7/30/2013: Winding Down

I have found that there is a trajectory to each research cruise. It doesn’t seem to matter much how long the cruise is. It tends to follow the same path. The first few days, people are getting into the groove, figuring things out, finding their jobs. The middle of the cruise, everyone is pretty well coordinated. There are often some mistakes at this time because people start to get complacent. They are pretty sure they know what their job is & it seems like they could do it in their sleep. Of course, this isn’t exactly true and mistakes are made. Toward the end of the cruise, the entire ship’s company is looking forward to home, even if they will be headed back out to sea again in a few days. 

Toward the end of the cruise, people start talking about their families. They make plans for what they will do after they get home. If the ship is close enough to land, people start trying to find cell signal & call home. The metal preparation seems to take between 24 and 48 hours.

We will be setting traps three more times tomorrow, but the preparations for home have already begun.  Plans are being made for when gear can get washed, when it can be stored. There will be one final push to get as many samples as possible tomorrow, but after that everyone will start to think about the things that need to get done back on land. 

 

Despite the fact that NOAA’s vessels are connected to the outside world in a variety of ways, there is a feeling at sea that the world is no bigger than the vessel you are working on. Inside these bulkheads and on these decks is the only thing that really matters. Work is work and nothing can change what needs to get done. No matter how mad you may be at someone, you still have to work next to them tomorrow. Once a voyage is almost over, dynamics start to shift. People let their feelings show a little more. They focus a little less on the task at hand and spend a little more time thinking about the end. If the cruise has been an upbeat one (as this one has), this often involves a little extra joking around, a little extra frivolity. No matter what, the last 24 hours of a research cruise involves a lot more smiling than the few days leading up to this point.  The end is near! The end is in sight!