Time: 11:00

Well folks, the diving is done! Alvin came up yesterday with the best collection of samples yet. We had the xpedition leader, Pat Hickey, at the helm of the sub yesterday. Pat's many years of experience and proficiency in the sub always prove advantageous to us scientists. Pat somehow manages to do everything on the dive plan and in record time. Among the "catch" yesterday, there were about 140 worms, some Riftia, a huge clam, and some crabs. You will be seeing dissection pictures of the clam and the Riftia in the next day or so. It was pretty cool!

Since we left a day late, we needed to leave station the second the sub was on the deck and secured. They weren't kidding! That sub was secured, the engines started, and this huge ship started hauling. After a bunch of days at station, not really moving too much, it was easy to feel the change once we turned east into the current and started steaming. We are currently traveling at about 11 knots.

It's funny how fast the change is felt by folks. Within about an hour of steaming out of station yesterday, some of the people on board started to get seasick. We are all having to get used to the doors weighing about twice as much, not being able to walk down a hallway in a straight line, and rolling around in our bunks at night. It's not as much of an adjustment as it was on the way out here, but it is still affecting some people.

Today is pretty much a wrap-up day for the scientists. They have to pack up all of their samples and equipment, which is a much grander task than it may sound. This is especially true because they are trying to finish up their experiments to the point where they can be put on hold until they return to their home labs. It is always a huge task to pack up samples that need to be stored in special environmental conditions as well. Luckily, there is a lot of dry ice on board the ship for everyone to use.

I'm finally coming down off of my "dive high," probably only because I'm pretty tired. I have been staying up chatting and visiting with people since the final days of the cruise are here. It's a funny thing to spend so much time with people and get to know them so well and then suddenly leave and quite possibly never see them again. It's a lot like summer camp in that respect. Luckily, many of these people are colleagues and will see each other at conferences, meetings, or even right here on Atlantis next year! But, we don't want to wish away our time yet. We still have until the 12th on board Atlantis and there is much to be done, so I'd better go and get some of it done!