2011.01.23
20:41HST
Barna, A
R/V Kilo Moana

Conditions

  • Lat: 18 53.088 N
  • Lon: 163 3.488 W
  • Speed: 12 Kts
  • Heading: 80
  • Sal: 34.384 PSU
  • SST: 26 °C
  • Pres: 1014 mbar
  • Air Temp: 24 °C

Weather and Sea State Observations

Swell height perhaps 1-2 meters. Cloud cover is 50%

Journal Entry

Finally got to wake up late today, so late in fact that I managed to miss breakfast. A bummer too as I saw cinnamon rolls. Today was largely uneventful, I read a book, took some photos, disassembled some instruments and ate food.

I started with the instrument disassembly. Just taking the LADCP off the CTD frame. If you are confused by all the TLAs well, have some more! While preparing the VMP for packing, we discovered some XBTs and XSVs, this became a source of discussion and I was confused quickly.

Lunch was oven baked fried chicken (having an actual fryer on board would be not smart) and sausage rolls. Having lunch with a fellow from New Zealand (also my watchmate), I was eager to hear his opinion of them. He said they were good but not quite like the ones at home, noting that the pastry bread they were wrapped with was not quite right. I didn’t get the opinion of any of the UK ex-pats.

After lunch I went down to the lab and read a book, though it was not a physical book, but an eBook on a kindle. I made it through about half of Enders Game before one of the oilers offered to take me back into some of the engineering sections so that I may take some photos. Though first he took me to the shaft seal, an area we didn’t look at last time. The shaft seal is responsible for keeping the water on the outside of the ship where the propeller drive shaft penetrates the hulls (we have two). Much discussion was had about the possible outcomes of this seal suddenly failing. It was decided that we would probably not make it out of the compartment we were in before it was entirely flooded and likely wouldn’t have time to even get the word out of the danger to the ship.

Dinner was ribs and huge piles of it. Not feeling too hungry I had some salad and a bowl of baked beans.

Returning to the lab I finished Enders Game and stitched some of the panoramas together.

I told some of the ABs that I considered going to Cal Maritime Academy (I told some of the mates this too). They told me that I should work the deck as an AB first, otherwise I would not be able to effectively command people under me unless I had worked the deck previously. Then they said to stick with oceanography as “I got brains.”

Tomorrow is the last full day on the ship.