Day 14, heading home: 9th June 2006

Day 14, heading home: 9th June 2006

At the time of writing this we are one more sleep away from Wellington, and home.

The trip has been a great success, enabling us to revisit some familiar sites in the Graveyard seamount complex (as well as sample some new seamounts) using exciting technologies that have allowed us to see the seamounts and their inhabitants. Last night we mapped and sampled Shipley seamount, which revealed some different fauna to that found on the Graveyard seamounts - including some beautiful corals (see photo below, left). However with time running out, as soon as the last sled was on board (see photo below, right) we started to steam home, and so began the big clean and pack up.

At the end of a trip we have to ensure that the Tangaroa is left as we found her -which means much cleaning (see photo below, left). It is also essential to ensure that our databases are up to date and that all samples (see photo below, right) are logged, we have collected over 1000 samples which will be tracked as we distribute them around our network of taxonomists. Please come back and see the website in the future to hear more about our findings.

However, before signing off it is essential to thank all of the Crew. Without the crew of the Tangaroa none of this work would be possible, from actually steering the the ship to exactly the right locations, to being on deck to safely retrieve the samples, to operating the camera, to being on hand for repairs and ofcourse for keeping us all fed and warm! Many thanks for making this trip a real pleasure!