Made it to round two
A typical day at sea, the seismic line is in the water, fog, and corn hole.
Every now and then at sea there are mellow days. Science is happening, but nothing cataclysmic. The fog today was a bit thick so our visibility was less than 700 meters. A few black-browed albatross flying around, but not one marine mammal.
A black-browed albatross eating a fish. It might not appear large, but this Albatross species has a wing span of over six feet!
Can you identify this bird? So hard to take pictures at sea, and the birds are fast.
We were at the end of a seismic line, the vessel turned, and suddenly
the lines were tangled. Look out, our calm day just got a bit sticky.
It was as if everything happened at once; then the battery died on the
geode. The geode is the device that receives the information from the
streamer. No geode, no recorded data. Luckily the fix was quick. Pop in
a new battery and voila, we were back in business collecting data.
The geode converts the data from analog to digital and is attached to the streamer, inside the vessel.
Fixing the streamer was a bit more difficult, the MT department had to pull the line in enough to untwist it from the seismic gun. For a moment there was crazy work, but everything turned out just fine, and then back to the day. As I mentioned yesterday there is this wonderful symbiotic relationship between all the departments on the RV Palmer. With the MT, ET, and IT shops involved, it really was a quick fix and science was once again back in business.
Meet the other pair of Palmer marine techs, from back deck to wood shop, and the priceless team.
A well working machine is evidenced between the partnership between the IT and ET departments.
So what to do with the rest of the day? Well that was easy enough -- corn hole! This is a new game for me and what fun. Amy the MLT organized and entire tournament. We have games, brackets, and everyone is having a blast. Imagine throwing a fairly substantial beanbag into a hole on a piece of slanted, varnished wood on a pitching and rolling boat. Now add in a floor with a bit of grease and grainy bits in the cargo hold and you have the Palmer corn hole tournament.
There is a lot more science in corn hole than many would believe!
We are only in the first few rounds, but the competition is fierce.
Last night there was even emergency surgery on the bean bags and an
entire new set had to be constructed. Who would have thought the Palmer
would have not one, but two sewing machines on board.
Even though our day was sprinkled with fits and bursts of excitement, the daily work of the vessel continued. The ABs are currently needle gunning a section of the lab where the CTD works. Uhm, I wonder if anyone knows what a needle gun is?
Using a needle gun can be dangerous and it is always a dirty job. What is a needle gun, and why is it so important on a sailing vessel?
Greetings Mr. Laird's class from Flagstaff, Arizona. Thanks for following along.
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