Day 15 (7-27)
The water was like glass this morning — it was such a beautiful (and blinding) sight!
The night shift is great for many reasons, and watching the sunrise is definitely one of them.
Day 16 (7-28)
Inventory day today–lots of counting, stacking, and learning about the uses of LAUMs, TAPUs, and HAUs.
(Line Acquisition Unit Modules, Tail Acquisition and Power Unit, Head Auxiliary Unit). Thankfully I stored them all in order of their serial number (it made finding the specific one I was asked for later in the day MUCH easier to find–hooray for organization!)
Day 17 (7-29)
The first truly rainy day on the boat today!
Lightening struck just off the starboard side and it actually took out a few of our systems–the Maggie (the Magnetometer), the Visala (a weather station), and a hydrophone.
I learned that the PSOs actually cant remain in the tower during these storms, its too windy and the boat heaves more than usual, so they stand in the bridge and keep watch for species of interest instead.
Day 18 (7-30)
Riley and I learned how to play cribbage today! The night shift continues to be lovely–the ship is calm and quiet when I wake, and every now and again I go outside to watch the sunrise as it lights up the horizon.
Aside from continuing to write the New-Joiner documentation (like an on-boarding document for new interns like myself) Cody and I went up to the PSO tower today to fix the Visala (the weather station).
It is a small white device, about the size of a massive grapefruit, mounted on a pole with an antenna on the observation tower.
I learned how to plug into the device and navigate it’s interface, making sure that the correct information (in the correct format) was being communicated to the main lab: wind & wind direction, heading, air temperature, etc.
After re-mounting and making sure the antenna was facing the proper direction the rest of the day was spent watching the navigation screens, and doing some light reading.
I often like to sit on the bridge to read in the sun when its not too hot out, or under the shade of the crane on the OBS deck. Its a bit loud at times, but nothing some ear plugs cant fix! Plus, you cant beat this view.
Day 19 (7-31)
I would recommend all new people remember to bring cash for the slop shop!
Day 20 (8-1)
I feel like I have really settled into a routine here now!
The days start so calmly when your shift starts at 1145pm. The boat is (relatively) quiet and its nice to take a walk/stretch your legs by going up to the bow and looking at the stars. 🙂
Most days are filled with watching the mission control monitors and handling line changes (the EOL/SOL procedures, Navigation Log duties, etc.)
It is really quite nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life while on the boat, and to focus on the immediate tasks at hand, and learning about the data being taken from the science crew during our chats is an extra plus!
Paper discussions are being held every few days now, which are fun to attend when I get the chance to read the paper that is being focused on.
Day 21 (8-2)
Now that the schedule has seemed the settle and work remains similar most days, I will mostly just be updating with photos and comments on new and excting happenings on board.
Happy sailing!