Sunday, Nov 14. Add two new ones to the list. Tides and Sunset. As I’ve mentioned before, this is my fourth time in Jamaica. In previous years, I check the tides, but pay them little mind, as the differential here is 2 feet at its most extreme (spring tide?), and usually no more than a foot. This year I need every foot of depth I can get. And wouldn’t you know that the low tides have been in the morning during the past week. Perf.
Since the wind has been fairly constant throughout the day (I’m wearing socks and a hoody, items I brought solely for the airplane rides), I have relaxed my strict pre-7am departure time. Working on an ebbing tide sucks, so I opted today to start 2 hours past low tide. In other words I opted to sleep in, Sach, don’t hate me. It was nice. I woke up at 7ish, and read in bed in the morning. Pure luxury.
I read Forest Rohwer’s Corals in the Microbial Seas. It is perfect — an expert and an intelligent — any interested novice could easily digest and enjoy it. The best part, in between well-researched, well-written, and concise chapters about coral reefs and why they are fascinating, delicate and tough at the same time, screwed, are laugh out loud character vignettes that transport you aboard a rusty old research vessel in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. I hate to use a cliché but it’s late and I can’t think of a better way to say this: Forest’s super smart, funny voice makes science come alive.
Now I enter my data. Which, because of the late tide which kindly allowed me to sleep in late, also allowed me to collect data after sunset wherein I could barely see. Tomorrow we attempt to beat the tides. Early start. 6am.
Midnight. Time for bed. Zonk.