Fishing is favorite pass time for the staff and crew of the R/V Wecoma. 17 albacore tunas were caught within an hour. Oceanographer Dave Tennent enjoys a good book during his spare time on the NeMO CTD Cruise.

Teacher Logbook - R/V Wecoma

Missy Holzer 's Sealog:
CTD Cruise Day 8
Weather at 1630 hours PDT: Overcast skies with winds of 14 knots from the Northwest, and visibility of 8 miles. Barometric pressure is 1023.5 mb, and the temperature is 58 degrees Fahrenheit. Ocean swells are 4 feet out of the Northwest, and the seas are 3 feet out of the West by Northwest.

What do you do to consume your spare time? On land there are plenty options that most of us take advantage of, but when you're out sea you're options are obviously limited. The work period on a ship is called on a watch, and it could last from 8 to 12 hours or in can be broken into 4 hour periods that can total up to 8 or 12 hours a day. The time in between the watches is time that can be used at the crewmember's discretion.

Polling the science staff and crew about what they do with spare time revealed a short list of common activities as well as a number of disparate activities. For the most part reading, exercising, and watching movies are among the most common activities of the staff and crew. The most popular reading materials include fiction, historical literature, and magazines, although European literature and classical literature were also mentioned as favorites. One staff member brings his back issues of Smithsonian and Discover magazines and catches up on reading his periodicals, while others peruse the magazines that the ship subscribes to such as Sports Illustrated, Mariner News, US News and World Report, etc Exercising on a ship can be a challenge due to the cramped conditions and the motions of the ship on a choppy ocean. The ship has a stationary bicycle tucked away in the Winch Room, and those who can bear the cramped conditions make their way in for their daily workouts. Others are a little more creative developing their own methods of exercise such as stretching in their staterooms, walking around the boat, stepping on a portable stair-master from home, or chin-ups using the ship's beams and pipes for support. The R/V Wecoma is well stocked with movies, and the crew and staff bring a few from home to provide another type of spare time entertainment.

Games anyone? How about a game of chess, cribbage, or a round of hearts or poker? Into strategy? How about one of those computer strategy games? These are a number of games that the staff and crew partake in, but as one of the crew put it, VCR's have reduced the amount of game playing as well as the amount of socialization among those on the cruise. In the past crew's would use spare time to play more games, do nautical type crafts, tie knots, etc Today a way to combat the lack of socializing is that many crew and staff mentioned that they enjoy chatting and joking around with others as a use of their spare time.

The length of a cruise and the amount of downtime available will sometimes dictate the type of activity that someone would do. For instance, during a watch while monitoring a tow-yo there is a bit of time between taking readings so one of the science staff uses that time to do some needlework since it's something she can do with her hands, but at the same time not lose concentration on her to work. For longer periods of time, some crew bring along hobbies or projects such as setting stones, listening to music, writing, rebuilding a motorcycle motor, fishing. Others use the time to further their education with computer courses on work related topics, or on personal interests. And some staff and crew see this extra time as a way to play catch-up with work projects.

Gazing at the above list of activities, it appears that there's a lot to do while in the middle of the ocean. One of the crew mentioned that the key is to prevent yourself from getting bored, otherwise no matter what the length of the cruise is, it will be a long cruise. Free time isn't always used on personal activities: when a job needs to be done on a ship, any available free hands are used to complete the task. Teamwork takes precedence over personal time while out at sea.