Out Where the Buses Don't Run

I get to go out for two nights on a research ship.

! ... Just tagging along while they deploy this buoy and a subsurface one, and while other people do other scientific work. The ship is the Research Vessel Thomas G. Thompson. Because we will be inside the Marine Sanctuary, the OCNMS was invited to invite a few of their volunteers to go along as observers. Whee. My fellow joyrider is hoping for cetacean sightings.

The Thompson is leaving from Seattle on the 24th (Thursday) at 0900 and arriving in Esquimalt (Victoria) at 0800 on the 26th (Saturday). We need to be aboard no later than 0800 on the 24th at the UW Oceanography dock. The office manager at the Marine Sanctuary office is driving us over to Seattle, since we will be coming back from Victoria on the ferry. I have to be down at the NOAA office waiting for my ride at 3AM on Thursday morning. We will sail from UW's dock on Lake Union, and go out through Chittenden Locks. !!!!! We will take all day to go west through the Strait and then down the coast to where we are to deploy the buoys off La Push. Scheduled to put the buoys out beginning at 11PM (it will be dark and I will surely be asleep by then).

Friday morning at 9 we start a 'biosonics' survey, and other testings, which I have not figured out yet. At six PM we start heading back in; and at 8AM the next morning we joyriders (and probably the U of Washington scientists?) are put ashore in Esquimalt (Victoria). There the ship will load up a remote-operated submarine (ROV) and a new crew of scientists and technicians (U. of Victoria people this time), and go out for a month-long cruise. (Puzzled this out from the posted schedule for the Thompson. Scroll down to May 24 (our cruise) then May 26. She's going right back out.)

I bought a spare memory card for the camera. May not be able to post until I get home on Saturday.

We go through the Locks! We go out through the Sound and the Strait! We'll have good weather on Friday!

Hoping to get to take an official observation or hold an instrument, make a tiny mark on this page of the scientific record.