T- Rex (28.05, 164.19)

Let me change my previous statement... I became worried. The pony reference no longer holds up either. Any previous description of wild is also no longer relevant.

Being on the ship last night and experiencing 55-70 mph winds (and the waves that came along with those winds) is better described by hiding in an overturned, mangled car from Tyrannosaurus Rex. *Picture yourself holding on to the car seats for dear life so you don't fall out the smashed out windows. Clinching your jaw and holding your breathe so he does not hear you. Listening to the car moan from the torture it has experienced. Then, about every 10 minuets, just when you think he has left you alone, T-Rex picks of the car in his mouth, shakes its wildly and throws it across the dark field. Repeat from *. It was a very long night.

The top roll (side to side tilt) recorded for the ship was 18 degrees. That is really big for a double hulled ship which are supposed to be very stable for roll motions. Things were crashing and banging all over the ship through out the night. Sitting on watch, our chairs would slide from one side of the lab to the other. I did not get much sleep.

This morning however, the winds had died down to about 25 knots (~28 mph). Yesterday I would have called that wild, but this morning it seems more like a gentle fall morning breeze. The rest of the day was mostly sunny, but still pretty choppy. Tina and I played our third quoit game. We lost, but it was a nail biter. We were down 17-20 and Tina pulled out a ringer to tie the game 20-20. I was unable to hold up my side of things and we ended up losing 21-20. But I think we are getting the hang of it and are about to break out. Stay tuned.