May 6, 2018
1730 local time
Greetings!
I am writing from our current position off the coast of Nova Scotia on our way to Iceland. We have a few stops planned during the 9-day transit in order to deploy a couple of gliders and a massive buoy, which is currently taking up quite a bit of prime real estate out on the fantail.
Getting ready for this cruise certainly made for a very busy week for everyone! The science teams from the previous cruise were all packed up and off the ship by Monday morning after a fun sendoff party at the local eatery in Woods Hole. We then spent a solid day cleaning up the lab and berthing spaces to make way for the new cruise, and the rest of the week was dedicated to maintenance projects and new installations.
One of the new additions is the work boat, which was left behind on the dock during the last cruise. Since it was laid up for a few weeks, the 3rd Mate was tasked with refueling and running the engines. I was invited along for the journey and even trusted to drive for a while around the harbor. As you can see by the lack of wake, I took it easy out there, unlike the 3rd Mate who really gunned it and managed to get us impressively wet out there. All around, quite a fun experience.
I thought the ship was impressively kitted out when I arrived, but there is new, shiny tech installed all over the place for this cruise. Earlier in the week, I tested my hardware skills by mounting and connecting 4 new monitors around the lab space as well as a new deck box for the expendable bathythermograph (XBT) probe. After being elbow deep in data cables in the main lab rack for over an hour, I actually got a chance to go out to the transom and use the XBT hand launcher. Though the look and feel of it suggests that the launcher could pack a punch, it is really just a means of keeping the probe cannister steady. Once the pin is released on the underside, the probe just sort of plops out undramatically and makes its long journey down as the conductor cables pay out smoothly to 1800 meters.
The start of a new cruise has also meant that I am finally able to work with Amy, the marine technician, on creating a new cruise data log and initializing the underway instrumentation, flow-thru systems, and echo sounders. I am finding it really beneficial to be able to get my hands on the control units, pumps, valves, and various software systems for the instruments. However, now that we are in Canadian waters, we are actually not allowed to record any data so I now have some experience in how to stop recording as well.
Another week at sea also means another safety drill. Instead of fire & emergency, the Chief Mate chose to have an informational session on hypothermia and on rescue procedures for pulling someone out of the water. Both the ship and work boat now have these scramble-nets to create a cradle and either roll someone up out of the water or have them scramble up to the deck. We watched a few videos and also demonstrated deploying the net on deck.
This week really flew by, and I am glad I got to spend a few days of it in Woods Hole. It is a really nice town, and I felt so at home there so quickly. It was great meeting people at WHOI, and I am excited to come back in October for the INMARTECH conference. My next update will be coming from Reykjavik!
– Emily