Robert Symonds, the Chief Mate, on the bridge. (Photo by Kathy Hardy)
Robert, the Chief Mate, was kind enough to give me a tour of the bridge. (Photo by Mike Hansen)
For each cruise, an AB is assigned to be on watch with the mate, Mike Hansen was on watch with Robert. (Photo by Kathy Hardy)
Chief Scientist Mark Wells aka Rocket Man. (Photo by Kathy Hardy)
Bob was the AB on watch earlier in the day. (Photo by Kathy Hardy)
Because we were a riding in the trough a bit, the ship was rolling between 10° and 15° with an occasional tip to 18° or so. The "bug juice" dispenser is a good indicator of the pitch and roll of the ship. (Photo by Kathy Hardy)
(May 29 pm, 2007): Tonight I’m organizing the sampling plan for May 31 and June 1. I am excited to have a day off tomorrow, but it also means more work to catch up with on the following day - good planning now is key.
A little bit about the ship. The Thompson was named for Thomas Gordon Thompson who was born in New York in 1888 and died in 1961. He received his PhD at the University of Washington (where the Thompson is based), was on the faculty there and was instrumental in the development of their marine sciences program. He was the first researcher to study seawater chemistry. For more information about the ship, you can go to the ship web site: [LINK]. Unfortunately, several of the web pages are outdated, but it will give you an idea of what the ship is like.
I asked the Chief Mate, Robert Symonds, if I might be able to come up to the bridge for more pictures and he was kind enough to show me around. The Chief, Second and Third mates split the watch on the bridge. Robert's watch is from 4-8 am and 4-8 pm. The Thompson is well equipped with high tech gear. She has two radar displays and three control consoles. On one console there are controls for the autopilot. One console has manual steering controls, one for each engine. The other console is used when the ship is on station and it can be set to automatically hold the position of the ship or the position can be controlled from the console with a joystick. There are other high tech gadgets as well. If other ships are within radar range, there is a display which shows the name as well as other pertinent information about the ship. All large vessels are equipped to send and receive this information.
A little about the crew. The Thompson, unlike most of the other large ships I have been on, has no boatswain. Which means, that in addition to the normal duties of a Chief Mate, Robert supervises the deck crew and all of the deck operations. When I said that seemed like a lot of work to me, he just shrugged it off, “It’s easy if you’ve got a good crew.” he said. He has been in this business for a long time and my impression is that it would take a lot to rattle Robert’s cage. Which means he is exactly the kind of person you want running the show when the going gets tough. It was nice of him to take the time to explain things and I really enjoyed talking with him.
And a little about the scientists: Mark Wells, (aka Rocket Man since the flare incident ) is the Chief Scientist on this cruise. He is on the faculty of the University of Maine School of Marine Science. Mark grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia and came to the University of Maine to earn his PhD. He left the Darling Center (the marine lab of the University of Maine where I work) shortly before I arrived. Eventually he returned to take a faculty position. A few years back I was looking for a change and Mark needed someone to manage his research lab at the Center, so I took the job. We have been on several cruises together over the years. Mark is a great person to work with and also a great cook, working several years as a sous chef.
As Chief Scientist on this cruise, Mark has more administrative and organizational duties than he would like and less time than he would like to actually do science. But, one of the perks of being Chief Scientist is that he gets a cabin on the 03 deck next to the Captain, far above the rest of us common folk.
Mark has been on many research cruises over the years as well as conducting research in Antarctica. When asked what his scariest cruise moment was, he related that once he and another marine scientist were deploying a sampling device on a line over the rail in rough weather. A wave came over the bow and when the ship rolled, a wall of water poured off the 01 deck and over the two men on the rail knocking them off their feet. Mark grabbed the line, hanging on while literally dangling in the air. He was finally able to reach down and grab the rail and pull himself back onto the deck. Fortunately, both men regained their footing and were safe. Even with modern technology and gear, if someone goes overboard in rough seas, it is very difficult to find them. This is why the Captain posts the Heavy Weather rules.
But enough oceanography, tomorrow I will be a tourist in Ketchikan!
But enough oceanography, tomorrow I will be a tourist in Ketchikan!
