Dispatch 38: Nearly Ice Free : Beaufort Gyre Exploration Project

We are between mooring stations today, having finished with all of the BGOS moorings yesterday, and heading to the CABOS mooring tomorrow. In the meantime, a few other stations will be occupied, but not too many since we are running out of time on this cruise. We are rapidly steaming through diminishing ice conditions that eventually turn into mostly open water. All of a sudden, the end of the cruise seems very near.

Hence, there is some time for some reflection on prior days of the cruise, and looking ahead past the end of the cruise. Amongst the busy scientific schedule, there was usually time for some social activities. Beside the "Meet and Greet" night described in Dispatch 8, we also had a costume party one night, and a culture festive with international foods contributed by the scientists another night. Often these events were entertained with sing-alongs to the music of "The Chief and I".

Then there was the Cribbage tournament, where Scott Payment won the championship. On other nights, the movies seemed to be the big attraction. It seemed that the people that complained the most about how bad they were were the ones who watched every night.

Still, there is no place like home, and everyone agrees that email or phone calls with loved ones is the best entertainment going. So we look forward to end of the cruise, albeit somewhat wistfully since that means that we will also be parting with good friendships that we made over the past 6 weeks.

Dispatch 38: Nearly Ice Free

Rick Krishfield

September 11, 2006