NOAA Teacher at Sea
Jillian Worssam
Onboard U.S. Coast Guard Vessel Healy
July 1 – 30, 2008
Mission: Bering Sea Ecosystem Survey
Geographic Region: Bering Sea, Alaska
Date: July 29, 2008
was told yesterday that if you want too much, or have expectations too high you will be disappointed. Well I disagree. I believe in going full tilt into everything I do, and well, I want to do pretty much everything.
We have two more full days at sea and still I am learning. Yesterday was busy for me, a 22 hour busy day. The funny thing is, I slept in until 8:30 am, but didn’t go to bed until 6:30 this morning.
It all started with the Webinar and ended with three successive MOCNESS as Alexei tried unsuccessfully to catch pregnant Krill. But I digress. Yes the science is winding down, but there is still so much to do. After the webinar I went to the engine room to watch the successful removal of a piston cylinder liner in one of the four main engines. Salt water is used to cool fresh water to cool, I think, jacket water that cools the engine. This is not a typical repair while at sea, but the engineering team in charge knew exactly what they were doing and proceeded with care and skill.
After the engine room, and dinner I joined FN Angela Ford as she did her TOW rounds. The TOW (technician of the Watch) is responsible for walking the ship from stern to bow, covering all engineering spaces. The TOWs are looking for water leaks, electrical concerns, fire, pretty much everything and anything out of place or potentially hazardous. Even though I had already taken a tour of the vessel this trip was predominantly focused on safety and I was able to see new spaces I had not previously ventured into.
We even managed to find a crew member I had not previously met, Oscar. This poor headless fellow is used in man overboard drills as well as other casualty drills during the voyage. Oscar is also no light weight, weighing in at over 50 lbs he is a great way to practice and for crew members to realize what it would be like to actually work on an injured individual.
But the day is not over yet, we still had THREE MOCNESS drills to complete. Alexei wants to find pregnant krill so that he can develop a baseline for aging. Unfortunately after over four and a half hours of work all we had to show for our labors were some shrimp and krill that were not pregnant, bummer.
Quote of the Day: The “Control of nature” is a phrase conceived in arrogance, born of the Neanderthal age of biology and philosophy, when it was supposed that nature exists for the convenience of man. Rachel Carson
FOR MY STUDENTS: Please find three authors who predominantly write about knowledge and preservation of the earth’s ecosystems and the species within.