First Day at Sea!
Once we were underway last night, we had to have two mandatory boat drills. One was a Man Overboard Drill...in the event a person falls overboard, there are certain procedures that must occur. Once the alarm sounds, the Science team must report to the Science Conference Lounge. This is our Muster Station – attendance was taken and it was found that a Coast Guard person in our party was absent. Using the AloftCon camera we watched the Coast Guard team go into the water with a rescue boat to rescue the dummy that had been thrown overboard for this drill. The USCG officer absent from our room was modeling the man overboard – of course he was safe, it was only a drill.
US Coast Guard Rescue Ship retrieving OSCAR - the Man Overboard
The second drill we had was Abandon Ship. Every person aboard must make their way to the flight deck. There are rules you must follow when evacuating the ship...Up and forward on the Starboard side, Down and back the Port side. Once on the flight deck, I had to find my assigned raft. I was assigned to Raft Boat 5. Our leader went over what supplies we would have with us and that in case of an actual emergency we should bring blankets, coats and whatever we could carry.
Raft 5 getting our explanation in case of Abandon Ship!
After that, all of the “newbies” - first time aboard the USCG Cutter Healy had to try on a “Gumby” suit. This suit got it's nickname because when it is on, it resembles the cartoon character Gumby. This is a cold water immersion neoprene suit. It is a floatation device as well as protection to keep you warm. We will only wear this in case we have to evacuate the ship!
Ms. Rose trying out the
So, last night was my first night at sea aboard the USCG Cutter Healy. It was a very rough night. There were a few times I felt as though I would be tossed out of bed. The seas were quite active and will continue to be throughout the day. There is a storm warning for parts of the Bering Sea tonight. According to the NOAA Alaska Regional Headquarters, winds today will build to 50 knots with seas building to 30 feet.
NOAA Weather Imagery - check out the storm we are headed into!
This morning, we had our first official sit down meeting of the Science Team. It happened in the Science Conference Lounge. Dr. Ashjian went over all of the science planned for the expedition, key scientists, watch duties, etc. It is our hope that we will be able to get a net in the water for sampling today. We'll see if the weather cooperates!
Dr. Ashjian pointing out our sampling locations.
Thank you to everyone who has been asking questions in the Ask the Team section of the website. Hannah asked how many pairs of underwear I packed for this trip. The Science Team was so amused by the question that they wanted to help answer it as well! Here is the Raw Data. Number of pairs of underwear: 14, 8, 16, 12, 10, 9, 14, 13, 8. Check out the Question of the Day to do some math with these numbers!
Today is a special day....Happy Anniversary Brian! I love you more than words...than you for being my best friend and supporting me in everything I do!
Question of the Day
Using the raw underwear data, find the mean, median and mode.
Stayed tuned to this journal as we continue this exciting voyage on the USCG Cutter Healy!! Until then...
“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever” Mohandas Gandhi