Scrubbing at Sea

Sarah Kirsh, B Watch, UNC Chapel Hill

Saturday on the Seamans means no class and lots of cleaning! We had our first "field day" where each watch group split up into scrubbing every square inch of the ship. On B Watch, we cleaned the front of the ship and the main salon. Luckily, we were encouraged to persevere through our 3 hour clean with Halloween candy and pickles served by the crew. Before the cleaning began, I had watch this morning from 0700 to 1300. Today I was on dish duty so I helped the kitchen clean through lunch and breakfast. After our cleaning day, I have been reading, journaling, and hanging out with friends. I have to go to bed right after dinner tonight because I have dawn watch tomorrow morning from 0100 to 0700.. eek.

Ship life is very busy. We rotate between dawn watch, morning watch, afternoon watch, and evening watch. On watch we are either on deck or in lab. Being on deck is like learning a completely new language, but I love sail handling. It's fun to work together with my watch, heaving lines and directing the ship. Lab is also so much fun. We get to do tests on the ocean waters, small zooplankton, and phytoplankton. My favorite part of lab is processing the neuston net. Looking at all the organisms from the surface is amazing. There is an array of different colors and bioluminescence. I also get to see firsthand the data I will be using for my research project.

There are new parts of life at sea that surprise me every day. My seasickness has been at a minimum and my brain is overflowing with new information. Although it's a little overwhelming, I feel so grateful to be surrounded by kind, hilarious people and the beautiful waves.

Mom and Dad: I love you! I promise I am alive and well and in one piece.

Living my best life. Xoxoxo <3

PPS. Happy Birthday Julia! I hope you're ahead in this year's Family Olympics xoxo Nina Sarah Kirsh, B Watch, UNC Chapel Hill