Day Two Aboard r/v Kilo Moana - Morning

3 September 2010

7:04 am HST

Good Morning!

After my post last night, I was able to experience what it was like to look at the stars with very little light surrounding me. We don't realize sometimes how much light pollution we have, even in our rural areas. After meetings, we went up on the first level deck to gaze into the sky. At first, I was a bit disoriented, being surrounded in pitch black. Soon, my eyes adjusted a bit and I saw a density of stars like I never have before. It was easy to pick out the major constellations and the Milky Way was beautiful. It is an experience I will cherish and never forget.

After star gazing, I went to bed in my snug little bunk. I am sharing a cabin with an eighth grade science teacher from Hawaii. We are making plans for our students to become e-mail pals to discuss earth science, possibly using voice thread as a way of communicating, too. I had a very comfortable sleep. The r/v Kilo Moana is a double hulled ship that uses SWATH (Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull) technology to create a much smoother ride. Canadian Frederick G. Creed invented this technology in 1938, but it wasn't widely used until after his death in the 1960's and 70's. Still, there are only about 50 SWATH ships active around the world. The r/v Kilo Moana uses Creed's technology to be able to conduct precise experiments in rough seas with crew and scientists that don't become seasick. It has allowed the Kilo Moana to conduct monthly research cruises to Station Aloha to collect data since 1988. This body of data and research is vital in seeing trends in our ocean and making predictions. People have said once you have been on a SWATH ship, you will never want to go back on a single hulled ship. Mr. Creed is a shining example of how people can use science inquiry and engineering to help create a product that improves our lives. Thank you, Mr. Creed!

We arrived at Station ALOHA in the middle of the night, last night. I will post more about Station ALOHA tonight. CTD deployments and investigations continue 24 hours a day aboard ship, so there are a lot of sounds to get used to and I woke up frequently wondering what the scientists were doing. Thankfully, I was exhausted so it was easy to fall back to sleep.

Mrs. Spink