Dec 8, 2020 Blog – Grant Milne
Hello AR49 ADEON cruise blog readers. My name is Grant, and I’m a second-year PhD student under Dr. Jennifer Miksis-Olds who graciously invited me along on the final cruise of the ADEON project. As a new guy on the ship (the only new guy actually), I’ve spent the start of this voyage adapting to life on the ship. Luckily, I managed to dodge the horrors of seasickness, which the crew and other scientists were sure to warn me about, especially given our flirtation with the nasty nor’Easter cruising up the coast.
A sketch of the RV Neil Armstrong. The ship looks a lot different kitted out with all of the ROV Jason equipment. Photo Credit: Grant Milne (UNH)
My bunkmate for the cruise is Dr. Joe Warren. He’s been very helpful with getting me up to speed on ship etiquette, as have many of the other people on board the RV Neil Armstrong. I had to endure demonstrating how to don a gumby suit that was entirely too small for me, as glamorously featured in Joe’s blog, which was a hilarious and sweaty experience (those gumby suits heat up rather quickly). I regretfully way overpacked for the cruise in true rookie fashion. I’ve stashed away my belongings as best I can, though there remains a pile of unnecessary footwear tucked along the edge of our bunk. A note to any future cruisers, you don’t need to pack four pairs of sneakers. You might think that you do, but I can assure you that you certainly do not.
This is me squished into the gumby suit. Luckily the crew found me a larger size to store in my bunk. Photo Credit: Grant Milne (UNH)
My responsibilities on the ship will include helping Carmen Lawrence with the retrieval and deployment of acoustic landers, monitoring the sonar feed and logging significant events, and potentially contributing to reporting of marine mammal sightings if we’re fortunate enough to encounter some of these fascinating creatures. Everything on board is new and exciting (for me more so than the rest of the group who are more adjusted to these research excursions), and I’ve been trying to take in as much as I can since arriving at Woods Hole. I was inspired by the impressive construction of the R/V Neil Armstrong and ROV Jason to sketch these nautical machines of exploration.
A sketch of the ROV Jason. Like the ship, Jason has also undergone some changes, so the current model on the ship looks slightly different. Photo Credit: Grant Milne (UNH)
We retrieved our first lander this morning. The sea condition was a little rough (about a 5-6 on the Beaufort Scale), but the acoustic release worked properly, and the crew did an excellent job positioning the ship and hauling the lander on board. This was my first experience doing hands-on work on a ship, and I had a blast helping out in any way that I could. Despite the air temperature being a nippy 6°C, the water was a balmy 25°C, and the occasional splash of water over the side actually warmed me a bit as I worked. We have a deployment scheduled for this afternoon, and I’m looking forward to the opportunity to continue helping out with the landers.
