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TODAY'S WEATHER
Dave Grimes entertained members of the science party last night with his sea chanteys played on his concertina. (Click here and check out the sound file of one of his chanteys.)
Crossing the Line! After days of creating mischief and playing practical jokes on those most “honorable” Shellbacks on board RV Melville, the day of judgment for us Pollywogs was fast approaching! In the VERY early hours of yesterday morning, we were woken up by a cut-throat band of brigands, who closely resembled Chief Mate Dave Murline and other co-conspirators from the Melville’s crew. A bleary-eyed band of Pollywogs were led to the ship’s bow where we were given our Pollywog names. We were made to scrub the decks and learn sea chanteys under the watchful eyes of Dave and his motley crew. Captain Buck then had us accurately measure the length of ship. Unfortunately, he had conveniently forgotten to supply us with a tape measure, so we were forced to measure the ship using a squid and a flying fish! Cleaning was a big part of our day! After a hearty breakfast of jellybean pancakes, rainbow colored eggs, and oatmeal, we were given various cleaning tasks by the Shellback scientists and technicians, included cleaning the rust off the DSL-120 clump weight! Lunch brought another culinary treat from Dan the cook -- pizza. Not bad you're thinking? But how about pizza with a peanut butter, chocolate, cheese, and pickle topping? After lunch, King Neptune (a superbly cast Bob Elder) and his Royal Court arrived on the Melville -- it was time for the Pollywogs to pay for their crimes! We were forced to entertain the Royal Court and other watching Shellbacks. We had written a couple of songs and a hilarious skit, which poked fun (in a nice way!) at our principal scientists and favorite Resident Technician, Ron Comer. By now, the Shellbacks were thinking that the day was going very well for them. They didn’t know that we Pollywogs were well prepared, and had one last trick up our sleeves! At the end of our last song, we revealed our secret stash of water balloons and plastic dart guns, and launched one last defiant assault on the surprised Shellbacks. Our mini-mutiny was short-lived, and soon we found ourselves surrounded and blindfolded in a corner of the deck. Then came time for the trials! We Pollywogs were led in turn before King Neptune, where we were tried and sentenced by the Royal Court to “torture” and “execution”! All the time, we could hear the Shellbacks being egged on by our increasingly excitable Chief Scientist! After this “ordeal”, we were then all happily reborn as the newest Shellbacks -- free at last to safely sail throughout the seas of Neptune’s realm. The whole day was great fun from start to finish, with great costumes and great jokes. It was the perfect way to end the first leg of our expedition! We’re all just glad that we don’t have to do it all again on the way home!
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Woods
Hole Oceanographic Institution
