Author: Miguel Sanchez

Well, my adventures aboard the Sikuliaq have finally come to an end. The story of our shakedown cruise and my last week on board was extremely eventful, to say the least. I’ll start back in Portland, before we set sail for Newport. We took on a bunch of science crew from OSU, Woods Hole, and the USCGC Healy, who were observing our science ops and sensor calibrations. We were all ready to set sail Wednesday morning; full fuel tanks, stores loaded, seasickness pills take…and then the car didn’t start. For some reason, on of our thrusters decided that it didn’t want to turn on, so we were stuck on the pier for the time being. The engineers worked all day and all night to find the problem and get us moving, but the problem was a little more devious than anybody thought, and eventually they had to admit defeat and call in the big guns. The company who manufactured the motors, Siemens, sent out a tech to help us get up and running again. We were all excited to finally get moving again, until we heard that the tech had lost all of his tools and test equipment at the airport. Seriously, Murphy’s law was having a field day with us. Despite all the setbacks we had experienced, the tech finally made it, and he and the engineers worked their butts off to get our motors functional again. 

While the crew were working to get us underway, the science party was busy getting familiar with the ship and all of the cool toys we have to offer. The other marine techs and I spent hours each day showing them all the different sensors and machinery that Sikuliaq uses to support research. It went much faster at the pier than it would have at sea, so by the time we were ready to set sail again, everyone was ready to jump right into the fun stuff. 

We set sail on the afternoon of Saturday the 19th, and we jumped right into the sensor calibrations. The ship anchored next to the shipyard, and at 5 pm, we started the calibration for our EK 80 Echosounder. Described by the techs as a “super powerful fish finder”, the ship uses it to locate biomass under the ship. It has a very narrow beam, so to calibrate it, we suspended a small metal ball under the ship using three fishing reels, and moved it until it was directly under the sensor array. Once it was in place, we had to move the ball around so it could get pinged across the sensor’s entire beam. We had to move it by reeling the three fishing reels in or out, and we could only see the ball on the sensor itself, so it was tricky trying to get it to go where we wanted to. The entire sensor is actually an array of smaller sensors, which meant that there were several different frequencies that needed to be done individually. From getting the ball in place to getting enough pings on the calibration ball, it took on average around 2 hours to finish one of these. In addition, on our last calibration, the lines kept getting tangled on debris on the bottom of the river, so it took even loger to get the ball in place. By the time we finished, it was 8 am, and none of us had slept. Despite this, we had finished the calibration, and luckily we had the entire trip upriver to catch up on sleep. 

Once we reached the ocean, we sailed out to several deep sites to run our multibeam sonar and to calibrate and commision the new 38 kHz ADCP that we had installed. This was a little less involved than the EK 80, so we just had to monitor the data coming into the computer lab while the ship did laps across the sensor sites. Also, you’ll remember that we had to rebuilt the CTD a few weeks ago. This means we also had to do a couple CTD casts to make sure everything was up to spec.

Here’s a picture of our second CTD cast. You can see the light from one of the fluorometers attached to the sensor array on the bottom. 

Ironically, even though we left port days behind schedule, we managed to get all of our work done and finish the cruise exactly on time. The fact that we were able to get everyone up to speed about the different equipment on board while we were stuck in Portland probably helped us get everything done much faster than we otherwise would have. However, our speed is mostly due to the fact that everyone worked incredibly hard to get everything done. I haven’t seen so much disregard for a proper sleep schedule since midterms last fall, and seeing the commitment everyone had for the work was truly inspiring. 

My time on Sikuliaq was really something special. I learned so much about so many different things that my brain hurts just a little with everything stuffed into it. Everyone I worked with was incredibly smart and each one of them taught me something new every day I was there. I’d like to give a shoutout to Ethan, Carmen, Bern, and Dan for dealing with all my questions and helping me be the best I could be during my time onboard. I’m really going to miss working with you guys. Now it’s time for me to get back into school mode and get back to normal, so I’ll say goodbye. If any of you reading are interested in anything I’ve talked about, I would encourage you to apply for a MATE internship and try it out. It’s definitely a unique experience, but it’s one of the most fun things I’ve ever done.

Well, we’re finally here. After a month in the shipyard getting disassembled and reassembled almost daily, the ship is ready to get back out to sea. The whole crew has been working hard to get everything cleaned up and ready to go for this shakedown cruise. The deck department repainted the deck this week, the engineers refueled the ship yesterday, and the marine techs got all of our onboard sensors up and running again. All the different observers and technicians coming on the cruise came onboard today, so we’re finally ready to leave port. That should happen tommorow morning, after a few last minute things that still need to happen.

I’ve spent the last week with the marine techs finishing up preparations for the cruise. We’re going to be using this trip to recalibrate all of our sensors, as well as test and commission the new ones we put in this winter. It will take us about 8 days to sail from Portland to Newport. We have to sail offshore about 200 miles to several deep spots to get the depth needed to calibrate our sensors. After we’ve made sure that everything is up to snuff, the ship will dock in Newport and start going on science cruises for the year.

Since we were able to finish up all of our shipyard projects really fast this year, I spent a lot of ime this week working on a project that I got before coming onboard. As I said in my first blog, I study naval architecture and marine engineering, so during my time here, I’ve spent a lot of time studying all the different machinery systems and the design of the vessel. I’ve had to draw a lot of different schematics and plans for the ship, and it’s helped me learn about the ship so much faster than I otherwise would have. Even though Sikiuliaq is a relatively small ship, it’s built to handle a really harsh life, so every system onboard is much more complicated than I thought it would be. Even though having to trace all the different systems and hunt down all the information I could about the ship was really difficult, having an insight into how everything runs and fits together was really cool as I went about my duties every day. 

To end on another happy note, another effect of finishing all our work early was that my mom got to come up to Portland on monday. I got to show her all around the ship and everything I’ve been working on, which was cool, especially since she’s never been on board before. I’m glad I was able to hang around the city with her for a while before we set out to sea. Here’s a picture of mom being really excited to come onboard.

I will post my last blog after we get in to port next week. I’ve heard that the weather will make this trip almost as memorable as our last one.. See you all then.

Breaths were held, bets were placed, and prayers were uttered last Friday as we got ready to float free. In all honesty, maybe it wasn’t as dramatic a moment as it felt like, but it was still pretty important. We had been working on the ship for a couple weeks, and it seemed like we had opened up every possible place water could leak in. Not to say that a loose bolt would have sunk the ship (Knock on wood; stranger things have happened), but it still would have been a massive pain to lift the ship back up and fix anything that went wrong. Luckily for us, the worst part about the undocking was that it started at 4:30 in the morning. Because we started early, the undocking finished pretty early, and I spent the rest of the day working on 3D printing a new soldering tray for the tech department. 

Since we went back in the water, everyone has been getting the ship ready to go back to sea. One of our biggest concerns has been getting the CTD back up and running. Carmen, one of the other techs, and I spent an entire day rebuilding the CTD sensor array. It was really interesting to see how every sensor is connected to each other and how it’s able to collect so much data. It took the two of us another whole day to get the CTD cable ready to use. Remember how we had to take the cable off the drum to lube it? To do that, we had to cut the end off, which meant losing the connection to the CTD. Luckily, the cable terminations need to be redone every few months anyway, so this gave us a good opportunity. The cable actually needed two separate terminations: one mechanical, to support the CTD and deploy it, and one electrical, to relay telemetry from the sensors to the computer lab. The electrical termination was a relatively simple matter of soldering the wires in the cable to a connector. The mechanical connection was more tricky. It works by securing a bullet-shaped piece of metal to the wire with several steel coils wrapped around it. A housing is then attached over this piece, which prevents it from moving along the cable, allowing it to hold weight without slipping. Needless to say, nothing is simpler than on paper, so actually attaching the termination was rather difficult. The metal coils didn’t want to cooperate, and it took some artful maneuvering with a lever to get them in place. Beyond that, the threads in part of the housing had become damaged, and it wasnt until we had taken the whole thing apart that we figured it out. It was frustrating, but we got it, and we all learned a lot more about terminating a cable.

The CTD was the big job this week, and it still needs to get wrapped up. Other than that, this week has been light. I designed some parts for the centerboard and cleaned out the science fridge spaces, but our shipyard work is wrapping up. We set sail in exactly one week, so I’ll check in before that.

As I recall, I promised an update on the ADCP install in my last blog post, so I’ll start off with that. To save you all from 30 seconds of laborious clicking to remind youself what our problems were, I’ll throw in a quick recap from last week. We put the new sonar in, which went swimmingly, but when we connected the cable that would connect the sensor to our computer lab, the connecter was barely too big to fit in the housing. Luckily, barely too big is better than regular too big, and it let us resort to the tried and true cheat solution of stuffing it in and hoping it doesn’t break. Despite our worries, it did fit, although the cable got bent a little more than we would have liked. It seems to work, but we’ll see when we float the ship and finally turn it on.

Anyway, finishing the ADCP project means that we completed all of our big projects for shipyards, so we’ve shifted to tackling all of the small things that got shoved aside when we drydocked. When we first got to the yard, I uninstalled a small sonar sensor from the centerboard. For some reason, using the sensor was causing the metal rods holding it in place to corrode instead of the sacrificial anode. We figured that 3D printing new rods would stop this from occuring. At first, it seemed like a genius idea, but designing and printing these rods was deceptively difficult. Each rod needed to have threaded holes on both end, but taking the support material out of the piece usually caused us to ruin the threads instead. It took us a while to figure out, but eventually the solution we used was to insert metal springs, which act as threads, into the holes. Usually these springs are used for repairing damaged threads, but it works, so I’m not going to complain. Our other centerboard project was a little easier. The centerboard isn’t watertight, and since it fills with water anyway, we wanted to use it as another intake for our seawater systems. However, the only inlets for water were two tiny holes, so we took off two hatches from the centerboard and had them turned into grates for better water flow. Although it wasn’t as big as the cable spooling or the ADCP install, the centerboard project has been going on for a while, and finally wrapping it up was very satisfying. 

Finally, we can move on to our other task this week. All of the sensors mounted to the bottom of the ship are covered by ice windows to protect them from getting damaged during cruises in the arctic. These windows are big, heavy sheets of polycarbonate, and they do a fantastic job of blocking ice. However, they’re not watertight, and being flooded for years at a time means that they tend to get a little dirty. And by a little dirty, I mean covered in a thick layer of really gross mud. So we spent several days taking down every ice window and giving each of them a much needed cleaning. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, especially once we appropriated the shipyard’s pressure washer for our cause. 

Those are the important things we covered this week. There’s also been a bunch of even smaller projects going on, but we’re all just waiting for the ship to float again so we can start some new fun things. That’s supposed to be this Friday, but we’ll see when we actually get to go back in the water. 

I realize that its been a while since I last posted a blog, which I’m going to blame on the fact that this is the busiest we’ve been since we finally got into drydock last week. When we got to Vigor, we spent a couple days tied up to the pier. Unfortunately, our biggest and most pressing projects needed to wait for when the ship was high and dry, so while the rest of the crew were running around all weekend, the other marine techs and I had to make do with small projects for the time being. The first thing we did was to remove the ships gravimeter for recalibration. A gravimeter is an extremely sensitive instrument that uses a temperature controlled mass held by an electromagnetic field to detect gravity anomalies. Because they’re temperature controlled, the sensor has to be constantly connected to power, which is a little tricky when you have to take it off the ship and send it across the country and back. It’s such a tricky process that we had to have a gravimeter expert come out and help us do it properly. I had never heard of a gravimeter before, let alone worked with one, so it was really cool to talk to him about the sensor and all the things it can do. Luckily, we didn’t mess anything up, and the ship should have a newly calibrated gravimeter once we get to Newport next month. 

On Monday the 17th, we were finally able to move into the drydock. Drydocking is an extremely complicated process, and it took a massive coordination between everyone involved to make it happen. However, as with all things, the yard made it look easy. As much fun as it would have been to spend all day watching them dock the ship, it just so happened to be the perfect time to get a head start on one of our big projects; specifically, the installation of a 38-kHz Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP). An ADCP is a sensor that uses sound to measure how fast water is moving throughout the water column. One of the other marine techs, Carmen Greto, and I started installing the cable that would connect the sensor, which is at the bottom of the hull, to the computer lab, which is where all the onboard sensors are controlled from. ADCP cable is really big and stiff, and it was a pain to get installed, but we got it done. 

After the ship was high and dry, we had to put our ADCP dreams on hold and focus on our other major project: cable spooling. The ship has three different winches, as I detailed in an earlier blog. We needed to take the cable off of each one. We needed to completely replace one cable, and lube all three of them. I thought it was going to be an easy process of rolling out the cable and then put it back, but as I’ve come to learn, everything on a ship is more complicated than it seems. Spooling and unspooling cable needs to be closely monitored so the cable is under perfect conditions the whole time. One small error and it can get tangled and wrapped in itself, which no one wants to deal with. To help us, a team from Scripps came to the yard with some really cool toys. They had a shoreside cable spooler, similar to the winches onboard. Between our winch and the dock spooler, we could control the speed and tension of the cable, which let us keep the cable from turning in to a giant mess. For the entire week, we were running the cables off and on the ship. It was messy and tiring, but I learned so much about the process, and it was really cool to be able to control some of the deck machinery on the ship.

After we wrapped up (pun intended) the cable project, we focused our attention on finishing the ADCP installation. The sensor needs to be mounted a flat against the hull is possible, so I took some time making sure the housing was clean enough for it. From there, it was easy enough to hoist the sensor and bolt it in place. We had to be really careful about torquing the bolts correctly. I’ve never used a torque wrench before, so I was a little worried when I heard how important it was that the bolts were torqued, but it ended up being easier than I thought. After that, we wrangled some of the crew to help us put a protective ice window over the sensor, and it was finally installed. After it was in place, I installed a layer of foam inside the casing to prevent the sound waves coming from the sensor to reverberate and mess with the data. Despite all our hopes, it wasn’t as simple a process as we had hoped. For as easy as the physical installation was, we had to pay a price somewhere. Recall the cable that Carmen and I installed? Unfortunately, the connector that plugs into the sensor doesn’t fit in the watertight housing that lets the ship not flood. It isn’t very obvious, but this is kind of a problem. We’re still trying to figure it out, but it’s a tricky situation. 

That’s been everything keeping me busy during this first week out of the water, so I’ll wrap up this post. Hopefully by next week we’ll have found a way to keep the ship from flooding. 

Last night, at around 10 pm, the moment the entire crew was waiting for finally happened. We finally made it to Portland and tied up to the pier at Vigor. We were so excited about this momentous occasion that the crew took bets on when we would finally tie up (our third mate proved that his skills of prediction were the best on board). Before I talk anymore about Portland, let me go back to the beginning. 

Our long journey began over a week ago on Thursday the 6th, back in Seward. All morning, the crew was buzzing around trying to make sure everything was strapped down and that all the stores were loaded. Finally, we were able to push off from the dock and get underway. It was really clear and sunny coming out of the port, and I was able to get a few good shots of Seward from the water. The conditions were so good, in fact, that me and Ethan were able to get some projects done sooner than we thought. We spent a few hours starting to install a new LAN rack in the science office and cleaning out the uncontaminated seawater system. We also had to mount some monitors in the computer lab, which isn’t a big thing on its own, but it was the first time I’ve gotten to work with a 3D printer. It was a really cool opportunity to be able to dive deeper into 3D design and manufacturing. Some of my friends have done 3D printing before, but I’ve never had the opportunity. It was really fun, and I’ve gotten to do some more printing work since, which has been very eye-opening. 

Unfortunatly, eye-opening experiences can go both ways. Two days out of Seward, we hit a big storm. We had been expecting it since we left, but it still hit us pretty hard. We were riding through 35-foot seas and 40-knot winds for three days straight. I’ve never been this far out to sea before, so even though I tried to ask around and prepare, I was not ready for just how violent the ocean was. I got thrown against bulkheads and doors a lot, and I did get a little seasick, despite how hard I tried to avoid it. Fortunately, the more experienced crew members taught us a trick to not get thrown out of your bed at night: you can stuff a safety suit or a few pillows under one side of your mattress and fold it like a taco so it will hold you. It doesnt stop the rest of the stuff in your room from getting thrown around, but at least you stay put(most of the time). 

Luckily, the weather calmed down significantly, and the last few days weren’t too bad. However, yesterday, it picked up again, and it got to the point where we couldn’t take a pilot onboard. Fortunately, we were able to navigate the bar just by following them, and we finally crossed into the Columbia river. Even though we were still on the water, there was a marked difference the moment we crossed into the river. After a week of the ship rocking and rolling harder than Gene Simmons(hi pubs), it felt strange not having to constantly stuggle to walk through the ship.

The trip down the river to Portland takes around 10 hours, so me and Ethan were able to get some more stuff ready for the shipyard. One of the ship’s main winches is getting a new cable, so we had to rotate one of the other winches into a new position so that there is enough room for the respooling job. The winches have a cool design feature that allows them to rotate so they can be used by different cranes/booms as needed, and all it takes is some elbow grease and Dawn dish soap. It wasn’t easy, but for a multi-ton hunk of steel, it moved way more smoothly than I anticipated. While doing that, I got to learn a lot about the winches, how they work, and how the ship operates them, which was really cool. It’s a side of engineering that I’ve never explored much before, and I’m excited to continue it when we replace the cable on the other winch. 

Late last night is when we finally reached the pier, and I think I’ve already covered how that went. We’ll be on the pier until Monday, which is when the ship goes into the drydock. We get to stay onboard for the drydocking, which I didn’t expect. Everyone says it’ll be pretty uneventful but I’m still excited for it. 

So just to start, I say that this blog is only kind of about my first week because it only started yesterday. However, that being said, I’ve already learned so much that I never knew before that I feel like I’ve been here for much longer than I have. Also, the ship is setting sail tomorrow for Portland, so I think this is a good time to post an update. 

I spent Tuesday travelling to Seward. In total, it took me around 15 hours, which isnt bad considering how many flights are getting canceled or delayed around now. When we finally got to Seward, and it was pitch dark and freezing cold, I thought I had mentally prepared myself to a sufficient degree – I was wrong, but at least the ship is warm inside. 

Today was the first day that I was working on the ship. For the first half of the day, I was just getting acquainted with all the spaces onboard, what all the safety plans were, and what life on the ship usually looks like. The second half of the day is where it really picked up. I’m working with the marine technicians for my internship, and its our responsibility to look after all of the ships science equipment, like the winches, the sensors, and all the labs. My supervisor, Ethan, walked me all around the ship and went over everything that was important to us as marine techs. It was a little overwhelming, but I learned so much that I never knew before. Research vessels have so much more going on under the surface than I ever imagined, and it was incredible to pick Ethan’s brain about every little system that we talked about. For example, we spent a while looking at a seawater collection system for the vessel. It constantly collects seawater to analyze its temperature, chemistry, gas content, etc. as the vessel travels. Looking back, it’s clear why a ship with scientific missions would do that, but I never thought about something like it. Another important thing we did was to lower the centerboard in preparation for leaving port tommorrow. It sounds easier than it was; the centerboard on the Sikuliaq is a 15-ton movable keel that holds a number of different acoustic sensors. It exists so the ship can collect data from water not disturbed by the turbulence along the ship’s hull while in transit. Before we put in the water, Ethan showed me what it looked like from the underside, and explained what all the different instruments were for. It was a really cool thing to see, and also something I never would have thought about if I weren’t on the ship this winter. Once the ship is out of the water, we’ll also have a rare opportunity to look at the sensors mounted to the outside of the hull. I cant wait to start working on those.

Tomorrow, the ship is heading to Vigor shipyard in Portland to go into drydock. The ships azipod thrusters were damaged by ice recently, so the ship needs to come out of the water for the repairs to take place, in addition to the annual maintenace period the ship usually undergoes. While in drydock, the marine techs have a number of important things to get done. The first big task we’re going to do is to replace an old cable with a new fiber-optic cable on one of the deck winches. I’m going to have to learn a lot about fiber-optics and electronics really fast, but I’m excited about the opportunity to do something new like this. 

I’ll post again after we make it to Portland. Everyone says the transit shouldn’t be super busy, but I’m sure I’ll have a lot of stories to share. 

Hi Everyone!

My Name is Miguel Sanchez, and I am very excited to start my internship aboard the R/V Sikuliaq. For my internship, I will be assisting the marine technicians as the ship undergoes maintenance this winter. I am flying up to Alaska next week, where we will spend several weeks overhauling the ship. Eventually, we will sail to Oregon, where my internship will end.

A bit about me: I am an undergraduate student at Webb Institute in Glen Cove, New York. I, like everyone else at my school, am double majoring in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering. As part of the curriculum, my school has every student do an internship somewhere in the marine world every winter. After four years, these opportunities will have given us valuable experience and knowledge about the practical application of what we learn in the classroom. For example, last winter, I worked at General Dynamic’s NASSCO San Diego shipyard as a pipefitter. After I graduate, I am interested in designing research vessels, which is what made me interested in the MATE internship. I wanted to experience what it was like work on and operate an active research vessel, and MATE’s program seemed perfect for that. My experience working with the marine technicians will be invaluable going forward as a ship designer. 

I am really looking forward to this internship, and I am excited to be able to share my stories with you all. 

See you soon!