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The Project Part 3:
Also See: Part 1: Part 2:
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September 6, 2005
Last Samples Last night we had some fun with the wildlife. We put together a little net and looked at some sea creatures up close. There is a lot vallela, or sail jellyfish, and some other round white balls that we can't identify right now. Of course, almost everything (except the jellyfish) are covered with barnacles, or sea lice as the crew call them. Here are a couple of pictures. The round, white ball things usually have a few barnacles on them as hitchhikers, but sometimes the small ones don't. Today is the last day of sampling. They are trying to get in as much as possible. Today is also the day we will make a live catch with a special net. The net is very fine and there is a collection bottle at the end. It works like a sieve, in that most of the water goes out the net, but the plankton are collected in the bottle. These live plankton will be stored in the proper containers with extra nutrients for food and immediately shipped when we get back to deck. The hope is they will survive the journey, and the scientists will be able to study some live specimens. The idea is to grow the plankton in a lab setting, and so be able to manipulate the environment and see how they respond. This gives the scientists better understanding and the ability to compare information with that taken at sea. Today I learned about shapes on ships. They are an important way to communicate with other vessels. There are black, metal shapes that get hung high about midship. They are circles, triangles, and cylinders, and they mean different things when hung in different combinations. For example, one circle (called a black ball) means the ship is at anchor. They can even get more technical and have three separate lines up; one to show moving restriction, one side to show other ships to pass on that side, and the other side to show no passing. Here is a picture of our shapes today. Can you do an internet search and find out what it means? The answer tomorrow. Math Questions: Food consumption is a big issue at sea, since there is no grocery store to run to quickly. We must make sure we have enough of everything. There are two consumable products that you never want to run out of at sea, says Doug the cook; everything else can be worked aroung. What are the two things that you will get a big rebellion for not having? Hint: one is edible, one is not. Answer tomorrow. Now on to our math problem. You are going to have 30 people on board, 20% of them are vegetarians, and you are planning dinner. You have a 13 pound prime rib that you are going to cut into 8 oz rib eye steaks. How many servings of prime rib will you have? How many 8 oz servings of fish will you need for the vegetarians? How many pounds of fish is that? Ocean Trivia: More superstitions of sailors coming up. The really ancient superstitions seem to come from a desire of mariners to protect themselves from the unknown dangers of the sea. There were a few days you're never to start a voyage on, or you will be cursed with bad luck. Friday is a day of ill-omen because the Crucifixion took place on a Friday. A couple Monday's are also off limits: The first Monday in May, believed to be Cain's birthday and the day of Abel's murder; and the second Monday in August, believed to be the day Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed. The 31st of December is also avoided as it is though to be the day on which Judas Iscariot hung himself. Here is a strange superstition. If an old fisherman were headed to his boat, and a barefoot woman crossed in front of him on the way, he would turn around and go home.
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