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TODAY'S WEATHER
Partly cloudy
83°F (28.3°C)
Latitude: 21 deg 00’S
Longitude: 60 deg 09.9’E
Wind Direction: SE
Wind Speed: 14 Knots
Sea State 3
Swell(s) Height: 6-7 Foot
Sea Temperature: 82°F (27.8°C)
Barometric Pressure: 1015.5 MB Visibility: 18+ Nautical Miles

Daily Update: Steaming to the first research site
March 31, 2001
By Amy Nevala

After untying our lines from the Port Louis dock at 10:30 last night, scientists and crew gathered on the upper decks and bow to watch Mauritius’ fading colored lights.

Then we tilted our heads back to an even better light show - the stars. Without the light pollution from the city, the constellations Orion’s Belt, the Big Dipper, the Southern Cross and others radiated from the black sky.

Star gazers from the northern hemisphere had to adjust to this different angle. Since we are sailing in the southern hemisphere, the star formations appear to change. Some, like the Big Dipper, look upside-down.

A gentle, warm wind messed up our hair as we stood outside, reacquainting our legs and bodies to the ship’s rocking motion. Some people stayed up until midnight enjoying conversation in the warm, salty air.

This morning we returned to ship and science preparations. A fire-drill sent us scrambling for life jackets and survival suits in our cabins then to our stations. With everyone accounted for and well prepared, we were dismissed with three short blasts of the ship’s horn.

For DSOG team member Mark Bokenfohr, that meant continuing preparations on the “elevator.” Used to shuttle equipment and samples between the ship and the seafloor, it is about twice the size of a hotel elevator.

This evening, tired scientists puttered in their labs or browsed the ship’s library. A few kicked back with Mel Gibson’s Road Warrior in the lounge.

A glance out a porthole shows that our steam east continues under a fingernail-moon. It throws a white glow on the ocean, like a ghost swimming on the water.

Dive and Discover Water Word Puzzle Click here for a printable version Check back tomorrow for the solution.

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