The first week has been a wild ride. When I arrived the crew and the lead scientist were in the process of mobilizing the operation. I helped with loading equipment and food supplies. The crew has been very welcoming and friendly to me. Above is a picture of Huxley, he taught me how to crip a cable loop on the end of a steel cable. We were scheduled to leave port last Saturday but as we were in the process of taking off there was an issue with the breaker for the bus coupler that sends power to the drives. The engineers have been working hard to solve the issue but now we are waiting for a replacement part from Italy. The hope is that the part will be here before this weekend and we will be off on the mission.
This unfortunate event has allowed me time to see the town of Lewes, Delaware. I have explored the state park and visited several beaches. My favorite place has been the “conch hole” as I like to call it. Pictured above is that area and me holding one of the conch snails. I have never seen live conch snails and there are so many of them. They are very interesting to me, some are even larger than my fist. I found out that they can live up to 30 years.
I am very excited to get underway and hope that the engineers are able to get the ship back up and operational.
Until next time, Jake the Intern