This morning, I went out on deck for some fresh air and sunshine and spotted an oceanic white tip hugging the side of the boat. It was at least 8 feet long--very exciting! When I went in to tell everyone, three more came! They followed us all day. They really are majestic beasts, dark shadows lurking a few feet below the surface, cutting lazily, but with purpose through the water... When we brought the ROV back later in the day, they were swimming close enough that we got some great video of them.
Then, when I got back into the cabin, there was a shark in the deep sea too! It was a very sharky day. We also had a very successful dive in terms of coral collection. And, today I got to drive some camera controls on the ROV! I'd say it is akin to playing a poorly designed video game manipulating frustratingly inaccurate controls, struggling to get a picture in focus worthy of a science magazine while also looking out for any nebulous blobs that might be of interest and not pissing off the ROV pilot. But, other than that, it was actually quite fun. It's a position of power. And the head scientists are right there (Les and Scott) and I got to ask them lots of questions. This cruise has been extremely educational already and we've just reached the halfway point! Today was the Hump Day--we're just halfway done--whoo! Time is passing very quickly.
Tomorrow we are going to a place called Booby Key, or something (?). I'm not sure, really. But I thought I heard something about boobies...
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