Author: Ken McQuarrie

Well I am back from my longest trip of this internship. We were out to sea for 11 days. This trip was very interesting to me, mostly because we were using a ROV on it. After an 18 hour trip to our first deployment location we deployed wave gliders and other gear that we would eventually pick up on our return. The instruments we deployed were set in water that was over 2000 meters deep. We then moved to an area that was about 600 meters deep and deployed more gear. That is where we used the ROV. The ROV was recently reconfigured to operate at those depths but was never tested until we deployed it. During our first dive with it we had some video issues, the thrusters were causing noise in the line. After descending all the way to the bottom to view a package to make sure everything was going good with it we were bringing it back up. At about 150 feet the GFI on the deck box kept tripping.

Eventually we were able to retrieve it and bring it back on board. In between dives we were working on fixing the video. It never really got any better. The next day we made a second dive with it. We made it down to 575 meters, completed that mission and brought it back to the surface. At about 150 feet we started blowing the GFI again but was able to bring it back on board. The third dive was also to 575 meters. Once again we were able to complete the mission but on the way back up we had the same problems. The next morning I woke up to find out that at least one of the vertical thrusters was full of water. We spent the next day and a half tearing apart the ROV to check the rest of the thrusters. Come to find out that both of our vertical thrusters had water in them. After drying them out and cleaning them we hooked them back up to test to see if they worked. We were only able to get one back to working order. We had to reconfigure the ROV to accommodate only one vertical thruster before our fourth and final dive. The decent on the fourth dive was slower and the seas were the roughest that it has been the whole trip. It made for a huge challenge but eventually we made it to the bottom, viewed the package, and made the scientist happy and brought the ROV back to the surface safely. Over the next couple days we assisted the scientist deploy and recover their gear. It was an amazing learning experience for me. I will be taking back a great deal of knowledge back to my classmates to share with them. As for me, I am getting ready to head over the R/V Pelican for my final trip of this internship. We will be conducting a study of hypoxia zones from the flow of the Mississippi River into the Gulf of Mexico using a CTD sensor array.

Well it has been twelve days since I arrived in Gulfport Mississippi and boarded the R/V Point Sur. Over these past days I have had many great experiences and have learned a lot. The first trip that we went on involved working with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). After leaving port we had a 40 hour transit to Galveston Texas where we picked up more scientists then an 18 hour trip down the coast to the Corpus Christi area. During the transit I was able to learn about the CTD, help change out the control bottle on it, troubleshoot why it wouldn’t talk to the computer and fixed the issue.  I also had time to do some networking of computers on the boat. When we finally arrived at the testing site we took sediment samples, dredged for worms and clams, and photographed cross sectional views of the bottom.

We arrived back in port and the next day we took out a group of students from the University of Southern Mississippi out to do some research.

The crew on the Point Sur are wonderful to work with. The food is amazing.

This was my first time on a boat in the ocean. It is not much different than being on the Great Lakes. I did not realize how many oil rigs were really out in the Gulf of Mexico. At night it looks like a city on the water.

Right now we are getting ready to head back out for 11 days. The boat is being loaded with a bunch of gear. There is a rov and two big wave gliders and a few smaller ones. This trip is going to be exciting, it is geared toward what I want to do when I get out of school. When I get back from this next trip I will give another update.

Hello everyone, my name is Ken McQuarrie. I am a student at Alpena Community College which is located in Northeast Michigan on the shore of Lake Huron. I am enrolled in the Marine Technology program specializing in ROVs.

So let me tell you about myself more. I am 38 years old. When I was young I always wanted to work on the ocean. I wanted to be a marine biologist. When I was 17 I ended up having a child. At that point I gave up on my dream of working on the ocean. I left the small town of Alpena at the age of 19 and moved to Lansing, Mi. While there I worked many jobs but mostly I worked at a photo lab and I painted houses. When I was 22 I had another child. I raised him his whole life by myself. Almost two years ago I came to Alpena to visit for the holidays. When I was there I was helping cut down a huge maple tree at my grandma’s house. I climbed a ladder to tie a cable around the limb that was hanging over her house. When I reached the top of the ladder it broke. I fell 18 feet and broke my leg. It changed the direction of my life. I was no longer a painter.

While I was recovering, I was trying to figure out what to do next in my life. That is when I found the Marine Tech program at ACC. After finding this program, a flood of memories and dreams came back to the forefront of my mind. I decided to give school a try again. Going back to school after 18 years was a little scary. Fortunately the second time around was much easier. It is amazing what that time away from school has taught me. All those life experiences really helped me excel in my classes. Over the past year I have had so many amazing experiences. I have learned how to scuba dive, piloted rovs on over a dozen shipwrecks, met and worked with many amazing people in the industry and now this internship through MATE.

Growing up in Michigan, I have been out on the Great Lakes numerous times. I absolutely love being out on the water. I have never been on the ocean though. This will be another dream of mine that will be marked off my checklist. I am excited and nervous at the same time. I am sure I will make the best of this opportunity as I have all the others over the past year. So my message to everyone reading this is: No matter what life throws at you and how far gone your dreams seem to be, everything happens for a reason. Don’t be afraid to chase your dream, even if you are older like me.

I look forward to this opportunity and will keep everyone posted on my travels when possible. Thank you MATE, ACC, friends and family for your support. I will make you all proud.

Ken McQuarrie