Day 20 - May 31
Weather Report
Time: 4:30 PM Pacific Daylight Time
Air Temperature: 7.9 Degrees Celsius
Sea Temperature: 11.7 Degrees Celsius
Wind Speed: 2.5 Knots
Water Depth: 355 Meters
Latitude: N 54.26
Longitude: W 132.36
Blue
sky and sunshine are welcomed sights and feelings. We have departed
Ketchikan, along with a new researcher and crew member, and are headed out the Dixon Entrance on the northern end of
the Queen Charlotte Islands.
Today the captain held a safety meeting with the crew. Each crew
member was asked to report any concerns regarding the safety on-board
the ship. Several concerns were voiced. The matters ran
from lighting to questioning the rate at which the cable that is
attached to the CTD comes off the spool.
The meter that reads the rate at which the cable is being fed out needs
to be calibrated. After the meeting we deployed the CTD for a
test of the meter in the calm waters and found that the meter that read
the cable was being reeled out at 20 meters per minute. The
actual rate was determined to be 32 meters per minute. This is
what is believed to have caused the cable to kink days ago when the
cast to 6000 meters was attempted. The reason the cable kinked is
that the faulty reading allowed too much cable to unwind and form loops,
as the CTD
does not sink fast enough. Then, when the CTD gets to the
designated depth, it jerks the looped cable, causing a kink and strands
to spilt. Scientists and crew members worked well together to
solve the problem.
The ship is underway, and researchers are resting. The CTD
castings will go through the night, once the ship reaches its
destination off Cape Knox of
the Queen Charlotte Islands. The good news according to the
captain is that the weather forecast for the week ahead is favorable!
Send comments and questions to Mr. Caddigan
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