Author: Grace Fulton

Our last full day offshore was on August 10th. I shadowed Corey, an Oiler, on his morning rounds and got to see the engine room. The interns and I spent time cleaning things up and getting ready for land the next day. It was easy to tell that everyone was getting excited to be back on land. The next day I saw the first sight of land, Nomans land, around breakfast. The fog was heavy coming into Woods Hole, so heavy that I couldn’t see boats approaching and passing us until they were 30 feet away. We arrived at the pier around 1330, where a large crowd gathered to greet Atlantis back home. I recognized some of the people on the pier as those who had traveled with us from Anacortes to San Francisco. One of them was the lead scientist who had worked on the EK80 and multibeam, Jennifer. She showed us around the town of Woods Hole, it was very small but had history. Everyone on the ship ended the work day early and we all spent the evening enjoying the solid ground again. 

The rest of the week we did more cleaning, moving totes, helping people move things in and out of the office, and we got a tour of the Alvin on Friday! The Alvin is bigger than I imagined. It was really cool to see her deconstructed with all the electrical panels and wires out. The pilot who showed us around said that the Alvin should be done within a week and then it’ll be brought back on board the Atlantis. 

Bella, a fellow intern, and I took Saturday and Sunday off so we could see more of the town and visit Martha’s Vineyard. We took the ferry Saturday and spent most of the day on the MV Island. We saw the cookie cutter houses, the flying horses carousel, and more “The Black Dog ” shops than I have ever seen in one day. The weather was great and admittedly it was nice to have a day off after working for 33 days straight. On Sunday we visited The Kobb, a local lookout over Buzzards Bay and Quissett Harbor. We went swimming and ate lunch in Woods Hole, then I spent the rest of my day relaxing and finalizing all my traveling plans. 

It was back to work on Monday, unloading a container ship and moving around more furniture and securing 2 more Lista cabinets. That evening I went for a walk to Nobska beach and the lighthouse which had a beautiful view. Tuesday was my last day of work, and that morning Bella, Catie, and I mounted a hive, put on harnesses and climbed to the very top of the ship to look at the satellite on the mast. We could see all of Woods Hole from up there and it was an incredible view. After lunch David gave Bella and I a tour of WHOI. We started at the Alvin, then saw the scuba center, then the metal and welding workshop, a gift shop and visitors center, the compression chambers, and then we walked through the AUV Lab. It was great to see more of WHOI and learn more of its history. After the tour I spent the rest of my day packing and cleaning my room. 

On day 37 I ate breakfast with the crew, said my goodbyes and took the bus to Boston at 0800. Although I am excited to get back home and see my loved ones and sleep in my own bed, I am also low spirited to be leaving such a great group and great ship. Knowing there is a chance I might not work on that ship again, or with that crew is a sad thought to me, but I am also keeping in mind that there is still always a chance that I will. I reached Boston around 10, I dropped off my bags at my hotel and I went into the city. I visited museums and the aquarium, and I determined that Boston is way too big of a city for me. 

This morning I flew back home to North Carolina. Today is officially my last day of the internship and I have come home with no regrets. I feel that I took advantage of every opportunity and put my best foot forward in all situations. I am proud of the work I accomplished, what I learned during my time on the ship and I am so thankful for everyone who contributed to that. I am walking away with more seamanship experience, knowledge of research vessels, and a more thorough appreciation of all the work that has to be put into one. This was a valuable, rewarding and worthwhile experience that I will remember for a long time and carry forward with me. 

It’s been a pleasure-

Grace M. Fulton

Heavy fog entering Woods Hole

The HOV Alvin

The R/V Atlantis from the ferry to Marthas Vineyard

View from the Knob

The Lighthouse at Nobska Beach

Climbing to the top of the mast, standing right under the satellite located inside the big while sphere. 

The morning of my departure.

It is day 28 on the Atlantis. We have spent the past 5 days going through the Caribbean Sea into Florida. 3 days ago we passed Cuba and we were close enough to see it in the distance. The water is a beautiful deep blue and the air is hot and humid. Since we entered the Bermuda triangle I swear the stars are shining a little brighter than normal. Most of my jobs this week were setting up benches, securing drawers, installing floating cabinets and moving around other various furniture. The lab spaces are starting to actually come together, and once we finish with the furniture we can actually unpack totes and put things away. However there is still a lot that needs to get done before we can do that. We also had a safety meeting a few days ago where we were allowed to shoot off expired flares and smoke signals off the stern. I haven’t had hands-on experience with any flares prior so it was beneficial to see them in action and learn how to set one off in case of emergency. 

Earlier today we reached a buoy off the coast of NC which marked a good fishing spot, so we stopped and cast a line or two. It didn’t take long for 2 Mahi to get hooked on the lines at the same time. They pulled them in, gutted them and gave them to the cook. We will likely have mahi for dinner tomorrow. 

We are supposed to reach Woods Hole on the 11th, that’s 2 days away! I am excited to get back on land and see the area. I am also looking forward to finally seeing the Alvin!  

Until next time-

It has been 18 days since I began living on the R/V Atlantis. We are now off the coast of Guatemala. It is hot and humid outside making the shipping containers on board ovens and hard to work out of.

Since my last post we have put in a lot of work into the Bio Analytical Lab on board. It was filled to the ceiling with boxes and containers with a small walkway. We cleared it out and sanded down the walls. I painted and then worked on the floors. Next was building workbenches and finally today we assembled tons of chairs. There is still tons of work to do in that lab, along with all the others, but a lot of progress has been made. We have also installed some science fridges in the Bio lab and Hydro lab. 

Now we are in warmer waters it is common to see dolphins and tons of flying fish. Captain has tried to go fishing and he caught a tuna, but a shark got to it before he did. We even saw a Mahi Mahi and Capt tried to get him but no luck. There has also been lots of bioluminescent plankton in the waves of the ship at night which has been beautiful to just stand there and watch. 

Not much else has happened in the past few days, we are all working towards getting everything set up. We are also getting ready to pass through the Panama Canal which is still scheduled for August 3rd. 

Until next time

Oil from building benches

Fellow Interns, Bella and Cherisse building the bench

It has been 12 days since I first stepped foot on the R/V Atlantis. Since my previous blog post (7 days ago) a lot has happened and we are moving fast. Currently, we are off the coast of Mexico-we passed the border early this morning. The weather difference between here and off of Washington is drastic in the best way. Regardless, it has remained overcast for more days than not, and we have had only a light rain once or twice. 

On day 5 we had deployed the Sonardyne Compatt 6 Transponder beacon to 100ft to test if it correctly communicated to the deck unit on board the ship. The next day we deployed it again, but this time with the accessories. By this I mean we secured the beacon in a large yellow float, and attached a chain to the bottom of the beacon that was attached to a 300lb weight(picture below for reference). When it was deployed it sank to the bottom of the ocean and began transmitting information. At the bottom of the beacon was an acoustic release, which means that when we want the transponder to resurface the next morning, we send it a signal and the beacon will release the chain and weight that is holding it down and it will begin to rise. The water was so deep, it took the float 40 minutes to reach the surface! 

Along with testing the transponder, we also tested the new multibeam system while we were still off the coast of Washington/Canada. The ship has been equipped with a new EM124 Multibeam that was mounted permanently on the hull of the Atlantis. Thanks to my time at Cape Fear I have had recent experience with different sonars and multibeam data before this. We spend over a day doing a patch test for the multibeam, running lines back and forth to determine the correct calibrations. The lines were 1500 meters apart and the swath of the multibeam was over 1600 meters! Ultimately this means the sonar was mapping 1600 meters of the sea floor every few seconds. And then half way through the patch test the technician changed the swath width from 30 degrees to 140 degrees and the swath width increased to 12,000 meters! It was crazy to see. The software we used to view the real time data was SIS version 5.6.0.441. The software not only showed us the normal data from the multibeam, but it made a 3D image of the data in real time too, and it even mapped the intensity of the scatter back which showed us something similar to what a side scan sonar would show. It was really interesting to be able to observe this process and I am so glad I was able to experience it. On top of the patch test for the multibeam, before we ran a line we had to launch an XBT. An XBT is a torpedo shaped device that measures temperature, sound speed, and salinity. The device is dropped into the water and sinks deep into the water(1800 meters in 3 minutes). It is attached to a thin line of plastic and copper which runs into a wire on deck that feeds real time information to a deck unit. When the XBT has reached max depth, we break the thin line of copper and plastic and bring in the launcher, but leave the XBT into the sea. This was a new piece of equipment to me and I enjoyed learning and launching it. 

On day 10 we reached San Francisco around 0800. It was my first time seeing SF or California for that matter. We stayed in the bay anchor down until around 1900. We had 5 crew leave the ship by small boat that morning and we had a food order coming in that evening, mostly fresh fruit and veggies. We passed Alcatraz and tons of landmarks that the crew pointed out to me. The city looked huge, and it was a lot colder than I expected SF to be during the summer. I wish I could have seen more but I am happy to be able to say I have sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge!

On the days in between, I have been cleaning the labs, troubleshooting, setting up monitors, fixing printer problems and getting to know the ship and crew better. I start my mornings on the bridge and end the day in the movie room with some of the crew. I have seen seals and dolphins in the SF Bay, wales offshore up north, seen tuna jumping about, and some areas filled with jellyfish. I am grateful to be able to spend time on the R/V Atlantis and work directly with WHOI crew, and I am looking forward to the Panama Canal! They are estimating we will arrive there on August 2nd. 

Until next time-

—Balancing Act- standing on a stepstool while on a rocking ship! 

—Launching the XBT off the stern of the ship.

—Deploying the Sonardyne Compatt 6 Transponder 

—View from the bridge looking back

—The Golden Gate Bridge

—Alcatraz

— Sunset

—Coast of California

Today is day 5 on the R/V Atlantis. I boarded the ship Monday morning at the shipyard in Anacortes, Washington. I made it to town easily and enjoyed the plane ride here! It was a cool experience with great views. We started Monday off with a tour of the ship and unpacking our bags in the Science Berthing hall, also known as the ‘snake pit’. I was introduced to what felt like tons of new faces and was honestly in awe by the size of the vessel. Within a few hours of boarding I took the time to walk around and familiarize myself with the ships layout, safety plans, and escape routes. Thankfully that helped me learn my way around quickly. I met the SSSG team, they will be acting as our mentors during the cruise. Everyone on board is very friendly and open to answering questions or talking about their work or interests. In the past 5 days I still don’t think I have met everyone since everybody is on different schedules. I have enjoyed listening to their stories and experiences, and what they like about Woods Hole and the Atlantis. 

We left the shipyard at 0900 Thursday, July 16th. The Captian invited the interns to watch us depart from the bridge and that was an unforgettable experience and view as a crowd of people on the docks and surrounding ships bid farewell to the Atlantis. SInce we left the shipyard we have spend most of our time in Puget Sound up until a few hours ago. Now (1600) we are heading towards the open ocean! 

Since boarding the ship Monday I have spend most of my time shadowing the SSSG team. I have watched them troubleshoot, work on wifi connection problems, work on patch pannels and tons more. In addition to that, I have soldered wires, made color-coordinated ethernet cables for the patch panels, installed desktops, downloaded programs and files, and cleaned the Hydro Lab. I have observed a deployment of a Sonardyne Compatt 6 Transponder to test its connections and readings, and I have observed real time data from the hull mounted multibeam sonar from the computer lab. Readings from the multibeam should be coming in 24/7 during this whole trip so I am looking forward to seeing the different terrains we pass over. While the ship was in the shipyard, it was completely stripped clean dry to its bones. New equipment was installed, maintence was done and new painting, flooring, and many other things were done to the Atlantis. In the past few weeks they have been working on hauling everything back on board and putting the ship back together just enough to cruise. This means the multiple labs, office spaces, and more common spaces are piled high with boxes and containers. The labs specifically are basically storage spaces. Ultimately the goal of this cruise is to both return the Atlantis to Woods Hole, and get it close to ready for a science expedition. This means having all the labs set up, all electrical wiring completed and the computer terminals in place, desks, shelving, and chairs assembled together and everything inside deep cleaned and some spaces even painted. I admit it is a lot to do and I am a little skeptical of how much willl actually get done. Electrical work isnt exactly my background, however I am looking forward to learning all I can. Besides, who knows when you’ll need to make a custom length ethernet cable on whim. It’s a skill, like all, that I am glad to have. 

In total my first impressions of the ship and its crew is overwhelmingly amazing and I am looking forward to the rest of the cruise. It is hard to believe that 5 days have already passed, feels like only 1 or 2 days ago I boarded the ship..

Until next time-

Good Evening Everyone! 

This is my first official post since being accepted as a MATES At-Sea Intern! My name is Grace Fulton and I will be boarding the R/V Atlantis in 12 short days to embark on a 4-5 week cruise from Washington to Massachusetts. I am a recent graduate of Cape Fear Community College in Wilmington, North Carolina. From Cape Fear I recieved an Associate in Applied Sciences in Marine Technology and an Associate’s degree in General Education. I have had some experience going offshore on a research vessel, the R/V Cape Hatteras, for 5 straight days and nights. However 5 days seems like a small amount of time compared to 5 weeks. That said I am so excited to begin this internship. Growing up on the East Coast I have never been further north than Washington, D.C. and not been further west than the Appalachian Mountians of NC. I am looking forward to traveling to Seattle, excited to see the Panama Canal and looking forward to landing in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. Im also excited to be sailing in the Pacific Ocean and watch the sun set on the water’s horizon for the first time! I am looking forward to meeting the two other interns and learning from them, as well as the ships crew. I know this is going to be an incredible adventure! 

Wish me luck for my first time flying in a plane!!! 

Until next time