AndrewBarna.org

Photo time children! Click on the panoramas to get a larger version (pops).

This is the bridge of the R/V Kilo Moana. Naturally it has a commanding view of the surrounding oceans. Everything regarding ships position can be controlled from this location, even some engineering functions (but not all) can be controlled from this position. While the wheel in the middle does work and was how I controlled the ship when they let me drive, it usually goes unused.

This is the main control room (MCR). From this position all the ships engineering systems are monitored, that would include the freshwater supplies and things like the sewage system, not just the engines, motors and other various propulsion systems. The system makes you push a button every 30 minutes to ensure that someone is alert and paying attention.

The mess is where all meals are eaten (most of the time). You can see the galley (where meals are prepared) through the two openings to the left of the clock. This ship had some of the best food I’ve had while at sea.

The ship had an extensive computer network and all network communications were fiberoptic. This was the fiber network was largely due to necessity, the ship is very ‘noisy’ meaning that electrical signals are disrupted by EM noise coming from the ship. Fiber is unaffected by this. Any and all computer systems were managed by something in this room.

The wetlab is where the rosette lived. Or I guess any other instruments that go in the water. If we were doing sampling, this is the room that it would be happening in. Out the door (to the ocean) there is no rosette sitting on the deck, meaning that it was deployed when this photo was taken.

This is the lab I spent most of my time in. Using the radio we would communicate with the winch operator our desires for what we wanted to do. We also controlled and monitored the instruments on the rosette from this room.

The ship could be controlled by portable control stations. This one is on the stern of the ship and is being controlled by the captain himself. I was told that it takes about 5 minutes to completely transfer control from the bridge to one of these stations as they do it one control at a time to ensure that someone has control at all times.

Probably the roughest day we had. Luckily it was mostly during transit, though one test/training cast was done with the CTD/LADCP. Quite exciting given the conditions.

This was the main float for the moorings and the first part to be recovered. The mooring is sub surface until the release command is given, then this floats to the surface pretty quickly.

This is a picture of my stateroom, I never did use that fridge.

This is one of the mooring anchors being deployed, the large mass is what keeps it down and the actual anchor is there to keep the mass from moving down a hill. This mooring was deployed on steep topography.

Same as above, but notice that the release mechanism failed, the line was cut using a pocket knife taped to a long pole.

This is the starboard shaft seal, on this side, air, on the other side of the red wall, water and lots of it. Though it isn’t leaking now, a small leak is within specifications and would be considered normal. In the event of a complete failure (which can happen), the compartment I was in would fill so fast with water that I would not be able to escape it.

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.

2011.01.19
18:46HST
Barna, A
R/V Kilo Moana

Conditions
Lat: 17 16.407 N
Lon: 168 34.072 W
Speed: 0.5 Kts
Heading: 73
Sal: – PSU
SST: 26 °C
Pres: 1012 mbar
Air Temp: 25 °C

Weather and Sea State Observations
A clear day. Swell height perhaps 3-4 meters. Cloud cover is 25%. A bit more windy than usual. The seas are rough.

Journal Entry

The day started with the recovery of a CTD, which went well, no issues. Then we had a one hour transit to the deployment site of the first mooring. This was just slightly boring as there was not enough time to do things like download the LADCP data. When we got to the station, everything was ready to go and then the pinger was turned on. It seemed alright at first, but was chirping strangely once the package was in the air (for deployment). We deployed and went back into the lab to start the data logger (we get real time data from the CTD itself). On observing the hydrophone display, the line was jumping all over the place after a few seconds, it just cut out all together. The decision was made to recover right away and to see if the problem could be fixed.

The pinger seemed to function somewhat when given some percussive maintenance (we hit it). It was eventually taken off the rosette and taken into the lab. A quick disassembly revealed that oil was likely leaking from a reservoir where the sound is made. The pinger was switched with a spare, weaker signal but reliably working. The whole process took about 45 minutes.

Breakfast today was good ol’ fashioned pancakes. Quite delicious I might add. I also had my usual bowl of fruit and bacon.

Due to mooring deployment activities, which I have very little involvement in, I have nothing really to do until 0400 tomorrow. As usual I went back to bed after my early morning watch.

Lunch today was a tuna melt, with TWO kinds of cheese. I ate sitting at a table with one of the stewards (cooks/galley crew) and he didn’t even know about the two cheeses until he took a bite. All of this cheese was a welcome surprise. With the cheese I had put on my salad, this was a 5 cheese lunch! Also served were buffalo chicken wings, though I didn’t have any.

I filled my time by browsing the media files on the ships share drive. I discovered video from one of the ROV cruises looking at an erupting underwater volcano. There were also images from the Challenger Deep.

As far as I know, the mooring deployment went smoothly. Right up until the end that is. When it was time to drop the anchor the release mechanism worked as expected but the webbing managed to twist around in one the ‘i’ rings, getting caught. A pocket knife was quickly taped to a pole (using electrical tape) and the webbing was cut in a rather funny sawing motion. The weight soon disappeared into the deep.

After a short steam the next mooring was put in with no issues that I’m aware of.

Dinner was a rolled beef thing with cheese and mushrooms I think. There was also shrimp wrapped in that flakey thin bread used for baklava. I had two dinner rolls at the suggestion of one of the stewards.

Sleep! Word on the ship (where rumors travel faster than any place I’ve even been) is that we are returning a day early 25th rather than the 26th as originally planned.