Month: August 2023

During week two we hit our stride with diving and in turn, I feel like I got into a routine. During the cruise, I worked the 8-12 shift, working 4s was a new concept to me. This took some initial adjustment as I was unable to get a full eight hours of sleep in one go. I eventually settled into a routine of sleeping 6 hours at night and taking a two-hour nap during the day. We continued to have fantastic weather and we even saw the northern lights! I don’t think we could’ve asked for better conditions. 
 
Despite our trouble launching at the start of the trip, we eventually had back-to-back successful dives and even found ourselves ahead of schedule at one point. When this happens the Jason team allows time for pilot training, during which I was allowed to pilot and operate the arms! Being able to control Jason was easily the highlight of my trip, it was such a cool experience. The breakdown of diving operations is fascinating to me. On each watch, three operators act as pilot, engineer, and navigator. The pilot is responsible for the operation of the vehicle and dictates to the rest of the team how to assist the vehicle. The navigator’s primary responsibility is to coordinate with the bridge on moving the ship, and the engineer helps run the cameras, winch, and auxiliary Jason functions (like the hydraulics and power).
 
Further into the cruise, we ended up having more difficulties. The level wind system to coil cable was acting up and the team spent much of their free time trying to fix this issue (including the transit back to shore). Once on shore we had a post-cruise party and continued maintenance Jason. I departed on the 9th.  As quickly as it started my time aboard the Thompson has ended, I feel so lucky to have had this opportunity. It has truly been life-changing

My brief stint as pilot:

Me assisting in post dive check of Jason:

Weeks 4 & 5 with JASON

Holy wow! The last two weeks have been very eventful!

The 4th week we wrapped up the HUBER cruise with 2 more successful dives where we completed water sampling objectives and began our transit back and arrived in port on Wednesday, July 26th. The team got right into demobilization mode and we spent the next 3 days replacing the winch level-wind motor, removing the SUPR sampler from JASON’s aft underbelly, drained the j-boxes and removed all of the science cables/wiring. The most exciting part of this demob for me was that I got to complete a retermination of JASON’s optical fiber on Thursday July 27th. I started at 8am and was overseen by the lead ET (electrical technician). I was able to follow the manual and complete the entire process, including wiring the finished fibers into JASON’s port-aft j-box and testing to ensure minimum signal loss.

On Friday, July 28th, the leaving team members and science crew departed, and it gave those of us staying the chance to relax while also moving our rooms to prepare for a much larger science party to come aboard the following day.

Saturday, July 29th was the official start of the Orcutt Cruise. New JASON and science team members arrived and by 8am, and mobilization began. The port manipulator has to be broken down and repaired since it has started leaking during the last couple dives. The next 3 days our team wired in new science cables, arranged and secured new equipment and mounts on the basket, built and assembled 18 push cores for sediment sampling, filled the vehicle with oil, bled all lines, comps, and thrusters, and made sure the electrical harness was solid. The Thompson departed port on Monday, July 31st and JASON’s predive checks were completed.

5th week:

We launched our first dive on Tuesday, August 1st and continued to recover and launch almost daily until our last recovery on Sunday, August 6th. This last week of dives were successful, but the team faces numerous challenges ranging from port manip leaks, port swing-arm actuator leaks, air motor replacement, temperature probe ground faults, and winch issues. Each one, the JASON team tackled together, and the turn around time for repairs was amazing. This team really loves what they do and are dedicated to vehicle maintenance to ensure science objectives are met. It can be quite daunting when things seem to go wrong, but this crew faces what is in front of them, one thing at a time, and still take the time to teach others about this amazing system.

In the mix of trouble shooting, diving, and water sampling from corks, I was given the opportunity to fly JASON while transiting to new locations. It was so exciting, I felt like I leapt into the main chair! I was able to practice my lateral transiting, landing on fine sediment surfaces without kicking up dust, and centering the vehicle for science cam visuals. It was a blast and I even got to stop and check out a skate, weird sea cucumber-like tailed marine life, and a sort of bubble-like growth at depths of 2600 meters. I still gasp when I see new marine life and absolutely love every minute of being out here. 

The Orcutt cruise dives came to and end Sunday, August 6th when the winch level-wind started making an intense, vibration sound. This lead to cutting the last dive short, but we were able to complete all of the testing and science equipment retrieval before recovering the rov. As we head back to port, we will begin demobilization and continue testing the winch system to identify exactly what this reoccurring issue is.

Tip of the week: Find some balance.

Having a career out at sea has its own set of challenges. Being away from home and loved ones can be a hard thing to adjust to, but also finding some sort of balance for yourself. Some people enjoy watching movies, reading books, or exercising. It is important to find a little “you” time while out here. I try and stick to a schedule, even though it can change considering what is happening at that very moment. Luckily, we have a small gym room, and I really enjoy working out. It is a little time for myself to stay active, work off stress or overthinking, and I always feel better after. Whatever helps ground you, I suggest making time each day for it. Especially if you are staying out for months at a time.

Once I arrived at the R/V Thompson Saturday morning, we began preparing Jason for the cruise. I assisted where necessary but my personal highlight was mounting and troubleshooting the science party’s powered devices. In order to connect the various sensors and actuators to Jason, we drained mineral oil out of the junction box housings then set to work connecting cables. Late into Sunday and Monday morning, we discovered that the MPS and ODI couldn’t communicate. We set to task isolating the fault (wether the issue was subsea or topside) and eventually narrowed down the issue (for both systems) to the adaptor that interfaces the serial connection through the control van (topside) to science’s laptops. Once we realized the issue we were able to build the correct adaptor and fix the issue! It felt great to contribute.

The ship embarked Monday and reached destination Tuesday. Other problems have arisen but as of now we are operating normally. As weird as it sounds, I am thankful I have witnessed issues because it has allowed me to be hands on with Jason. Whether it was building the adaptor, performing pre dive, or sitting in the engineer’s seat for ops, seeing the team troubleshoot issues is a pleasure.

I was nervous going into this experience, primarily because I’ve never spent extended time at sea. Once we started moving I did feel slightly queazy however that feeling has since faded. I was shocked to find the food aboard delicious and the berths are comfy. All in all, this has been throughly enjoyable and I look forward to updating you all as the cruise progresses.

Picture of me wiring Jason’s port side junction box:

Emergency Suit Drill:

The R/V Thompson: