The ship is a celebrity with a great supporting cast
To my Dearest Ones 10/10/12
We have a chance to write, and it is so difficult to decide what to fit into a short email to you. So much has happened, between learning about the ship, how to manage watch duties, meeting all these amazing people, etc.
You would be astounded at the amount of data we collect every hour -ten times more than at the dojang! But it is exciting to collect it, realizing that every piece of information is so valuable to where the ship is heading, the projects we are undertaking, the safety and comfort of the ship and crew. Right now in my bunk, I can hear the crash of the waves just on the other side of the hull. I’ve recorded it for you. The ship is rocking forward over the swells. We are moving very fast for the moment, (8-10 knots?) mostly motoring, with the four lower sails up. For a day this rocking made many of us sick, but now we are fine and moving with the ship with more and more ease every day.
I hope things are going well with all of you. There were so many unfinished projects and situations when I left. I trust you can manage without me, but imagine there will be plenty to catch up on when I return. Continue reading “The ship is a celebrity with a great supporting cast”
Today. Awesome.
Today. Awesome. Started with an intense evening watch, followed by unending science deployments on midwatch. We assembled the MOCNESS for about an hour, recorded hourlies, deployed MC, brought it back, deployed Hydrocast, brought it back, deployed Neuston, brought it back. Tons of data to record, just with the deployment. Next watch gets to pick through what we found, and rinse the nets. MC is pretty incredible with five nets attached that deploy at different depths. We only sent it down 15 meters -plenty enough to collect the plastics floating near the surface or forced down by wind or weather. We are still learning how to use it, deployed it for the second time today.
Photos: Below Deck
More photos taken below deck by Christa. She sent these by email in the days before the ship set sail. Continue reading “Photos: Below Deck”
Photos: Below Deck
More photos taken below deck by Christa. She sent these by email in the days before the ship set sail. Continue reading “Photos: Below Deck”
Plastics at Sea 2012 Expedition Journal
Keep up with the latest Journal posting, as well as photos, videos and the latest plastics data at http://www.sea.edu/plastics/journal/
From the Pre-cruise entry posted by Kara Lavender Law:
“Here you can keep up with the daily progress of the 37-day Plastics at SEA: North Pacific Expedition 2012. Learn about the sailing conditions, the scientific sampling, and the people who are steering the ship and picking plastic debris from plankton nets at all hours of the day and night. The Expedition Journal will keep you as informed as if you were on the high seas aboard the SSV Robert C. Seamans yourself. Here, you won’t get to sample the delicious meals or smell the salty sea air, but you won’t suffer from seasickness either.”
Night Watch
Happy birthday to my oldest, 15 today!
Just came off night watch– only one hour because we are still in port, alongside. Typing on phone.
Quiet wake up call by previous watch, telling me it was 0150, ten minutes to two, and a little chilly out. Time for my watch.
On deck, two others from my watch–kim and noah, and Katy, first scientist. Read standing orders, initialed. Had read night orders before going to bed. Just regular boat check and log weather.
Boat check includes walking the deck and surveying the lines tying us to dock, to ensure no chafing, that the lines are still holding correctly, tide hasn’t moved them to rub or loosen. General check of the deck– lines, any gear out of place, all’s well. Below-decks it includes a walk-through, looking for any standing water, unusual smells, anything amiss, check dry stores, refrigerator temps, and engine room– record oil pressure, temps, water levels, etc.
Also need to record seas and weather. Skies currently 6/8 covered in cirrus, seas calm, wind 1 beufort. Temp 20C. Continue reading “Night Watch”
“of an inland soul to sea…”
Email from Christa: On airplane now. …please post “exultation is the going” by emily dickinson. …”of an inland soul to sea…” It is perfect.
Exultation is the going
Of an inland soul to sea,
Past the houses—past the headlands—
Into deep Eternity—
Bred as we, among the mountains,
Can the sailor understand
The divine intoxication
Of the first league out from land?
—Emily Dickinson
Caught our breath, then caught the photo just as the shuttle turned.
Just finished watching the Space Shuttle Endeavor’s flyover of the San Francisco Bay with an enthusiastic crowd at the Stonebrae Golf Course. We were in the Hayward Hills, and saw it bank west after flying over Chabot space and Science Center. It was so close we could see detail on the fuselage, and sky between the Shuttle and its 747.
There were almost no commercial jets over the Bay – we were surprised to see any—and a few escort jets. Some of us straddled a doorway to catch simultaneous coverage on TV as the shuttle flew over the Golden Gate Bridge, but from our vantage point the bridge was obscured by haze. That same haze had delayed the flyover by about an hour. We didn’t share names, but bonded over a moment marking the end of the historic era of the space shuttle.
Many, many years ago I had dreamed of being an astronaut. The space shuttle program was fresh, and regular space travel seemed right around the corner. Through many twists and turns, I chose a different path, but going to sea seems to put me back onto the path in that dream. I won’t be going into space on a shuttle, but six weeks at sea is a strikingly similar endeavor.
Kayak across the Pacific Ocean
#130 of 138 in Google Maps’ 4,150 mile driving directions from San Diego to Honolulu: “Kayak across the Pacific Ocean.” This includes driving north to the Canadian border and the Kayak Trip directive to, “continue straight” for 2,756 miles. I really, really hope our captain is not using Google Maps, or it’ll be a long haul. On the other hand, it is good to see real people are programming the maps. What else could they say? Fatal error, cannot compute, your computer will shut down or implode in …. Seconds?
Or they could have assumed we really wanted to drive on solid surfaces, and given us directions for a submarine automobile to wheel its way across the ocean floor. Not sure how it would go, what with the subduction zone and all. And more funny computer stuff: Microsoft Office 2010 doesn’t recognize the word “subduction.” Seriously?
Twenty-some years ago, we used LORAN and celestial navigation. It was possible, by these methods, to locate oneself sailing in the middle of Ohio – a long leap from the previous day’s more accurate fix somewhere in the Sargasso Sea. I guess a kayak could take care of that?
On this trip, we should be using GPS and celestial navigation. Using celestial bodies and a sextant is much more interesting than plugging a destination into the dashboard computer on the car, but one should add an extra bit of time for calculations. Why use celestial as backup? Why not?
For a seriously good K-12 read related to seafaring and navigation, check out the Newbery Award book Carry on, Mr. Bowditch.