Programs Blog

The afternoon winds picked up after a calm morning departing Lyttelton
Harbor (complete with a harbor pilot escort) and we have officially set
sail. Here we are on S314, sailing under the four lowers. This morning we
said a Maori blessing for our journey and thanked the shore for the starting
support before we headed off into the coastal waters, accompanied by
Hector’s Dolphins, petrels, shearwaters, Cape Pigeons, and albatross. We
will watch the productive New Zealand coast disappear behind us as we sail
into the center of the South Pacific Gyre.

On this journey, students will use oceanographic, morphological, and
molecular tools to make inferences about the underwater world below us and
how it changes through time and space. Additionally, they will learn to sail
handle, navigate, and listen to what the Robert C Seamans tells us as we
traverse our cruise track.

I am looking forward to the joy that students exude in this context and as
they grow throughout our journey. I hope our little blog will help share
these sentiments and experiences with you.

Dr. Sarah Kingston, Chief Scientist Marine Biodiversity and Conservation