A Good Day

Patricia Dougherty, C Watch, New York University

When a member from C watch gently woke me at 0515, I knew it was going to be a good day. Not only was I no longer feeling sea sick, I could also see clear skies and an early sun from my port light. Ah yes sunshine! After two days of stormy clouds and big waves, a day of sun was just what our group needed. Although I was assigned assistant steward and spent most of the day slicing and dicing veggies in the galley with Lauren (head steward), I still had plenty of time to enjoy the beautiful weather.

Being assistant steward was a blast and preparing 6 meals for 36 people kept me plenty busy. Meal highlights include: quinoa poke bowl, a delicious red pepper hummus, and roasted vegetables with mashed potatoes for dinner. During one of our breaks between meals Lauren and I wrote letters, stuffed them in empty bottles, and threw them overboard. Hopefully I’ll receive an email in coming weeks from a beach-goer who stumbles upon my bottle washed on-shore.

Around 1330 we had our first science class on the quarter deck where we learned how to deploy neuston nets. Now that the weather has steadied, there are plans to do up to 6 deployments a day to analyze phytoplankton, chlorophyll levels, pH, nutrients, and zooplankton. Thirty minutes after deploying our Neuston net in class they were returned to the science deck with lots of larvae and two Portuguese Man of War. A great find! I’m sure pictures of that will come in a following blog post. I’m yet to be assigned to the lab but I’m looking forward to helping process collected data soon.

Watching a beautiful sunset with friends on the roof of doghouse cemented this day as my favorite so far. But with 5 more weeks to come, I have a feeling many more wonderful days lie ahead. Life at sea is difficult to describe and unlike anything I’ve experienced before. It’s awesome!

Sending love to my wolf pack, hope everyone is doing well.

- Patricia Dougherty, C Watch, New York University