B Watch ... the Dream Team

In fact, we now prefer to call ourselves “D Watch” as we have proven to be the “Dream Team” on deck and in the lab. We had a few slip-ups early, but after learning the ropes (pun intended), you’d be hard pressed to find a drop of mud on our deck or a sample left unfiltered. We secured our lines and labeled all our samples. Notice that we had to wait until the end of the sampling to post a blog because we were so consumed with our work. This was clearly not the case with another watch which apparently found time to blog, watch movies, play ping pong and eat… a lot. I won’t mention any names (A Watch).


But enough of the comparisons, the fact is we had an all-star cast. During our last watch I walked around talking photos of the B watch members as they worked tirelessly doing their typical jobs. See the photos.  Read related text below.

Dick - Salty Deckhand and Tripod Master

April - Super Deckie

Alan "The Hammer" Orpin - Mr. Fix-it with X-ray Vision

Bella - Macrofauna/Microfauna Manic

Julene - Deck Sargeant and Extreme Clipboarder

Julia - Erosion Expert

Victoria - Fantabulous Filterer

J.P. - Ping Pong Wizard and Watch "Supervisor" (i.e., slacker)

Note: I have no idea what this thing is that I am posing on.  I just thought it made me look smart and official.

On the deck, we had the salty dogs Dick and April; both are former Coasties. They hooked gear and hauled taglines rain or shine, and then lugged cores and bagged samples until the deck was clear. Dick, a seasoned veteran of oceanographic research, also helped coordinate the tripod deployment. Alan “The Hammer” Orpin had a split personality. He was constantly maintaining the multicore and CTD, making sure no bolt was left untightened, and once a core hit the fantail he whirled into action, extracting samples and x-raying sediments. Bella “the Rhinestone Cowgirl” effortlessly operated the A-frame and sieved countless samples while looking chic in her diamond-studded sunglasses. Our Deck Sargeant was Julene. She kept everyone on task and recorded all our actions with her trusty clipboard. Julene also was a core processing machine,although our short supply of core extrusion caps may be a reflection of her passion for rapid core cleaning  Last but certainly not least, I must highlight the hard work of our lab rats, Julia and Victoria. They are the unsung heroes of our watch; they worked long, painful hours in the bowels of the ship. Victoria collected water and filtered samples like crazy. It was not an exciting job, but she made the most of it and snuck out on deck with some regularity to help with deck processes and view dolphins. Julia and Joey (on A watch) were the slaves to the erosion chamber. This equipment required constant attention and TLC, and Julia and Joey did a fabulous job processing many samples. They both hardly saw a ray of sun over the duration of the cruise, yet they maintained a positive attitude and smiling face through it all (almost).

Because of the fact that I had such a great watch, I was pretty much able to kick back, relax and “supervise” operations from the lounge and galley via the TV’s Deck Channel . It was a difficult job, but somebody had to do it.

Tonight is our last night at sea. The labs have been mopped; the equipment stowed. Now, scientists and crew have found a little time to do their laundry and get some much needed R and R during the long steam back to Wellington. We are due to arrive at 0800.