A23 Epilogue

Having now returned to dry land, I thought we should let our readers (assuming there are some out there) know what happened in the end. Well we did not get diplomatic clearance from the Brazilians to do CTD stations within their 200 mile limit. This is despite copious amounts of paperwork over the last year, and a large number of frantic faxes and telephone calls during the cruise trying to arrange for a Brazilian observer to join us. Scientifically, it was very frustrating - we had only 7 stations remaining to complete our WOCE section from continental shelf to continental shelf. As it was, our last station was in 2500 m of water on the edge of the Vema Channel, and we therefore completely missed the transport of the Brazil Current.

The refusal of permission came in hours before we were due to enter Brazilian waters, so we steamed straight for Rio and arrived a day earlier than scheduled. Our brief sojourn in Rio included experiencing a football match (the Chief Scientist's first, and probably last, football match - but what a one to go to ! Just watching the crowds, complete with flares, fireworks and drums, was a night's entertainment in itself !), visits to Copacobana Beach, and excursions to the Sugarloaf.

We left the ship on Tuesday, and I must admit to feeling somewhat overemotional as we trotted down the gangway for the last time. After all, our first proposals for the A23 cruise were written in 1990; it was hard to believe that it could really all be over. But the good news is, the data are better than we dared to hope and will keep us busy for many years to come.

KJH

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