Open the below pictures in a full-screen slideshow by Flickr
May 25, 2009 – Seattle
by Dr. R. Michael Reynolds
Sunday May 24, Expedition day -7. Ramblings from the Scientist –
This will be the first blog from Dr. R. Michael Reynolds, the scientist that will sail on the Ocean Watch from Seattle to Barrow, and possibly beyond, and on other long legs from Miami to Buenos Aires and from Lima to San Diego.
MENTAL PREPARATION
At 7:55 am I am waiting for the Hi spot Cafe to open for breakfast. There is time for me to begin this first entry as one of the scientists on this most remarkable voyage around the Americas. I am excited at the opportunity to share my experience and observations with all the readers and supporters of this project. I will try to give you the right blend of personal rumination and scientific observation without boring technicalities or maudlin emotions.
There is a period of time before a long expedition when one begins to pay attention to the minutiae of life’s progress and how they go on hold the moment lines are cast and the ship sails. For me this is a familiar feeling. I have been going on science expeditions since I flew cosmic ray balloons at Fort Churchill Canada over forty five years ago. It was on that trip that this Texas farm boy was presented to the idea of “oceanography.” My mentor at that time, John Ables, a cosmic ray physicist, said ,”You know, your degree in electrical engineering coupled with oceanography would be a terrific combination.” A person’s life is dotted with these sorts of stepping stones and after that moment I had a goal and a passion. Observational geophysics is what I do and I have worked around the world from the Persian Gulf to the tallest building in New York City to the Arctic ice cap. And now, by shear providence I have fallen in with the Around the Americas team. What a thrill.
But back to my breakfast and to my growing appreciation of the little things I will miss on this trip. Family and friends, our Golden Doodle puppy Lucy, seeing my granddaughter, Chloe, off to school. Sailors walk away from one life and plunge into another and all those dear habits are exchanged for another set. Of course it does not sadden me to leave the bad things, what Zorba called “the full catastrophe.” Paying bills, email spam, conference calls, automobile repair, TV, and all Hamlet’s slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. As the dock lines are cast next Sunday you will hear my sigh as I release and center, Zen like, to the life at sea, the life of the moment. As a jazz musician said “We all have problems, but as soon as you get out on that stage they all go away.”
THE PAYOFF, FRIENDS, CHALLENGE, AND NATURE
You will hear more about the magic that lures people to the sea. These feelings have been described again and again in countless books and articles. It is a personal feeling and the attraction is different and unique for every person. There is the confrontation of machine and nature, there is the quiet somnolence of a quiet sea, the excitement of wildlife, new lands, and strange creatures. But there are special joys for the scientist. First we get yanked from the academic world of papers and seminars and plunked into the challenge of coaxing delicate instruments to take highly accurate measurements in an incredibly hostile situation. Second is the personal interaction. An ocean expedition thrusts strangers into an isolated environment where they learn to work together. Your circle of friends grows and grows around the world so when you reach the first port you are as close as if you grew up together. I think it is this aspect of ocean cruising that I enjoy the most. Friendships, challenge, and nature. How many times in my life have I found myself saying “I can’t believe they are paying me to do this.”
Over the past month I have met the crew with which I shall be sailing, and I cannot imagine a better or more competent group.
FUTURE CORRESPONDENCE
Over the course of this cruise I hope I can write, as the scientist and as a very fortunate human, of both the technical work we will do and of my personal feelings and experiences. I’ll try to give a good blend and I hope to avoid boring you too much with technical detail. That will be on other pages for those who want it. Here I will subscribe to the principle of simplicity. As Epstein wrote in his book “Thinking Physics,” “There’s an easy way to explain anything. It’s just hard to find it.”
Remember: all views, ideas, and comments here are ad hoc, off the cuff, poorly researched, and subject to revision at any moment.
- Michael Reynolds michael@rmrco.com
*This crew log submitted by Iridium OpenPort and Stratos
*To add a comment to this story click on the comment link below the post title. Please direct your messages for the crew to crew@aroundtheamericas.org instead of submitting them here. Thanks for following the Around the Americas Expedition.
