by Chloe Immonen
16 July 2018 @ 13:19

I am incredibly sleepy. We have now crossed into the Bering Sea after stopping in Dutch Harbour to pick up the American scientists. Leading up to Friday, July 13, I knew I had to finish taking 38 samples from the underway loop running through the ship, saving five samples for after Dutch Harbor. I had not had longer than two consecutive hours of sleep for the previous five days. I worked hard to finish off the last samples before finally having a bit of relaxation time with Gina and Shea. We hung out on the upper decks and the bridge, where we spotted loads of seabirds (puffins and albatross were the coolest) and tons of whales (orcas, greys, and humpbacks). The light was beautiful! Approaching the Aleutians, we hopped in the hot tub to watch the gorgeous scenery pass by. It was an amazing evening.

In Dutch, we made the most of being on land by going on one of the most stunning hikes I’ve ever had the pleasure of hiking followed by going to the Norwegian Rat bar in town.

The next two days were filled with preparing for the beginning of stations, helping the American scientists set up their lab space, and the Shellbacks (those science and crew members who have crossed the Arctic Circle by sea before) explaining some of the upcoming tasks for us Tadpoles (those science and crew members who have NOT crossed the Arctic Circle by sea before) to partake in. I’m pretty sure I’m not allowed to tell you any details, but the tasks have certainly consumed some of our time and energy.

Read more from Chloe’s journey across the NE Pacific: Bitter-sweet Bon Voyage, Fueled for Exploration, Into the Storm