We’re now at the primary station on my “Final Cruise Mark Deux”. As this is a water chemistry cruise, there isn’t all that much for me to do now that the email accounts have been set up and the scientists are all plugged in. We’ll be on station for another couple of days at this location, then we’ll head back to Honolulu. Time to kick back, get some reading done, and chat with all of the science girls.

A bit of a funny note about Wednesday’s sudden departure of the computer tech that was supposed to be on this cruise instead of me. A bunch of us were outside on the quarterdeck as he went to leave. From the quarterdeck, we watched him walk down the gangway, his ridiculously oversized suitcase bumbling along behind him. As he gets to the end of the gangway the suitcase drops sharply off the end and one of the wheels breaks off. He makes a sad face and contemplates the 10 minute walk ahead of him to the gate sporting a heavy suitcase with a busted wheel and a laptop bag. Those of us watching from the quarterdeck start laughing, glad that he got some sort of karmic retribution.