After piling all of our spawning nets, funnels, syringes, falcon tubes, and any other necessary equipment into our boat, we set out around 6:30pm to the Pillar Coral spawning site. The boat ride seemed a bit rockier than it should be, and each of us got a fair share of ocean spray to the face. Nevertheless, we made it to the site before dark with enough time to check our handy site map and ensure that the pillar corals were properly sexed (green glow sticks for males and pink ones for females, naturally), Then we all hopped back into the boat to wait.
From the moment we tried to settle ourselves on board, we all got a feeling that was very…unsettling. The boat really started to pitch and roll, leaving some of us much more seasick than others. As the light from the sun faded out, flashes of light from ominous dark clouds took its place. A quick glance at the storm report made it clear that when the going was this tough, it was time for the tough to high-tail it out of there.
At the end of the day, safety comes before spawn. We’re all even more pumped to go out tomorrow, because the conditions seem to be improving. Still, we’ve definitely had worse days at the office.