Just about every single day since I've been on board this ship, I have at some point said out loud, "Just one whale; I just want to see one whale!" I'm not quite sure why I'm so set on seeing a whale. I've been fortunate enough to have seen many whales before and just about every behavior a marine mammologist would want to see. But I suppose I feel that if I can see all of that just a few dozen miles off the East Coast, then I should certainly see one when I'm 1,100 miles out at sea. So after day 18 days at sea without having seen a whale, I had pretty much given up on seeing one.

I was happily chatting over dinner in the mess hall last night around 1800 when the PA system beeped. Whenever someone is about to use it, there is a beep sound that sort of alerts folks to stop talking so everyone can hear the message that is about to be relayed. Dr. Craig Cary was just walking into the mess hall when the beep went off, so he stopped to listen, and everyone stopped talking. This is what we heard: "There are whales off the port bow." BOOM! Silverware slammed down on plates, chairs flew back against the floor, and a stampede of scientists charged past Craig, who was ducking so as to not be flattened.

Everyone hurried out of the mess hall, down the stairs, through the hallway, outside, up the stairs, and down to the bow. You would have thought that someone set off a bomb. It was hysterical. We were all laughing about it as we were heading to see the whales. We got there to see another incredible sunset, glassy calm water, and no whales. We waited and waited and waited. People started joking that the crew did it as a joke to get all the scientists out of the mess so they could eat all of the key lime pie that was for dessert. They didn't; the whales just never resurfaced within viewing distance. We waited for about a half an hour, just in case. It was pretty funny. Definitely the most amusing moment so far on this cruise. Well, aside from seeing P.J. dressed as Britney Spears.

So today is the last dive of R/V Atlantis Voyage 7, Leg 24, San Diego, California, to Puntaranas, Costa Rica. Once Alvin hits the deck of Atlantis this evening and is secured, this ship is taking off for the coast. None of us have seen land in weeks. It's kind of a bizarre feeling actually. We are pleased with what has been accomplished science-wise. Last night, the ASU folks were celebrating the success of one of their instruments that had been placed on the vents. It recorded temperature and had stuff growing on it, which is a lot harder to achieve than one would think. The vent environment is so variable within such a short space that trying to achieve something like that is much more challenging that it would be in other environments. On the way in, when everyone is wrapping up their science, I'll give you the lowdown on all that has happened. It's pretty cool stuff really.

That's about all for now. Hopefully, Pat Hickey (today's pilot), Craig Cary, and Lisa Robson will bring up a great collection of stuff. Till tomorrow — Jen