This week we spent our time back at the dock so we did a lot more work to the ship. We are replacing one of our large antennas in a week. I did a bit of work getting everything set up for the removal and for the installation of the new Antenna. I ran new cables throughout the ship and also made sure none of the bolts holding down the Antenna were seized. We are also going to have the entire ship hauled out to be inspected and repaired in April. So we started to prepare for that as well. We scuba dived under the ship to measure the cutless bearings around the prop shaft to see if they needed to be replaced, which we found they will be. So now we can have the new bearings made, which will take about 2 weeks and should be ready by the time the ship is taken out of the water for the inspection. While we were diving we also inspected a large transducer window under the hull to make sure there were no cracks. Not only was the dive important for our work but it was a lot of fun! There were lots of really cool fish and rays under the ship.
Author: Jonathan Raymond
We spent the week getting ready to take a group of students and professors out. We finished up all the projects we had been working on. We got the CTD prepped on Thursday. Then did a wet test on friday. It was my first time deploying the CTD. It went pretty smoothly, and was great practice for when we would do it for real. While we were doing our prep I got to see a few manatees. They like to spend time in the area we are docked.
We started around 8am Saturday morning. I helped the engineer get the engine fired up. We also setup the generators and took out the shore power. We went about 8 miles offshore, and dropped the CTD in to get some samples. The seas were pretty rough, but it still went really well. We ended up doing 2 different CTD deployments throughout the day. We also deployed two different nets to collect micro plastics and we dragged another to collect plankton. After we finished collecting the samples we headed back to port. On the way we saw a pod of dolphins ride the bow wake. We will do another similar trip Sunday as well. 
I arrived at the F.G. Walton Smith on Tuesday afternoon. I was introduced to the captain and some of the crew. I was able to explore the ship and the Rosenstiel Campus but that’s about all I had time for that night. The vessel is a 96 foot Catamaran. It has a 7 foot draft which makes it great for accessing shallow waters.
These first few days we have just been at the dock doing work on the ship. I have been working with Dennis who is the marine tec. There is not a lot of work to be done on the equipment at the moment so I have been helping set up and replace the old ethernet cables for the ship’s computers. When I’m not working with dennis I have been working with the ships engineer. While we are at the dock there is a lot of work that needs to be done in the engineering department. We have done electrical work, kept up with the daily maintenance checklist, worked on the exhaust system, made laminate panels, replaced a faucet and worked on the air conditioning system.
So far my experience since arriving has been great. I have already been learning a lot about the ship and how it operates. Everyone has been very helpful and welcoming. I’m excited for what’s to come. 
Hello,
My name is Jonathan Raymond. I will be joining the crew of the F.G. Walton Smith out of the Rosenstiel School in Miami on February 18th. I’m originally from New Hampshire. While I have a bachelor’s degree in anthropology, I have always had an interest in boats and fixing things. This interest led me to enroll in the Marine Systems Program at IYRS School of Technology and Trades in Newport, RI where I have been living the last 6 months. I’m very excited to start my internship and gain more experience running and maintaining research equipment out in the field.