Exploring on Okeanos pt. 2

Good Morning, Everyone!

Welcome back to my Okeanos EiT Internship experience. The second half of the blog will talk about what I enjoyed most and the interesting things that I got to witness while at sea. When you're not on shift, you have a lot of downtime on your hands, where you get to explore the boat, and if you're lucky, you will get to see some interesting things as well. One of the best experiences I ever had was turning the boat on one of our survey lines. Brian (NOAA Corps Officer) was there with me, guiding me on what the equipment indicated, and to keep a steady hand. The second best thing was seeing all the sea creatures. I set out to see two things, dolphins and whales, and I saw both! I got to see bottlenose, Atlantic spotted, and spinner dolphins, pilot whales, hammerhead sharks, sea turtles, storm clouds, the constellations, and the moon at night, and the most beautiful sunsets every night. This was truly the best experience I have ever had, and I would gladly do another trip like it. I learned a great deal while on this expedition, and I am a better scientist and writer because of it. I have a better understanding of how data is collected and provided for us, ocean scientists, and I am grateful for everything I have learned. I will truly never forget this.