Week 2

In the afternoon of Saturday July 16, scientists supported by a grant from the NSF arrived at the dock and began loading their equipment.  The main instruments that were brought on board were two Tucker Trawl net systems- one full sized, referred to as Mother Tucker, and a smaller one, Baby Tucker.  The smaller one was included because no one was sure we would be able to deploy the full sized system from the Walton Smith, because our A-frame is not as tall as the other vessels they had used.    
  We worked all day Sunday preparing the larger trawl system for deployment, most of the time trying to devise different methods that would work.  
  We departed from Miami at 2000 hrs and headed northeast into the Florida Straits.  We endured some pretty rough seas and lightning, and by 0100 we arrived at the first station.  Due to the inclement weather conditions, the first cast was scrapped. 
  By Monday morning the weather had cleared and we were able to deploy around 0900.  The Tucker Trawl consists of a long tapered net with an aluminum frame at the top, which incorporates the underwater CTD unit, 3 bars at the opening- one at the top below the frame, one at the bottom, and furthest down a 400lb weight bar.  The frame and upper 2 bars slide up and down two cables, which serves to open and close the net. When the cables are pulled up, all three bars collapse together with the frame.  This was our challenge, since the A-frame was not tall enough to lift them out of the water.  
  The first retrieval was somewhat awkward and precarious, but the system was finally brought on board by brute manpower force.  During that night we made three more casts, each time modifying our approach, and the retrievals became easier.  The yield in all four casts wasn’t quite what the science party was looking for, so we made our way south to the next station.
  By Tuesday our method had been perfected and the new fishing ground was yielding results that had the scientists smiling.  The bioluminescent sea creatures that were caught were fascinating.
  By the end of the week we had racked up eleven successful casts and collected some pretty amazing specimens.  The science party departed happy and armed with many new photos of bioluminescent sea life. 
  On Saturday I was finally able to perform some original music at Luna Star Cafe and had a great a great time doing so.  I also made a lot of new friends and musical contacts in the Miami area.
  Till next week, enjoy the beautiful summer days and nights wherever you are.