Above: Journey so far - we are the little black line originating from the bottom of Africa!
Another equally busy day with little chance of taking any pictures!
Lots of tasks to complete today – mostly mundane but necessary! The weather deteriorated last night and the ship has been rolling a bit, but as yet no-one is ill!
The first night at sea is usually a strange one as your body is not use to the motion of the ship. This can either result in a restless night’s sleep or some really really strange dreams! I suffered from the later and woke up wondering exactly where I was…
The first task of the day is to check all the science systems are working correctly and that the data is being logged correctly. The cost of hiring a £50 million research ship is a lot.
Our main objective during a cruise is to collect data – if this data was lost because of a technical problem or some other error – the Principle Scientist would probably not be very happy!! I think lots of the students – many of who’s dissertation, thesis’s and papers rest on the data gathered during this cruise would also be a little bit annoyed….. I think at that point I would have to run and hide!
With this in mind one of my most important tasks is to ensure that data backups are taken daily – in the event that something breaks. We also check the health of our systems that are used to store the data. These are special machines with multiple disks known as RAID to ensure the data is safely backed up on one or more hard disks. Should one disk fail we have another disk with the data. To be even more cautious we have a totally redundant second machine – that is how serious we take data backup!!
Failures of computing equipment are much more common at sea than on land for a number of reasons. Most obvious is the motion of the ship – the vibrations through the ship caused by hitting waves can damage very sensitive hard disks. In addition, any equipment that is not bolted down is likely to move and take a tumble - computers, printers and peripherals are carefully secured in place using all manner of bolts, adhesives, wire, Velcro – you name it! However, that doesn’t stop the unsecured cup of coffee spilling over the computer when the ship takes a big role – it has happened!
One of the things that are central to working at sea is safety and today we undertook our first emergency drill of the cruise. Working at sea is totally different to working on land - if you have a fire at home you call the fire brigade. If you have an accident that requires medical assistance you phone for an ambulance. At sea these services aren't readily available (although due to the distance we are operating from land we do actually have a Doctor onboard for the duration of the cruise) and the crew of RRS James Cook is trained to deal with these situations in the unlikely event that they arise.
Above: A dummy receives some attention in the ship's hospital
Above: Ship's hospital
These safety precautions starts long before a scientist, technician or member of crew even get on the ship - all those sailing onboard RRS James Cook must be in possession of an ENG1 and certification in Personal Survival Techniques at sea. An ENG1 is a medical certificate that proves that you’re physically fit and able to work at sea.
Above: Sea Survival trainning
The Sea Survival certificate is gained by undertaking a course (usually a day) that involves learning a diverse range of skills that would be necessary in an emergency at sea- launching life rafts, righting life rafts and the correct methods for jumping from a stricken vessel whilst wearing a lifejacket are to name but a few of the skills that are learnt. Without these certificates you would not be permitted to sail onboard RRS James Cook.
On arrival onboard RRS James Cook – crew, scientists and technicians are giving a detailed talk on safety and emergency procedures onboard as well as checking that they have all the necessary documentation to sail…. No documentation, no cruise!
Every week we practice an emergency drill (you also have to practice a boat drill within 24hrs of leaving port – what we were doing today). These drills usually involve everyone assembling at a designate point on the ship (muster station) when the general alarm is sounded (Seven short blasts and one long blast on the ships horn)- this is known as mustering.
Above: Roll-call being taken
Once assembled there is a roll call. After roll call we wait for further instructions from the bridge - this usually involves everyone making their way to their allocated lifeboat station where lifejackets are donned. A talk is then given on the methods for entering the lifeboat and strapping yourself in and the roles of each crew member when launching the lifeboats. During today’s demonstration everyone got in the lifeboats – which are very cramped and stuffy when full!
Above: One of RRS James Cook's two lifeboats
Above: Inside one of the RRS Discovery's lifeboats
Above: Lifeboat station on the RRS James Cook
Above: This is just two people in the lifeboat - imagine the conditions with 50+ people!!
In addition to mustering a demonstration is given on donning immersion suits. Usually a member of the scientific party is selected with a crew member guiding them through putting on an immersion suit. This can be quiet funny to watch - although everyone understands that this equipment can drastically improve your chances of surviving if you end up in the water. As we are heading to Antarctica these suits are even more important as the water will be extremely cold and can overcome a human in just a few minutes.
Above: Scientist wearing an immersion suit
Above: A safety demonstration
An immersion suit is a type of dry suit designed to keep water away from the skin, and prevent hypothermia, if its wearer falls into cold water. They usually have built-on feet (boots), and a hood, and either built-on gloves or watertight wrist seals.
In addition to practicing abandon ship procedures a wide variety of different scenarios are also practiced during these drills - these include fighting mock fires (simulated using a smoke generator), missing persons, pirates (they still operate in some parts of the world and have done away with swords and now carry rocket launchers and machine guns – this has been highlighted by the recent spate of attacks off the coast of Somalia) and casualty evacuation are to name but a few.
Above: Piracy is still a problem in some areas of the globe
Above: Practicing with the fire hoses. SCIENTISTS DO NOT GET INVOLVED IN FIRE FIGHTING
The RRS James Cook has also been used in an exercise with Hampshire Fire & Rescue who spent a morning practicing a variety of different scenarios onboard and gaining valuable skills in ship-based fire fighting.
 
Above: Joint trainning operations with onshore emergancy response
Once the safety drill was over I gave the Principle Scientist a tour around all the ship’s science systems and discussed the role of each piece of kit and what data he will get at the end of the cruise. Since I have last been on here for a science cruise new things have been added and older things removed. The tour was useful for both of us!
Later in the day I saw my first Albatross! Peering out of my porthole window the great big bird glided effortlessly across the crest of the waves. I would estimate its wingspan at easily over 200cm! He hung about for a while gracefully gliding about– not once did he flap his wings!
Stopped work at 9pm – sleep! I’m exhausted!
|