May 13, 2006 – Saturday at last!, Bingo Night on the Mess Deck Options

[Samantha_Dassler_Barlow]

Date: Saturday, May 13, 2006

GPS Coordinates
Latitude: 62° 26.3’ N
Longitude: 172° 19.9’ W



This is a zoomed in version of the maps I have been posting. Do you like this one better so that you can see how many stations we have visited? It’s only the end of the first week and we are halfway done with these stations south of St. Lawrence Island.

Although today is Saturday, the scientists do not get to sleep in and they do not stop sampling for the weekend. They work a grueling schedule in 12-hour shifts. Many of them are either on the midnight to noon or noon to midnight schedule. The time on the boat is precious and worth roughly $30,000 per day (give or take a few thousand dollars), so they have to use their time to the fullest extent. Sometimes, they don’t get any sleep and they just catch a nap wherever they can.


Jackie was trying to grab a nap in between experiments. It’s a good thing she was about to change shifts in an hour so that she could finally go to bed after being up all night. The Chief Scientist has a tough job!


Jason Kolts is trying to keep a log on the data he is collecting. Jason is from the University of Wyoming where Jim Lovvorn is his advisor.


Jerry McCormick-Ray gets the first of 7 vanVeen grabs each time we sample. She sorts through all the little organisms she finds in the mud.


The scientists, hard at work on a Saturday! Casey and Mikhail play checkers while we are in transit to the next station.

I spent most of the morning answering questions on my board. I’ve had some great questions about our cruise plan, ocean water, and animals we’ve seen. My answers should be posted in the next couple of days, so if you asked a question, then keep checking back to your post for my reply.

I spent the afternoon interviewing Casey Quitmeyer and taking pictures around the lab. What is a Nebraska boy doing in the Bering Sea? Read the interview and find out.

In the evening, I went to Bingo night in the mess deck at 1830 with Ruth and Patty. I was waiting for Bingo all day! Ruth brought every good luck charm she could think of with her. She even developed a good luck move. But, with all those good luck charms, moves, and 2 Bingo cards, it was Patty that won a jump drive on a Bingo game called square. You have to cover numbers all the way around the perimeter of the Bingo card in order to win the prize. There were other prizes like DVDs, a water bottle, and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. I wish I had won the chocolate!

When the Coasties host fun and games like this, it is called “morale.” They need something to break up the monotonous routine and spice the day up a little with something enjoyable and fun, especially on long cruises. The Morale Bingo was fun and I can’t wait to do it again.


I think Ruth’s good luck charms helped Patty win Bingo!


The Healy has a little coffee shop that is occasionally open, although I never can tell the hours. See if you can tell why by reading the words towards the bottom of the door. I managed to pick up my very own Healy travel mug and received my first Chai latte. It was delicious. The profits from the coffee shop go to the morale fund.

Can you think of things that your school or workplace does to boost morale? Share them with me on my question board!