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Phoenix’s blog
Ship’s Log
Ship position
38 D 16.98’ N, 64 D 33.86’ W
Ship heading
210 degrees
Ship speed:
4 knots (just a guess don’t judge I won’t be making a third trip up the stairs again)
Taffrail Log
578 nm
Weather / Wind / Sail Plan
Waves are 2 feet in height, Beaufort force 2, and the wind and waves are both ENE of the ship’s compass.
Description of location
480 nm off the coast of Delaware and Maryland (I’m kinda close to DC?!?!?)
Body Dear Mom, and Zoey and Annabelle. I know it’s been a while since you’ve heard from me, but just know I’m thinking of you, and miss you dearly. Mom I want you to tell all my friends on the dock that I said hi. I miss them dearly as well. Sorry I don’t get to contact any of you regularly. Just know I love you all dearly and can’t wait to see you all in person again.
The fossiliferous cliffs of Martha’s Vineyard. Have yet to find any fossils from this Shipek grab
Now that all the lovey dovey stuff is out of the way, I’m ready to get started on my blog! I got a lot to cover so here it goes:
The scariest day of my life: (October 10)
Well, not really but I’m pretty sure that it’s up there in the top 5. Remember when I said that I would never ever climb the rigging on the boat? Well, I did. Will I do it again? Probably, I never learn from my mistakes the first time anyways. Here is a picture of me climbing the rigging. Yes, I was cursing my whole way up and down. I have truly become a sailor
October 11: Martha’s Vineyard:
This day got me excited. I didn’t find any fossils yet, but I still have the micro sample to work through one of these days from this place. The cliffs were so beautiful they reminded me of Calvert Cliffs at home with all the megs and whales protruding out the bank walls.
October 12: Block Island Wind Farm:
This day was really cool. Besides some sea sickness, I still was amazed at all the windmills and turbines that were out in the ocean creating good, clean, energy for us to all enjoy collectively.
October 13: FOSSILS! (81 percent sure)
The bad news was that this would be our last Shipek grab for a while before going off the continental shelf and into the deep. By this grab, I was feeling really down and really thought that the fossil jig was all up. Boy was I wrong. When the last sediment sample came up off the ocean bottom, I saw clay and shells mixed together. Bingo. Really a good recipe for fossils in my book.
October 15: REALLY BAD SEA SICKNESS DAY PART ONE:
Yeah, no need to really go into details with this one.
October 16: REALLY BAD SEA SICKNESS DAY PART ONE POINT FIVE: (And a double rainbow).
Yep. Ship happens. Not going to focus on the negative however because otherwise this will be called a drag post. And last time I checked, it’s not called a drag post. Or a wuss post. It’s called a blog post. Which is why I’m going to include a picture of the double rainbow that was captured this morning (which btw, I wasn’t even supposed to be up at this hour so yay I guess)
Block Island wind farm.
Final Words:
Mom, Zoey and Annabelle, and friends on the dock, I love you all. I hope you know that to despite the sea sickness, I’m staying extraordinarily positive and having the time of my life. I’m surrounded by really good people on this vessel and ready to keep scienceing. Annabelle, please do your best to not eat Zoey and mom, know you’re the light in my life. I can’t wait to tell you all the wonderful stories I have when I’m back. Oh, and my next blog post I promise I will include whales this time.
Love,
Phoenix Norwood, A watch