Good afternoon readers!
I got to BIOS saftley on Tuesday May 16th around 130pm. I got a tour of the facilitys and got settled into my room and rested before dinner at 5pm. I meet the crew and the other Marine Techs I will be learning from, Rory, Lydia and Oban. Lydia will be our lead tech for the Miller cruise. I got invited to go with a few of the crew to some local caverns and we ended up swimming in one of the deep pools located in the caves which was amazing!
On Wednesday I got right into working, since we are at port for the week we work 8-5pm everyday with a lunch break at 12pm. We have a morning meeting everyday at 8 with all crew to go over what needs to be done that day and then we had a marine tech specific meeting to discuss what would be on our task list for the day. I helped Oban with getting a wind sonic sensor from the mast down that needs to be fixed. Rory then showed Oban and I how to do a rinse of the underway water system using a simple green mix that we let sit in the pipes for 24 hours before rinsing it out with freshwater. I then started on fixing some parts on the niskin bottles and quickly realized the bolts on the hose clamps were really stuck and needed to soak in a penetrating catlyst that helps break down rust. Was shown a few things around the ship and then it was time for dinner. After Dinner I took a walk on the “rail trail” to a local cove and went swimming and saw some really beautiful parrot fish. Then Eli, the chief mate, took me into St. George by boat to get a few things at the store I forgot to pack.
Thursday I finished the niskin bottles with Obans help which took up all of the morning. I helped dispose of the lithium and alkaline batterys aboard the ship and then we did that underway system fresh water rinse. We then washed all the niskin bottles and let them dry before removing them off the boat for storage since we will not be using them on this cruise. After dinner I took a short walk and hungout with some of the crew before bed.
Friday Lydia gave me the task of fixing a slip ring and then I watched as they removed the RAD van from the vessel to make more room. Rory took me up top to show me the internet domes and how they work! The domes are very large and allow for us to have access to the internet at sea! After lunch we had a meeting with some of the scientist to discuss the deployment of the deep sea mooring we will be doing. I believe its going down 2223m with the top being 300m from the surface. Lydia then had me help with the GPS anntenas that are not quite working like they should and then we called it a day around 245pm for a birthday pig roast for one of the engineers!
Today (Saturday) we are moblizing for the cruise and the scientist are coming abourd the ship. Lydia showed me the moonpool where a transducer can be attatched. Now time for a safty talk! I’m also having a hard time uploading pics so I will try again later!