Hello all,
Another week has gone by. More HABCAM was done with problems along the way, a port stop to fuel and change crew and scientist, and back underway for more HABCAM this time with minimal problems. Soon we will be up at the NOAA port in Woods Hole for a fuel top off on Monday.
For Saturday evening, Huxley and I started painting the sorting table as it was getting very rusty. After a few hours of being outside, we ventured in to where Huxley started to show me a few important knots that he uses the most frequently; the clove hitch, bowline, and half-hitch. I began practicing and some of the scientist were also trying to learn as well. I went over tying off the cleat and our shift was just about over.
For Sunday morning, the HABCAM was pulled once more because power was lost. Chuck, Huxley and I recovered it with ease using the tugger and A-frame. I secured it by using two of the knots I learned. The science team then started connecting cables and seeing what they could do to get it going again. Somehow, they got the HABCAM working and Huxley, Chuck and I put it back in the water with no problems. For now, the HABCAM is working, one of the cameras stopped working and two lights stopped as well, but they could still get images. During the end of the second watch of the day, we pulled the HABCAM again. This time Christian, Huxley and I went down to the winch room to examine the slip ring and the cable box. Reinforcement to the fiber optic cable was added and a polish to the fiber itself. Not much else can be done until hitting land.
For Monday, again issues with the camera feed of the HABCAM which resulted in recovering it. Another polish, but this time only one camera feed was present. The decision to put it back in was made even though we had little feed and no logging potential. Since it was the last day of this leg, getting the data was more important than having real-time access to it.
Tuesday morning was met with a full steam to port to unload, refuel and have a crew and scientist change. The day was spent cleaning up, making sure the loggers were working and much waiting. We didn’t arrive to port in Lewes, Delaware until 2300. Huxley showed Shaun and I how easy it is to tag off the ship. The first leg was finally over! Bed quickly came as we all needed to be awake for 0700 for some minimal maintenance.
Wednesday came quick and without warning. The crew was up for 0700 breakfast. A couple of tasks were needed to get done to make the quick change as easy as possible. One, tighten the bolts to the HABCAM slide; two, laundry for all the linens; three, get food; four, paint sorting table; five wait for the next batch of scientist and crew. I helped with tightening down the bolt, but the main thing was the food. I made a 5-hour run for food with the cook to feed ~20 people for the next two and a half weeks. We ended up with three carts of food and one pallet cart of drinks. Feeding this many people is a big undertaking; I appreciate the effort put in to feed us all. It took us over an hour to put everything in the car. A quick ride home and quick unload and the new scientist and volunteers arrived. Shaun, Huxley and I wee scrambling to get the linens clean, but we eventually got it. The other few tasks were completed as I was away. Also, the HABCAM was temporarily fixed by the oncoming lead scientist, which ended up lasting until the next time we hit port. Later that night, we set sail again which was just as easy the first time as this time. At this point, Shaun and I switched watches to be with the other mentor; now, Shaun with Huxley and I with Christian. I am currently on the 0600-1200 and 1800-0000 watch. Soon Christian and I started up the Surface Monitoring System (SMS) and moved the keel to the flush position. We made our round by checking the deck, milli-q station, the SMS, and the WinchDAC (measure tension, pay out and speed of all the winches). Quickly, Christian and I went to bed.
For Thursday, we started with breakfast and checking the deck. Everything seemed to be in order. We still had a few hours until the HABCAM drop, so we started tidying up our office space. Once arriving at the first site, Tim (engineer), Christian and I dropped the HABCAM into the water. A little bit of a late start though due to the HABCAM sonar not working, but the scientist went ahead with it. For the night watch, the only hiccup that happened was the winch controls were lost for the science team to control the height of the HABCAM. The ship sped up and Tim, Christian and I went to the winch room and restarted the winch box. The science team got controls back with the rest of the night being great.
For Friday and Saturday, not too much happened. Mostly we monitored our systems, looked for fishing gear to avoid in the water, and completed rounds. I learned how to clean bolts with a wheel brusher and some information about the CTD setup and calibration. Some more organizing was in order, which I learned the location of more replacement gear as needed.
I’m definitely learning a lot over the last week, the amount of work that needs to be done has decreased as the HABCAM for us is more hands off. I am able to learn about the systems on board and how to set them up if need be. Christian has helped me out with continued questions I’ve had and I’m grateful for it. I’m building up the confidence in the marine technician field. It seemed very daunting, but getting more familiar with everything, it seems completely doable given the right mentors. Another week down, four more to go!
Best,
-Sebastian D. 5/25/19 EDT 2330