We departed from the Miami port at 6 am. Every kid...ahem...scientist sat at the bow as we went through the Miami River. At first the water wasn't too choppy. We saw many Mirrorwing Flyingfish and enjoyed the sunrise. When 8 am came around, the waves started to become pretty rough. Matt said that out of his seven trips crossing to the Bahamas, this was the roughest trip. Laura said that out of her three crossing trips to the Bahamas, this was as well her roughest trip. Here are some statistics: 6/10 scientists got sea sick and 10/10 scientists napped.
We arrived in Alice Town, where North Bimini's customs are located at 11:45 am. We went to the Straw Market on land to purchase some souvenirs. Some of us even haggled!! Afterwards, we went on a little stroll down their only road. As scientists, we observed that the folks of Bimini drove on the left side of the road. We also observed the Biminites' buildings that were from the European colonial times. They were small and pastel colored. We then voyaged through the parts of Bimini where development was taking place to attract tourism.
Then we traveled to our first snorkel destination!! We went to La Chance Rocks, which is on the Northwest side of Bimini. Although the water was a little choppy, it was still a great experience. The coolest animals we saw were two nurse sharks.
When we were finished with the snorkel, it was time to do a plankton tow. We did plankton tows on the Port and Starboard side and came up with exceptionally different results for each side. We caught more zooplankton on the starboard side and more phytoplankton on the port side.
After a laborious day, we sat down to eat a delicious dinner prepared by Chef Matt. We then got to work on research our projects that week one had started. Anchored in southwest Bimini typing this now, it's hard to believe that we left Miami only about 16 hours ago, when it feels like it's been days already!! Our hard work for the day is done, and now we must rest our brains for another laborious day aboard the R/V Coral Reef II. Good night!
In regards to your plankton tow, why do you think more zooplankton was found on the starboard side, and why do you think more phytoplankton was found on the port side?