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NOAA Ship Ronald H Brown

We left Key West with moderate wind and some white caps but all in all a beautiful day. Tropical Depression Ana decided not to foil our plans so we left the dock at 1530 and headed off into the turquoise waters of the Gulf of Mexico. As we left port, a pod of dolphins swam by for a visit and two F-16 fighter jets buzzed us. Not a bad way to start an expedition. As we reached the blue water, flying fish shot out of the water as the ship went by soaring for hundreds of feet before gracefully landing. Flying fish may be one of my favorite things about warm blue water. We have about a 20 hour steam to our first station where Jason II will do its first dive…Hopefully calm winds and smooth seas will stay with us for the journey. I am keeping my fingers crossed for no hurricanes or tropical storms…

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Leaving the pier

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Out of the channel

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Leaving port was complete with a flyover…very cool.

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