As you know yesterday was Christmas, and things are just a little bit different on such a holiday aboard a research vessel. Although the sub was in the water, many of the crew had the day off. As far as I can tell, most of them work around the clock, so such a rest was clearly in order. Dinner yesterday was also something special. Steward Carl Wood, Cook Mark Nossiter, and Mess Attendant Richard Barnes created a most delicious meal from scratch, including roast beef, turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and all sorts of veggies and fixins. We ended the evening with a white elephant gift exchange on the fantail. Alvin looked on from inside the hanger while sporting a giant Santa hat made for the occasion by the group from Austria. A jolly good time was had by all.
But the highlight of my day was the return of the VentCam. Project engineer Carl Robinson dove in Alvin along with pilot Bruce Strickrott and geophysicist Milene Cormier of the University of Missouri. They carried a set of glass-ball floats down with them and when they reached the seafloor attached these floats to the VentCam tripod to send it toward the surface. About an hour and a half later, officers on the bridge spotted the yellow glass balls bobbing up and down, and maneuvered the ship in close. Bosun Wayne Bailey and members of his deck crew brought the instrument onboard without any shouting or hollering. Anyone who has ever done any oceanography knows that this is the ultimate sign of a well-executed recovery.