Teacher Aboard

EASTER

Despite the fact that we are underway, Andy's special touches kept the Easter spirit strong. He boiled eggs which the crew decorated with magic markers. These smartly adorned (decorated) eggs were added to a basket of tiny multicolored chocolate eggs and yellow marshmellow bunnies. My mom tucked a surprise into my bags which, when opened as per directions on Easter, revealed a white rope bunny sporting a baseball cap.

Dinner was a leg of lamb with oven baked potatoes followed by peach pie. YUM! After dinner there was, of course, a movie - "Predator" starring Arnold Schwartzenegger was selected for traditional video Sunday! Happy Easter to one and all from Pride of Baltimore II.

THE ISLAND OF NANJI LIEAO

After the first few hours of our late night arrival and the subsequent visit by our Chinese friends, it became quite clear that we were not permitted to go ashore. As dawn broke, the sun dissipated (burned away) the fog to reveal a stunning landscape of high rocky cliffs with small houses overlooking the snug harbor below. Weathered fishing boats with faded traces of bright colors painted on their hulls, waited patiently on moorings (anchors) for their next turn at sea. In the afternoon, a group of residents gathered on the beach to launch a new boat.

Lifted by a small crowd of twenty to the waters edge, a smaller group of four jumped aboard powering it forward by sculling (working the rudder from side to side). A string of exploding Chinese fireworks popped and snapped off the stern (back) as they made their way into deeper water. This is a tradition of good luck which Captain Dave Lymon had also organized for Pride II as she left Honolulu. The buildings under construction on shore appeared clustered like an American motel leaving us to wonder if this island is destined of become a remote resort (distant vacation spot). For the moment, however, the peace and tranquillity of this isolated spot seemed to be enjoyed solely by the natives whose lives appear to pivot (center) around fishing.

UNDERWAY TO XIAMEN

After challenging Captain Miles to an in depth exercise of radar skills during our foggy arrival, Mother Nature was only slightly more kind on our departure. The fog had lifted enough that we could make out the nearby fish nets and shore, but extended visibility was still limited. Once away from the island, the routine of watching the radar for numerous fishing boats resumed (began again).

Using the specks of green on the radar screen as our only means of "seeing" other boats, we powered or occasionally sailed into the constant wall of gray. Only last night under a full moon did we have a clear night. Several of us stood on deck enjoying the novelty (newness) of watching the lights of distant ships. Noting that the arrival in Shanghai was foggy and that we have traveled through fog until now, Captain Miles was perhaps the most appreciative.

IN THE NAME OF SCIENCE

In the spirit of Charles Darwin, who traveled the world to document (record) the presence of interesting or new species, today was a historic moment in the scientific journals of the Pride of Baltimore II. At 0400 hours, Samantha woke me to say that the glow of plankton in the bow wave was spectacular.

To provide some background, you may know that floating on the ocean are microscopic plants and animals called plankton. Some of them are the young developing forms of larger organisms (living things) while others are fully grown and will remain microscopic in size. Their role in the ocean is to serve as food for larger organisms. The plant plankton called phytoplankton are sometimes referred to as the "grasses of the sea". These phytoplankton are eaten by larger organisms which then become food for other living things in the ocean. This progression (one after the other) of being eaten is called a food chain. Ironically larger organisms who depend on the ocean for food, including people, are dependent on these tiny residents of the ocean which can only be seen with a microscope. With this dependency in mind, the Food and Drug Administration in Washington, DC is concerned about some of these plankton which may be toxic or poisonous. If these toxic plankton are eaten by larger organisms, the poisons may remain in the meat of the fish who swallowed them. If people catch these fish for food, the poisons could be passed on to humans. Due to this concern, I have been asked to document (record) types of plankton as Pride II travels the oceans in hopes that information can be gathered regarding the location of toxic (poisonous) plankton.

In the world of marine plankton, this morning was incredible. Some of these plankton glow when disturbed, which is called bioluminescence. When I emerged on deck in the dark of the predawn hour to glance over the side, I was simply amazed. At the front of each of the bow waves was a long continuous brightly glowing turquoise line of color which followed the shape of the entire wave. It was bright enough to record on video film. To collect these plankton so we could examine them more closely, we trailed a conic (like an ice cream cone) shaped net behind the ship for several minutes.

Once on board, Captain Miles and I examined samples of the water under the microscope. These plankton were so bioluminescent that they gave off a distinct turquoise glow as they were sucked up into the tiny examining tube. Under close inspection, the plankton looked like transparent (clear) jelly filled balloons with a pinkish dark spot on one side from which a tail swished back and forth. Using the field guides as a reference, we determined that they MAY be a single celled dinoflagellate called Noctiluca scintillans.