Dear Anais,

After two frustrating days of one little problem after another, ROPOS was finally put in the water again today, and we were able to work with it on the bottom for several hours, placing temperature sensors in the vents where hot water is coming out. But just an hour ago we had to begin pulling it up again because the wind is increasing and so too are the waves. Actually, the wind has been blowing out of the northwest for several days. Today it reached 20 knots, then 24, now it is between 25 and 30. Thats no big deal, but the waves are just too large to have ROPOS in the water. The storms that come across the Pacific Ocean are pushed north of us, toward Alaska, this time of year, so we do not expect the weather to get any worse. The ship's computer is holding us in exactly one spot. This requires the engines to work all the time, because otherwise the wind would push us backward. The bow thrusters are turning on and off to keep the bow pointed directly into the wind.

Life on the ship, you ask? Well, it mainly revolves around working and eating, just like home, I suppose. The food is way too good, and there is way too much of it. There is a ping pong table. There is also a microscopic exercise room, where, should you so desire, you can ride a stationary bike and stare at the wall. Many of us stay busy writing, including me, although today was not my most fun day since the computer I was working on died and took some of my work along with it. We don't see much at sea. There is the occasional ship in the distance because we are near the route between the Columbia River and Japan. Today, a pod of dolphins, apparently roaming around in search of idiots sitting in the middle of the ocean doing nothing, stopped by to say hello. We were also visited by a seal.

When describing life on the ship, it revolves around the main deck, which is the deck level that makes up the stern of the ship. On this deck is the main lab, a large room about the size of your classroom with lab benches, tables, and a zillion computers of all description. The computers, and everything else for that matter, are carefully tied down to keep them from sliding off tables as the ship rolls and pitches. There are always people in the lab, and if you want to find out what's going on that's the place to be. There are three smaller labs, a small office, two large walk-in freezers and a couple of workshops on the main deck. You can also get to the engine room from there and into the stern of the ship, but those are places we are not allowed to go. The deck below the main one has cabins for the scientific crew, and that's were I am. I share it with a fellow named Gordy, one of the engineers. I happen to have the bottom bunk this time, and we share a bathroom with the neighboring cabin. When the bow thrusters are going on and off, it gets pretty noisy in some of the cabins (mercifully not mine), but otherwise the ship is comfortable. The deck below the one I'm on has a few more cabins, the dreaded exercise room, the unfamiliar (as your mother will surely point out) laundry room, and rooms for storing food. We each have an assigned day to do laundry -- mine is Saturday.

The galley, where we eat, is on the deck above the main deck. All the chairs in the galley have straps on them to attach to the floor so they won't go flying when it gets rough. There is also a library, where we have meetings, and a video room, which is used mostly by the crew. The crew lives on this deck and the one above it. It is necessary to be quiet because there is always someone sleeping on the ship, since it operates 24 hours a day. Above that is a deck with only two rooms -- one for the chief scientist, in this case John, and the other for the captain. So that makes six decks in all. On top of that is the bridge, where the ship is controlled from. That's a fun place to go because it has windows all around and the radar, navigation, weather information all come to the bridge. In fact, I just went there to find out about the weather situation. The Tully, our second ship, appeared on the radar screen. It's about 11 miles away and should arrive here in an hour or so.

Thats all for tonight. Great big kisses, Papa