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5 days 20 hours from now
High Flying Fun – Day 45, 8/18/2009
It was remarkable how many people showed up for the kite contest today. It started as a trickle of people as folks wrapped up what they were working on in the labs and on the drill floor, and before long the heli-deck was packed.
There was one rule on kite day: fly your kite. The judges wandered around checking everything out and taking notes. Several categories had been announced in advance and on the spot creativity could result in additional recognition. The variety of kites was pretty impressive, especially considering the scarcity of building materials to make them.
Aside from the hazard of crossed lines and heavy kites sometimes flying hard into the ground, it was great fun. Captain Alex broke things up by launching a flare into the midst of the kites! At one point a pod of whales showed up on the starboard side, but at the front of the ship. Not sure if they were Minke whales or orcas though. They were kind of far off.
It was the most pure fun we’ve had in quite a while. Everyone’s energy was high. I think the key to making us happy here on the ship is having something different to do. Variety indeed seems to be the spice of life on board the JR. It wasn’t the prettiest of days, but it was perfect to watch some of the best kites disappear into the gray cloud cover. Be sure to check out more great pictures and the winners of the contest on the JOIDES Resolution FaceBook fan page!
I wish I had more to say about it, but I am exhausted and ready for some sleep. Hope you enjoy some videos of our kite adventure. So here are the winners if you don't want to watch the whole video! Check out more photos on our FaceBook page (JOIDES Resolution).
- Most Dangerous Kite – Jamie Smidt and Carlos Alvarez Zarikian
- Most Acrobatic Kite – Rey Villa
- Smallest Kite – Doug LaVigne
- Most Spectacular Crash – Bill Mills
- Highest Flying Kite – Jerry Mayuga
- Most Colorful Kite – Kelsie Dadd
- Most Creative Kite – Christina Ravelo
- “You must be joking?!?” – Laura Wehrmann and Emily Walsh
- Most Innovative – Hirofumi Asahi and Makoto Okada
Comments
kites!!
wow sounds like alota fun!! and i love flying kites!! this looks like a great experience!!
-Tiansia Mitchell 4th block
Marvelous blog post. You
Marvelous blog post. You always publish a interesting blog. Kudos again - I will return.
Kites
Hi Tiansia,
It was very fun. It was the first time I've ever built a kite on my own. I think if the weather allows, we might try to make some that we can use at the school!
tiansia mitchell 4th block!
wow that sounds like alota fun! i love to fly kites! sounds like your really enjoyin yourself! and it looks like a wonderful experience!! have fun!!
-tiansia m.
Having fun in the name of SCIENCE!
Hi Doug,
Glad to hear that the expidition is going well and that you are learning so much! Rick is certainly proud of you, and I do hope that you know that. I am also proud of you-- it takes courage and daring to undertake such a mission, and you have demonstrated that you have the meddle to persevere.
Best of luck to you as you finish up the expidition. Thanks for the blog updates and apologies for not chiming in sooner.
Best regards, L. Brian Patrick
Better Late than Never
It's nice to hear from you Brian. Glad you were able to drop by. I just need to convince them to name a new nannofossil diatom after me... :)
Marika Rosser 4th block
That is so cool how you was able to fly a kite on the boat. How small was your kite?
How Small?
I made the kite with a piece of plastic that was 5cm square. And I cut some of that off, so it is pretty small. I'll bring it to school when I get back. Maybe we'll see if we can get it to fly there, but it will take some good wind.
hello im catrina gibbs from
hello im catrina gibbs from your fourth block
how was it like to see so many kites?
did you fly any?
Kites
There were at least 20 or so kites. Some flew so high you couldn't see them, just the string stretching high into the sky. There were many that never got far off the helipad. It was beautiful to see them all though.
Kites....
Doug, thanks and you must be tired! You actually wrote "flying hard into the ground." I know you mean deck or sea or parts of the ship but not the GROUND !!! My only question is "who's running the ship???" Looks like you're all on the helipad. Or are you still at site 1343 or 44? Anyway it all looks great fun and a wonderful respite from the nonstop core work!
Jennifer
Tired... a Little
Heh... yes, I am and was tired. We work 12 hour shifts each day, 7 days a week. I tend to get a little groggy towards the end of my shift. But I didn't mean the "ground" in a literal sense. That wasn't a typo, so much as the way I view the ship. It is my ground now! And even at a drilling site, there isn't any more literal ground than anywhere else on the ocean... just water as far as you can see, which is somewhere from 5-10 miles away depending on which deck you are on. :)
While a lot of us were on the helideck, not everyone was. Many folks were sleeping or working during the competition.
hello
HIi Mr. LaVine
It's Maraijha from your 4th block again. I just want to say that i LOVE flying kites. I am from California and my family used to go to the meach and fly kites all the time. thats's all that i have to say.
Sincerly,
Maraijha Davis
Kites
It was really fun. I've never had much luck at home with them. It is hard to find the right time and the right wind to do it. But it worked really well that day.
there was wonderful kites at
there was wonderful kites at the kite show.dewayne burt 4th block
Kites
Yes, some really great designs Dewayne. Some were really elaborate, but couldn't quite get into the air.
Smallest Kite!
You are too funny. Are you bragging about that award?
Alexis Wright <><
Award
Of course. I won didn't I? :D