Equatorial Musings While in Transit to 5°S!

Hey there! Things are well underway! When we are not conducting underway CTDs (uCTDs) or performing our daily grabs using the regular CTD Rosette 3 a.m. grab, we are cruising at a solid 9 to 10.5 knots!

Our cruise plan has changed a bit since the start of the journey due to challenges presented by weather and field conditions. Unfortunately, we were unable to conduct a long station in the northern hemisphere, but new opportunities to sample at 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 degrees south have emerged. Therefore, the updated plan is to steamhead to 5 degrees south to begin the first long station and get underway with the bulk of our work.

While in transit, we crossed the equator on Halloween, which was highly anticipated! It was soooo anticipated that I even made a CTD Rosette costume while we were still in port, largely because I was inspired by the CTD, and I had heard that the equator crossing would be a pretty big deal,  especially because it was on Halloween!

– The subpeona inviting us to present ourselves before King Neptunes Court

Since the 1600s, crossing the equator (0°00.00) has been seen as a rite of passage, a good opportunity to boost morale and prove your seaworthiness. Despite its many variations, this seafaring tradition has persisted into modern times. The celebration typically involves a series of dares that Pollywogs, those who have never crossed the equator must complete to prove their seaworthiness. The Court of King Neptune and Davy Jones, along with his Committee of Shellbacks (those who have crossed the equator before), then judge your performance and decide whether to welcome you to the Kingdom of Neptune. In the past, they might have asked you to do some gnarly things, like crawl through chutes of rubbish, drink a “truth serum,” and eat uncooked eggs. Luckily, the Court of King Neptune aboard the Kilo Moana are much nicer and asked us humble Pollywogs to either perform a talent or sing karaoke while reading out the “crimes” we’d committed during our time on the ship. The “crimes” are not really crimes but more like hilarious superlatives. I was accused of enjoying the solitude of the night shift, hiding Hi-Chew candy, and being obsessed with the CTD, which they are not wrong… To repent for my “crimes,” I chose to sing karaoke to “Rich Girl” by Hall and Oates. Some of my fellow crewmates performed skits, told stories and jokes, and even did a whole dance routine! It was so cool to see everyone let loose and have a little fun on the back deck as the sun went down!

 

-Fellow Mate Intern, Hunter Adam and I in our Halloween Costumes 

We ended up crossing the equator later that day at around 05:06:56 UTC. My friend and I crouched by one of the consoles for a few minutes, counting down every second until 0°00.0000. The console only delivered 0°00.0001, which was a bit disappointing but still neat nonetheless.

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With one day away from our first long station, the Halloween/Equator Crossing was a nice “rest day” or, like its original intention, a good morale booster—a calm before the sampling science storm!

Cheers,

Briana

– Kilo Moana crew dressed for Halloween and Equator Crossing