As summer ends, in-water turtle fieldwork begins

I found this photo wedged in the back of a drawer of an old desk that I scavanged from the NOAA-Beaufort lab on the day they were cleaning out some old storage space. There were some other photos with this one, although not of turtles. Judging from the style of clothes and haircuts of people in the other photos, I think they were taken in the late 1960s.
It is difficult to gauge the size of the loggerhead in this photo. What strikes me is the relatively low number of barnacles on its carapace. I have the impression that most of the loggerheads I see have many more barnacles than this one. Then again I mostly see sick, injured or dead stranded turtles who may be most susceptible to colonization by epibionts than healthier turtles. There is also the possibility that this photo was taken elsewhere, perhaps even another ocean basin.
Hawksbills are rarely seen in North Carolina waters (less than one per year on average). So what was a small, year-old hawksbill doing up near the North Carolina/Viginia border earlier this year?
It is the third day of presentations, and there is much hustle and bustle left in the symposium. In a few hours, the final oral presentations will conclude, to be followed by the plenary session and then the banquet. I have no idea what kind of floor show is planned for the banquet, but if it is anything like the social, it will be amazing.
There have also been side workshops going on, including the Mediterranean meeting, the Latin American meeting, the African meeting, the freshwater turtle and tortoise meeting, not to mention the far smaller and more intimate discussions among participants about collaborative projects, either ongoing or planned for the future.
The live auction was held last night, and the big news is that Frank Paladino indeed has a pit tag inside him, although contrary to rumour it is not in the rump nor was it done during the live auction in 2002. A swipe of a scanner on his midriff confirmed the PIT tag, following which he offered anyone else to verify the tag with a scanner for a $10 donation.
Tomorrow is the Marine Turtle Specialist Group meeting, followed by a special workshop on tagging. Many, particularly the students, are not thinking further than the banquet tonight, when the awards for best student presentation will be awarded.... who will it be this time?
Arrived!
Why would Johan bring his binoculars on the beach at night? To look at the constellations and star clusters, of course! I am sure everyone has his or her own personal experience of some amazing nighttime celestial event. Mine was seeing a burning ship on the seaward horizon that slowly raised itself up to become a fiery orange slice of moon.
I admit it: I have a turtle tattoo.