Day 6 Sunday October 2, 2011 11:44 GMT

Things have been running fairly smoothly over the last few days.  We were able to get slightly ahead of schedule even after some delays due to winch issues.  The weather has been beautiful.  Clear blue skies and calm seas.  We are hoping that they stay with us for the duration.

Hoping to add to our burgeoning good luck, over the last two days whales have been sighted from the ship fairly close.  If nothing else it has definitely lifted the spirits of those who can go take a look.

Yesterday we also deployed our first drifter (a buoy that measures temperature and other properties), and plan to deploy several more throughout the cruise.  These drifters are part of the Global Drifter Program (GDP) through AOML NOAA.  To learn more about this cool program check out the extremely informative website : http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/phod/dac/gdp_drifter.php .

Some of us are in the process of decorating styrofoam cups that will eventually be sent down with the rosette.  The immense pressure that will be exerted will shrink the cups.  So when the package comes back to the surface we will have mini cups.

Below are some photos of the whales, a GDP drifter, and an example of the cups.

Thanks for reading!
-Elizabeth

If you are tracking our cruise's progress we are currently at:
29  45.00' S   and   6  9.00' E