Globe Trotting v.2010: In Transit

Around noon this morning, we left the dock and started on our way to our research site. It will take about a day to get there so the science starts tomorrow!!

Now that we're out of the harbor, the boat has started to rock a little. Not much. Just enough for your brain to say "What the...? Something's wrong here...." It just feels like gravity all of the sudden decreases then increases then decreases then...well, you get the point. A strange sensation. Though, I'm not complaining one bit! The captain says we're due to pass through a storm front and things could get a lot rockier. So, I'll soak up the little gentle swaying while we have it.

Out on the open sea, it got quite cold and windy. It was warm in the harbor to the point where it felt like Los Angeles. But an hour into our transit, we were all putting on coats and ear muffs. I thought it was great though! I sat on the bridge deck for a couple of hours just enjoying the sunshine, the wind and the cool weather eating Almond M&Ms and writing in my journal. It was quite nice!

Here are some pictures of the harbor as we left.

The dock as we're leaving. The small boat to the left of our bow is called the "pilot" boat - it pushes us out of the dock just like the little carts do to airplanes out of the gate. It usually stays with the boat until we get out of the harbor but ours jetted out early. Goodbye Victoria Harbor! See you in 58 days!

We all stood on the deck above the bridge to watch the transit out. The mood was very excited and relieved to finally be on our way. The bulbous white thing on the right is a microwave transmission tower. I'd like to have kids one day, so I don't go within 10 feet of it. :)

We definitely have some characters aboard this cruise! This particular prop belongs to Leslie, our Outreach Coordinator. I get the feeling we'll need all this humor when we get the cruise sillies (if we don't already have them) later in the expedition!