Cruise Log~June 6: Some of my Peeps....

The Captain and Lisa. This is their third cruise together and Lisa's last cruise as a member of the Wells lab. (Photo by Kathy Hardy)

Russell has been working on ships for 31 years. He is a really nice guy; quiet and unassuming. I hear from a reliable source that he is one of the most valuable people on the ship! (Photo by Kathy Hardy)

The table in the computer lab where the PIs set up their computers.

Mark and Charlie dubbed it "The Table of Infinite Wisdom".

(Photo by Jen Boehme)

Paul, the Chief Engineer and Mark in Ketchikan. Paul can make or repair just about anything and has, for us.
(Photo by Kathy Hardy)


Charlie, me, Dane, Ben and Lisa on the 01 deck. (Photo by Mark Wells)

The Wells group: Mark, Eric, Jen, Morgan, Peggy, Lisa and I.


The Trick Lab: Natalie, Elio, Charlie, Ben and Billy.





This cruise was Jimmy's first on the Thompson. He works in the engine room.
(Photo by Bill Caddigan)



Larry, who lives in South Dakota, is one of the ABs on the Thompson.
(Photo by Kathy Hardy)

QUEEN CHARLOTTE ISLANDS, BC (June 7, 2007): Since we left Ketchikan, Natalie, and I and a series of helpers, including Bill, Billy, Morgan, Dane, Traci, Ben, and Eric, have filtered over 800 incubation chlorophylls and 1500 chlorophylls including those for the CTD. It has been a productive week. It will take some time to process the data from all of these samples.

I filtered incubation culture samples for DA this afternoon and that was the last of the incubation samples to be collected for our team. It feels really good to start packing up. After a month of working every day, usually long hours and living with the same 50 or so people and seeing no one else, you sometimes have to remind yourself that there is a something else out there. Packing is sort of the first step back to the outside world.

I have been so busy the last few days that I haven’t really had much time to write in my blog. I just want to take a few minutes to introduce some of my lab/cruise mates. Lisa Pickell is a PhD student in our lab at the Darling Marine Center. This is Lisa’s 14th cruise. We have been going to sea together for 4 years now. Usually Lisa and I work together but this time we were both busy with our own projects. This will be her last cruise as a student as she is scheduled to finish her degree before we are scheduled to go another cruise. Lisa has been a pleasure to work with. I have seen many people come and go from the Darling Center over the years; students, post doctoral researchers, technicians and professors. It is the nature of working at a University. I will be sad to see Lisa go. We have had a lot of good times together.

Jen Boehme is a researcher at the Smithsonian, who was a post doc in our lab for the last several years. She and Mark have a joint project. It’s great when you can develop an ongoing collaboration with some one you have enjoyed working with at the lab The cooks allowed Jen to take over the galley one night; she makes a mean scone!

Morgan Brunbauer is an undergraduate helping out our group on this cruise. This is his first cruise and I am not sure at this point if he will become a marine scientist or run screaming from the ship as soon as we hit the dock. As the youngest person on the ship, he has taken a lot of ribbing from everyone else, especially since even though he is 20, he looks like he is 16. But Young Morgan seems to be able to dish it out pretty well too. For those who have never been on a month long cruise, suffice it to say, normal social structure kind of breaks down after the first couple of weeks and you start to feel like you have known people you just met for your whole life. Anyway, Morgan seems to fit in just fine. He is sort of everyone’s little brother/son/nephew. He had to have a bone marrow transplant when he was young and has been through a lot, perhaps that is what gives him the ability to put up with a motley crew like us. He has been a real help where ever he is needed.

The science crew couldn’t do anything out here without the knowledge and expertise of the ships’ crew and we couldn't have asked for a more accommodating or capable crew or a nicer group of people to work with than the crew of the Thompson. Captain Phil Smith, Chief Mate Robert Symonds and Chief Engineer Paul Schroeder; you guys are the best! Thanks to all of the crew for making this a successful and fun cruise!