Mission completed

It is done. The last core has been cored, split, logged and put away! The vibrocorer has been stripped of its feet and is lying flat on the back deck. Yesterday, people everywhere were dismantling things, packing things, cleaning things up. The spirit of almost being done was tangible. The “End of Science” party was well-attended. It was nice, but not as wild as last year! So the memories are less spectacular but this year I don’t have a hangover. And today we are already sailing along the south coast. The end is nigh.

The vibrocorer is dismantled

We’ve been all over the North Sea the past weeks. We cored some duds, but we also cored some absolute beauties. We can go home satisfied! And then start processing all that mud. We cored 179 times; I suppose some 15 to 20 didn’t yield anything. The container is holding an impressive amount of mud. 

Having finished the cruise, we have finished the material collection part of the BRITICE-CHRONO project. A milestone. We’ll have to manage with what we have now! I’m sure we’ll be alright. We got some good stuff. 

Dave and Chris very happy with the last core. And do notice the racing pigeon at Chris' elbow...

We will get to Southampton tonight. I suppose that means another pub night. Sounds tiring. Not sure if I’ll make it late! But it also means I can get off the ship fairly early and take a convenient back to Bangor on Monday. With a box full of core logs and a roll of seismic profiles in my bag! And then I can get back to running in the open air, buying and cooking my own food, listening to the radio, going underground, and getting back to normal.

It’s been a good trip. I’ll take the good memories with me! Will I be on a scientific cruise ever again? Time will tell!