Well All,
I apologize for not setting this up sooner, but do to internet issues on the ship during our initial transit south and the amount of sampling we've been doing since we got the internet up I simply haven't had gotten a chance.
Anyway as some of you may know I am aboard the R/V Gordon Gunter a NOAA ship stationed at the NOAA Pascagoula Labs in Mississippi.
I arrived mid-day at the Gulfport airport and after a short stop at the mall to fix my Iphone ( I somehow managed to delete all the numbers during an update) I made it to the docks at Pascagoula just in time to stow my gear and attend the pre-cruise meeting. As NOAA has just completed their new offices and lab spaces here in Pascagoula I was treated to a tour of the new facility by Denice Drass (the field party chief for this cruise), a far cry from the post-Katrina trailers the pre-cruise meeting was held in last year. After the meeting and a final check of the gear on board I was invited to a trivia night in Mobile with some of the new NOAA Corps ensigns on the ship this year, to celebrate my birthday. They even got me a birthday desert pizza. I had no idea pineapples, cherries, chocolate, and mascarpone cheese tasted good on pizza dough, but I highly recommend trying it!!!!
Unfortunately my luck with electronic devices seemed to deteriorate as our departure scheduled for Friday, April 2 was delayed due to technical issues with the CTD's and other electronic sensors integral for our sampling during the cruise. Despite this we were able to embark the next day around 11 am, and began our transit south into Mexican waters to sample some interesting oceanic features off the Yucatan Peninsula. As we we're pulling out of the Pascagoula River, into open water I caught a fleeting glimpse of a few barrier islands, and thought about the fact that except for a few glimpses of the coast of Cozumel and Cancun, this would be the last bit of land we'd get to see for about 2 weeks.
Well I will try to update this blog as regularly as I can, with more detailed information and pictures on the type of sampling we are doing as well as the life aboard the ship. I will be on here for the first two legs of this cruise. So feel free to ask any questions via the blog or my email if you have it, and I will do my best to answer them ASAP. Finally if your interested in where the ship is and the weather or environmental features near where we are click on the NOAA ship tracker to the left of the posts.
"Anyway we're on station now so gotta go, stay tuned for the next post!"
Sennai
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Hi Sennai...remember me? I'll give you a hint...I was your fishing buddy on last years plankton cruise! Its Angela...just in case you forgot. I figure i would send you a little message and ask you whats going on. You back in Florida now? Enjoying the warm weather? I back up in Maine working on the masters stuff. Just wanted to say Hi and ask how the work out at sea is going? you find any tuna yet? hows the weather? and the really important question...did you catch any fish yet? hope you are enjoying yourself.
ReplyDeleteHey there Cic,
ReplyDeleteCourse I remember ya! Life ain't the same on the good Ole Gunter without ya. Yep I've moved back down to Florida, trying to get through grad school. Had a cooler winter this year but still warmer than what I endured in New Bedford. The cruise is going well, except for yesterday which was rainy the weather's been great, sunny not too windy, and calm seas. Much better than last year. As for fish, we've been putting out the hand lines and so far caught a wahoo and 2 blackfin all about two days ago. But I wasn't on deck for any of it, they were using my lures though, and I got pics, they'll be in the next post. Anyway glad to hear from ya, stay in touch.
Hey Big Man,
ReplyDeleteHows it going out there on the high seas?
The transition from Scubanauts to T.R.U.E. is moving along well, we had a great display at Marine Quest and I think all the Explorers had a good time. We start Rescue training in the pool Saturday, and are planning for CHOW.
Be safe brother,
Mark F
Going well, pretty busy though. Hard to get any other work in with all the sampling we're doing. Glad to hear the transition is going well. Just got done with a little port time in Veracruz, it was nice to relax for a day or two.
ReplyDelete