Show Me the Horizon

“Some years ago never mind how long precisely having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world.” – H. Melville, Opening Line from Moby Dick M/V Europa 57’54” N 133’27” W 8/13/01 07:00 ship time (GMT-9) I am in a fiord.  Hacked and ground long ago from the earth, cut deep into the skin by glaciers through  repeated ice ages.  3000’ walls tower above  pale milky green water, laden with glacier silt.  The glare from the early morning, low angle sun hides the icebergs in our path, and I’m glad that I splurged for the $15 polarized sunglasses in that Texas Stop-N-Go so many miles ago.   The fiord follows the same sinuous path common to rivers and streams all over the world, with U shaped bends making us travel 20 to cover the 5 crow flown miles.  Thousands of chunks of ice clog the waterway, having calved ...

M/V Europa 56’14” N 131’57” W 8/10/01 18:21 ship time (GMT-9) The first visit to the engine room on this ship brought memories of the Knorr.  Specifically, I remembered the 22 folks who were on board to service the ship and science crew.  My first thought was that I would be half of all the resources available to perform the same functions.  The engine room was a maze of piping, wiring, pumps, batteries, valves, seacocks, diesels, primary engine, 20kW generator, 8kW generator, electric panels, 12v, 120v & 240v systems, water desalination system, fresh cold/hot water system, sea water sys, LP gas,  hydraulic systems for steering, transmission, throttle linkage and stabilizing wings and more in the size of a large 4’ tall closet. Combine that with a wide assortment of electronic gear for communication, navigation, and ship operation & monitoring in the pilothouse and you have a recipe for confusion.  A bit overwhelming, esp...

“There are only two colors to paint a boat, black or white, and only a fool would paint a boat black.” – Nathanael G. Herreshoff M /V Europa 52’ 42” N 128’ 10” W 09:45 Ship Time (GMT+8) Currently ghosting through Fiordland Recreational Area, a British Columbia Provincial Park.  Narrow green channels; mist shrouded waterfalls, gray green turning blue, the Pacific Northwest national colors. Literally a world apart from the sunny Caribbean and my last update.  I mentally pull myself from this majestic scenery to return to Barbados to bring you up to date.  The final day with my friends on the R/V Knorr was spent cruising through downtown Bridgetown, a crowded, busy third world, work town.  Navigating the bustling streets, we ducked into a shack, the science crew’s favorite domino parlor.  The matron set us up with  Mount Gay Rum and the local ginger drink, as a mid morning refresher, with “Cutters” all round (a cutter is a ...

---------- From:   David Art[SMTP: SCI7@KNORR.WHOI.EDU ] Sent:   Wednesday, July 18, 2001 at 6:43 AM To:   m@prodigy.net; p@amd.com; r@austin.rr.com; s@austin.rr.com; s@findorff.com Subject:   i'm off the boat Auto forwarded by a Rule I'm off the boat in a few mins. In Barbados, at the dock and we've apparently cleared customs and our quarantine flag is down.  I'll email you at the next opportunity, which i don't have any idea when that will be. regards to all David

“I want a boat that drinks 6, eats 4, and sleeps 2.” – Earnest K. Gann R/V Knorr July 17, 2001 12'13"N 55'32"W 14:50 ship time (GMT-3) If you are paying attention, you notice our position has changed. In a westerly direction. Slightly north, kind of towards Barbados, you say. Exit stage left. Yes, we are steaming back to Barbados due to yet another medical emergency. I know that I never gave the reason for the previous medical emergency. Maybe an explanation now would be appropriate. There has been no official  word on the previous emergency.  All questions have been met with serious  sanctions. Apparently, the condition was deemed a private matter and the ones who poked around were told in no uncertain terms, that if they needed to know, they would have been told. And in a manner that eliminated any desire to ask again. Which is very surprising, given the size of the boat. Small towns and all...  Well, the supposition is that the...

Writers Note:  I include the following email to highlight the incredible extent of involvement  and expanse throughout the academic world these research cruises  encompass.  Although the science crew consisted of only about 15 people, there were researchers from numerous universities and labs across the country and world involved with the planning and ready to use the data coming out of these efforts.  The main effort involving the sediment traps may have been 10 years in the planning.  Getting a slot onboard one of these ships is quite limited. I felt very lucky to worm my way onto a project like this.  It was a realization of a long held dream, to once again touch the research world of the life sciences, a world with which I was quite familiar from college days;  tranquilizing  elk in the Cascades for blood and stool samples, metallurgical  studies on reactor fuel pins at Hanford,  jumping out of helicopters into the Alaskan tu...