Hello all, this is Chris Valdes checking in for the first time aboard the Point Sur, Gulfport, Mississippi. I am very honored to be aboard as the Teacher at Sea and awaiting this adventure.  We are set to leave port at midnight and I am filled with many emotions, mainly excitement.  I can sense the same emotions from everyone aboard.  We have shared many laughs and great stories about life and our careers.  Everyone aboard has been very helpful getting me settled in as a member of the DEEPEND family.

               Upon arrival on day 1, I eagerly helped unload the lab equipment and food delivery truck.  I was completely amazed by the amount of equipment that is needed.  Everything that is needed to sustain a laboratory on land is equally needed at sea.  Major equipment like microscopes, electronics, and even a SLOCUM glider are not over shadowed by even the smallest of lab gear such as pens, pencils, duct tape, and Sharpie markers. Every item has its specific place in the lab and needs to be secured to the vessel for safety precautions.

               Day 2 was filled with final preparation for our journey.  A quick stop at Walmart and an amazing lunch at Murky Waters Blues and BBQ turned in to great conversation as the weather prevented us from leaving.  Stories from past DEEPEND cruises were shared and I really sensed the passion from everyone around the table.  Everyone has a specific task while at sea.  Species identification, population migrations, and bio-acoustical sampling are a few areas of interest.  Everyone has a plethora of knowledge about their specific field and has been very helpful sharing it with me.

Make sure you stay tuned in to the blog so I may share that knowledge with you!

We are ready to set sail!

Signing off,

Chris Valdes, Teacher at Sea 

After a 2 day weather delay, we are back on track today. As usual we began sampling at sunrise.

We caught bucket loads of jellyfish.

And a really cool moonfish!

After competing all of our sampling stations, we are ready to pack up and head to shore. Thanks for following along with us!

Today started out with rain and lightening delays but quickly turned to rainbows.

Last night's dip netting resulted in more myctophid samples. These will be used for the otolith chemistry component of our project.

This billfish from today's sample was exceptional!

We finished up the sampling at sunset with a total of 12 stations.

We had a great second day out on the water. Last night we caught some neat myctophids in the ring net.

Mike, Kim and Chris also had good luck with the dip nets at night! Here is one of the flyingfish they caught.

Today we completed stations 15-24 which finished our first transect. We caught tuna, billfish, flying fish, and a dolphinfish. This is one of the larval tunas.

Now we are traveling to the beginning of our second transect, which is about a 7 hour steam. We will be ready to start sampling at dawn tomorrow!