [during afternoon class-time] was given by B-watch. They demonstrated—with Robin as the sun, Andrew as the earth, and Olivia as the blue copepod constellation—that although in separate hemispheres, we are indeed seeing the same constellations as all of you back at home. All in all, when we find ourselves stargazing, we can think of you all as only a reverse constellation away.

During our voyage we measure plankton density during our meter-net tow and our neuston tow. Plankton is the base of the food chain in marine ecosystems and is important for trophic linkages. They serve as a food source for many marine animals and seabirds. Plankton produces 50% of the world’s oxygen through photosynthesis and in turn helps with climate regulation by absorbing carbon dioxide. They recycle nutrients and can be used to measure ecosystem health through water quality. In a meter-net tow, density is measured by taking the biomass of plankton and dividing it by the amount of water that flows through the net during the tow using a flowmeter. In a neuston-tow across the surface, the biomass is divided by the area of water the net travels through. Plankton density can help us better understand the impact of humans and climate change on ecosystems health.

Shoutouts:

To Elle Lansing, we miss you so much! Thinking of you and your endless humor while we travel through the South Pacific. Hope you’re doing better; we can’t wait to have you back in Mo’orea.

To my parents and my partner Adam miss you always and can’t wait to tell you all about my adventure. Thinking of you as only a reverse constellation away when I’m stargazing at night.