After a successful research cruise of 2.5 weeks, the Pelagia is back in its harbour on Texel. As our travel through the Kieler Canal went much smoother than expected, we arrived ca. 12 hours ahead of schedule. The two-day transit gave us however plenty of time to pack, clean our lab containers and cabins, write our contributions to the cruise report (a summary of all work that was done on board), and even watch some matches of the UEFA European Championship. Luckily, most of the non-Dutch people on board have had reasons to cheer for their home team!
Upon arrival on Texel, we first moved our samples from the freezers and fridges on board into a special storage container provided by NIOZ. Then, after a final meal on board, it was time to say goodbye. This is always a somewhat strange moment after having worked so closely together for weeks. While for the Utrecht and NIOZ team the cruise ended on Tuesday evening, our colleagues from the United States and Sweden will fly back to their respective countries only on Thursday. This means that they have a day left to be spent in Amsterdam – certainly a different experience in terms of crowdedness than being on board! On Thursday morning, the samples and materials from the Utrecht team will arrive from Texel, which means we can start with our measurements and experiments very soon. This will keep most of us busy for a few weeks to months, and will hopefully provide us with many interesting scientific findings.
Especially after a cruise with rough weather conditions, it can feel very strange to be back on stable land again. Some people even get ‘landsick’! Luckily, because of the very good weather we had during our expedition, this transition went well. For me it is however still very strange to see other things than just water when looking out of the window, and to see other people than the 27 other scientists and seafarers that were on board. I will certainly miss the beautiful sunsets and the feeling of a fresh breeze on your skin when standing on top of the bridge (the room from which the ship can is commanded).
Especially after a cruise with rough weather conditions, it can feel very strange to be back on stable land again. Some people even get ‘landsick’! Luckily, because of the very good weather we had during our expedition, this transition went well. For me it is however still very strange to see other things than just water when looking out of the window, and to see other people than the 27 other scientists and seafarers that were on board. I will certainly miss the beautiful sunsets and the feeling of a fresh breeze on your skin when standing on top of the bridge (the room from which the ship can is commanded).
I hope you enjoyed reading this blog and got a bit more insight into the life of a scientist on board of a research vessel! We certainly enjoyed writing about it.
On behalf of everyone,
Mathilde
On behalf of everyone,
Mathilde