This morning at 6 a.m. we ended our 24-hour sampling at this station, and continued our journey north. Neptune, of course, noticed that we had passed the equator without permission; he visited us in person.
With the sunrise came our last samples – some of us had worked for 24 hours without pause, other teams had divided the work into shifts. In any case, at breakfast the mess hall (the cafeteria) was quite empty. And in the labs, many of which otherwise are extremely busy the whole day, the lights were out until late morning.
As soon as the Niskin bottles (water collectors) containing the 6 a.m. water arrived on deck, Sonne continued on. We want to be on station on time tomorrow morning, our first station in the northern hemisphere. With respect to the northern hemisphere: Neptune was not amused that we had crossed the equator without his permission, especially with all of the “pollywogs” (unbaptized scientists) on board. He therefore appeared in person to supervise the necessary baptism. It was a very memorable ceremony, but we cannot record the details here. That’s part of the secret of the ocean, and of Neptune’s realm; those who wish to know more must also cross the equator in person…