How's the Weather?

Now I can talk about the weather. Since we left the dock on June 8th we have had nothing but calms seas and (almost) clear skies. I am not normally a superstitious person but when living on a ship, I don’t like to test my luck.

So for the past two weeks I have avoided and, when possible, prevented any conversations about the weather. When the sea was as flat as glass in Juan Perez Sound, when the seas let us dive in Moresby Gully, and when the north-westerly died down at dive time in Dixon Entrance, I kept my mouth shut. While watching a spectacular sunset with orca whales, humpbacks feed in the sparkling morning sun, and dolphins play in the wake of the ship, I remained silent.

But now we are 60 minutes from Vancouver. The subs are washed, computers are stowed, and our corals samples are carefully packed away. Our cell phones are beginning to ring and the trials and tribulations of “normal” life are starting to invade the ship.

There is a feeling of sweet sadness aboard the ship. We are all anxious to see our friends and families but sad to leave the adventure of the Finding Coral Expedition and the people we have gotten to know. This expedition has been about finding coral but also about finding friendship and no matter how eager we are to go home, saying goodbye is hard.

For me, I will never forget the spectacular Primnoa coral groves, the soft purple pom pom anemones, the fields of stylaster coral, the schools of rockfish, and my visit with an octopus. I will hold on to the memories of Marie’s great cooking, Sheila’s humour, Jeff’s calm reassurance, and Tom’s jokes. I feel as though I went looking for coral and discovered a whole ocean and new friends. And now it is time to say goodbye and I can’t help but feel a veil of sadness, wondering if I will ever get to do this again. But at least now I can talk about the weather.

~ Jennifer Lash