The last weekend of the cruise and the day turned out to be beautiful. We are in transit to French Frigate Shoals; the seas are calm and mild winds. It was a great day to lie on the deck and sun yourself, if we were on a cruise ship. We are not, so it was another day of work.
This was one of those days where you so busy, at quitting time you wondered what you did. It was not pressure cooker busy but things had to be done and naturally, there were items discovered at the last minute. Tomorrow is ops day and small boats are taking divers out to location to pick up some coral samples. We have a holding tank on the graded deck with salt water to keep the corals alive. During their rounds, watchstanders ensure that the water level and temperature is correct. These samples must get back to Hawaii in the labs for analysis alive. Most of you seen corals in large rock formation. The samples collected look like large snowflakes are red in color. I see it in the wet lab when I check to thermosalinograph system that collects seawater for surface temperature and salinity measurements.
The evening rounded off with music. I borrowed an iPod and found catalogs of old songs. Names you do not even hear on oldies stations any longer. After listening to a number of old songs and artists, I switched over to jazz, classical and Andrea Bocelli. The only entertainment here besides movies is the one television channel, Fox News. I personally do not watch it even if it is only one channel. I am not that desperate for entertainment though they claim to be “fair and balanced.” Chuckle Chuckle. We have three movie channels at which two are official and the third is linked to a DVD to where crewmembers can play what they wish to watch. We now have 24 hour Internet which a few years ago was only a dream. It is slow because we are going through a satellite and high-speed costs lot of money.
You could tell it is getting near the end of cruise. Many are antsy to get back to Honolulu and have the ability to do something at nights. I do not go out much in Hono except to get something to eat, as the galley does not serve dinner. It is back to sushi, soba (noodles) at Taiyo Ramen, rice, shioyaki or sabayaki at Eagle Cafe and wide assortment of Samoan foods I will get from Polynesian grocery stores in Waipahu such as Samoan ohka, Hawaiian Poki, taro, tapioca, and bananas. If the other ships are in, it may take some convincing other ETs to go to ethnic Asian or Polynesian restaurants or grocery stores. We have one vehicle that the ETs are to share. It is an oversized 1990 Chevrolet Suburban, which I wished someone, would steal. Unfortunately, the U.S. Government license plates discourage them from doing that. It is too big for the roads in Hawaii but the good part is the vehicle is so big no one messes with you. If I were to hand a “Please Steal this Vehicle” sign, the sign stolen and the vehicle left behind. It is a diesel and that is another reason no one wants it. It costs around $150 to fill it up and the tank is not even full. That is the maximum amount you can put on a government fuel card for g-vehicles. Hey, at least it gets us around and it is better than nothing.
Another day of ops before we transit back to Honolulu and that means getting up early. I will be putting in the overtime, as I will be overseeing two ships Hawaii. I bid you goodnight from French Frigate Shoals.
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