With a little more than a week until my next cruise, I will be spending my time on-shore in Bermuda, aboard the vessel. While I have the option to stay within a dorm, I am becoming quite fond of this living space- the largest vessel (170′) that I have been on yet! As we came in early Friday morning, we were fortunate enough to have the weekend to ourselves. I spent the weekend exploring Bermuda, snorkeling its shores and catching up on several tech duties. Start Monday, we began mobilization.
Off of Fort St. Catherines, near Tobacco Bay in St. Georges parish, I found a socluded snorkel spot where I spent most of my weekend.
Come Monday, we began our demobilization process. The process was fast and efficient, as the BATS crew are a “well-greased machine” and well accustomed to the Atlantic Explorer. The main order of business- aside from the usual post-cruise data collection, clean-up and upcoming cruise preparations- was to transfer our gyro compass (used for heading and navigation information) to back-up battery power.
Photo credit: Nick Mathews
Photo credit: Nick Mathews
The process was a little bit nerve racking, as the UPS system is very powerful, and hasty decisions can lead to mistakes or electrical shock. We turned off our UPS power, and then wired our GYRO to a battery pack. We closed the circuit- with a small spark- and have been receiving accurate headings since. So far, so good!