Day 29 Heading to the Falklands

Calmer weather

Tuesday, 24th April 2012. The Falkland Islands will come into view any minute now. We're heading to Stanley harbour where we expect to dock tonight. The transit from South Georgia had started to wear everyone down a little, as we were pummeled by a heavy swell with 8m waves for 3 days. Yesterday noon, the sea condition calmed down and we were able to enjoy the end of cruise dinner in the Scientists' and Officers' Bar without being flipped out of our chairs.

The coring equipment is secured on deck

This morning we stopped south of the Falklands for the last deployment of the gravity corer. The coring team managed to retrieve over 6m of sediments, but had hoped for a longer core. The deeper the corer can penetrate, the longer back in time is the geoligical record in the sediments.

But now it is time to stow the cores, dismantle the equipment, pack up boxes and secure everything securely in the holds and on deck.