I was actually very excited at the opportunity to go to sea. The fact that I knew 2 other people that were going made it even better, and to be involved in collecting samples, so that I would understand how and where mine came from and what sort of work was involved. Also the experience to be at sea, meet new people and basically have a bit of a break from my Uni orientated life. When I first arrived on the boat the Tangaroa, which is the Maori name for the God of the sea (see picture below), 
I decided to try and keep a journal. It lasted 1 day, but I decided to include it anyway, so here goes: Tangoroa Research Cruise – Nettles At Sea Monday 10th September 2007 It’s the day of the voyage, my bags are packed, one backpack, and a small rucksack. I have to be at the ship for 9am, some sort of roll call. Simon drops me off at Burnham Wharf; he comments that the ship looks quite small. There are people buzzing around everywhere, none of them look like scientists though. I walk up the steep metal platform onto the boat, Simon comes up for support and I ask inside for the only name I know. “Is John there?”. “Do you mean John Mitchell??” I have no idea, the name rings a bell. “Yes” I reply. “Ah, he’s just coming up now”. Simon then leaves and I wait for John, a few others arrive. I meet the girl from Otago, she’s Canadian. I introduce myself. It’s all very confusing. John arrives on deck, we all introduce ourselves. Some more people arrive, we re-introduce ourselves and John takes us around the ship and we get to see our cabins and drop off our stuff. My cabin is near the bottom, known as the dungeon. It’s not all that bad. For a start I have my own room, with bathroom, and the floor I’m on has laundry facilities and a gym/sauna/Japanese bath. What makes it really special is that it says ‘Scientist’ above my cabin door. Awesome. I didn’t know research vessels were so well equipped. My neighbour is Faye. She’s in the room next door to me, there are a few other people in the other rooms but I haven’t met them yet. After the tour I leave to get back into Uni. I have 2 abstracts that I need to try and sort out….that doesn’t go too well. Its looks as though I will have to rely on e-mail communication, I hope it works. I say goodbye to Jules and Julene. Its Suzie’s birthday today and I will also miss that. I get the rest of my stuff and have to catch a cab back to the ship. He recognizes my Manchester accent. Apparently he was brought up on Coronation Street (not literally). It amuses me. I get the cabbie to drop me off at Liquor King. I buy a 12 pack of Sol, get ID’d, then take it on board. We then have a tour of the boat by Yoshie, the Japanese 2nd mate. He takes us on this terrifying tour of the ship, its safety, his 100% record of not being able to save people who have accidentally amputated their legs and the list goes on. After the safety drill, we are told not to leave the boat, so I can’t have my last coffee (supper) with Simon. I give him and quick call and say my goodbyes. I get to know the other students whilst having my laptop checked out and e-mail access set up. We eat dinner, it’s pretty yummy. John tries to explain to me that the chilli is actually a special orange type of fish. I eat lots of salad. The ship leaves at 6pm and we have this amazing view of Wellington just as the sun is setting. I look back at ‘home’ and start to miss it already! Ah the bright lights of Wellie start to fade into the distance. We are overtaken by the ferry and then head into the choppy waters of Cook Straight. It is at this point that the decision not to take sea sickness tablets comes into effect. Everyone starts to look ill. I don’t know if I’m feeling queasy too or if it’s just looking at everyone else. Some people go to their rooms. I start to ignore this and have various conversations….then I decide to go to bed. It’s about 10:30pm and I have to get up at 6am. 6am!! Breakfast is at 7am so I have to get up, take a quick shower and get myself upstairs. This is a whole new experience. Back in my room, it appears that my e-mail is not working. This is not good. I will check it in the morning. Its time to go to sleep. The boat is gently rocking, occasionally a little too much. There are lots of noises too, the fan in the bathroom that doesn’t go off, the vibration of the engine, the motion of the boat…… End of Diary. So anyway in the end, after learning the ropes, drinking lots of beer and playing scrabble, in between working really hard, eating really good, and quite often feeling very ill (I might try and add a video of the bad weather), I had a great time. We also had a surprise visit from Spongebob Square pants, that was really special (see picture). Did I vomit? Yes once, on the second day. I was rather impressed I didn't get sea-sick. It doesn't look too fun.
Also spotted a pod of dolphins, basking sharks, seals, albatross, and some marine life that came up with the cores, the name of which I don't remember. 
During the calmer days when we could walk around the outside of the boat, we waited for the sun to set quite often and got these beautiful sunsets, either pinky or orange skies, so I thought I would leave with a picture of one.
P.S. I'm gonna update with some more pictures shortly so keep your eyes peeled!
Lots of Love to Everyone out there!
Netty xx
