These engines can also help us keep the boat perfectly in one spot, which is important when we are drilling into the ocean floor. Even big waves can't push the ship off of our target spot, so the drilling pipe that stretches from the bottom of the boat down to the ocean floor won't get broken.
At first I felt a little seasick! When I boarded the ship in Tarragona, Spain, I felt queasy right away. I was worried because there weren't even real waves to rock the ship yet! What was going to happen to me when we got out into the ocean? But now we're well out to sea, and I have felt some real waves. So far, they've only been 2-3 feet tall waves, which is very small for waves in the ocean. Thankfully, I'm feeling great! I actually find the rocking of the ship to be quite comforting, like being rocked to sleep in a cradle.
I was also worried that it would be scary to be so far out in the ocean. We haven't been away from land for long, but it's been so peaceful to be surrounded by nothing but water. I also looked at a map and realized that we will be sticking close to land most of the time on this journey. Can you find Spain on a map, and then trace a line to Greece that only passed through water? You'll see that, with the expection of just a few parts of our journey, we will be in sight of islands most of the time.
People have been traveling by ship for thousands of years! Different cultures have their own styles of vessels and traditions. Here on the JOIDES Resolution, we have our own marine history, and it's a pretty long history because our ship is on the older end.
