Weather: Nice and Calm probably no more than a force 2, Significant wave height 2-3m
Location: Little Loch Broom and the Summer Isles
Food: Beef Strogonoff
Into the Loch
A rare sunny moment in Little Loch Broom
Quick Message
Firstly I'm amazed by how many people parents and partners are reading this from the current cruise. So a few shout-outs. Hello James' Mum & Dad + the cat + James' Wife and baby George!!! Hello also to Heathers Boyfriend!! Hello to Jim's kids Joe and Katie and to Jim's wife Kim!!! Hello to Chris Carey's Girlfriend - p.s he needs a shave j/k!!! Hello to Julia's parents!! Hello to Veit - maybe you've heard why we spelt the ships name wrong!! There’s plenty more and I'll mention them over the next few days. P.s if you have any embarrassing pictures of anybody on this cruise or you want me to post a message email me: admin@rrsjamescook.com !!!! Also if you are reading this and like it let me know - its good to know if people like it and if you have any suggestions for extra stuff we can have on here then drop these to me in an email!!This was originally setup so my mates could see what im up to an where I am - I can now see how useful this has been to many couples and famlies and I'm going to try and keep this going for most cruises. Leighton
Today
Today we made our way into Little Loch Broom in the Ross and Cromarty district of Highland Council Area, Little Loch Broom lies between Gruinard Bay to the south and Loch Broom to the north, with the settlements of Badcaul, Ardessie and Dundonnell close to its shores. This isn't the sort of work we would usually do with a £45m Research Ship but due to the bad weather we found ourselves working right in the loch - something that would usually be conducted by a smaller research vessel but well within RRS James Cook capability!!!
In the morning meeting the captain was not impressed by the weather. Everything in open water up here is rough - Force 7 upwards which really limits us to close shore/sheltred work as it would be too difficult to deploy and recover the rock drill in rough weather. The scientific party have been loking at a number of alternative drill sites and activities that we can do in the event that the rough weather continues in our primary area of operations. I have suggested that we head to the Carribean or maybe the Med.
We sailed most of the way up to Loch avoiding the lobster pots!! As it was lunchtime and I had some time to go up on the front (Focsle deck) and admire the spectacular scenery! I was joined by the Purser and the ETO who were both wrapped up warmer than me!!! For a couple of minutes it started snowing!!! The Loch is beautiful and is flanked by numerous mountains and large hills - the weather is unforgiving and in a fifteen minute period you can see glorious sunshine and torrential rain so heavy that visibility is heavily reduced. They do not have a hose pipe ban here.
After making our way most of the way down the loch the ship was put into DP (Dynamic Positioning) - this allows it to hold its exact position using GPS. The system is very accurate and can hold its position to under 1m (when its not being jammed by the navy!!!). We then deployed a gravity core - basically a long hollow pole with a large weight on top - the weight forces the pole into the soft sediment and when it is retracted a sample is in the hollow tube - this is a core.
We collected numerous cores throughout the loch until just before dark when we once again returned to open water. The loch is not very wide and has a number of hazards and floats marking lobster pots etc. We only spend daylight hours in the loch so we can see where we are going and identify any hazards which would be much more difficult at night.
Spent some time out on the aft-deck admiring the scenery untill the cold forced me into the warmth of my cabin.
This evening will consist of rock drilling - weather permitting!! The reports say it may crank up to a force 8. The wind is blowing at around 30-40 knots - Its COLD.
The ornage arrow indicates our final dive site of the day . We spent much of the day in Little Loch Broom - also on the map
An RAF tornado flies passed RRS James Cook at low level. They make a lot of noise!!!!!
The Scientific party seemed happy with the results of the last drill
Gav inspects the Cores
Cailleach Head ligthouse. Located on peninsula between Loch Broom and Little Loch Broom managed by the Northern Lighthouse Board. This lighthouse is 60m above the sea and can be seen for 10 miles at night.
Looking down the Loch towards Beinn Enaiglair (889m)
Sail Mhor Mountain (767m) casts its shadow over Little Loch Broom
Jim took advantage of the relatively calm conditions of the loch to undertake some planned maintenance on the hanger gantry
Whilst Eamonn ensured that Jim was safe
Gravity Corer - A long hollow pole with a big weight on the end. The weight drives the pole into the seabed which traps mud inside the hollow pole - thus creating a core!
Once back on deck the core is extracted. This is done by unscrewing the two sections that make up the barrel and extracting the inner plastic tubing that contain the core. this is a mucky job and the deck needs a good clean afterwards. In this picture the scientitsts are unscrewing the two sections of the barrel.
A small section of the core after it has been extracted from the barrel
Left: Scientific group fight to remove core. Right: Gav at work splitting the barrel.
Gav hosing down the barrels of the gravity core to get them ready for another go!! |
