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JULY
19:
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Captain George Gunther at the helm of the R/V EDWIN LINK.
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A view looking down the tower that is lowered into the water for communications with the submerged JOHNSON-SEA-LINK.
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Submersible technician, Frank Lombardo, is at the sub commtrack station.
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This is the engine room. Four big Detroit diesels power the R/V EDWIN LINK.
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Captain George Gunther sometimes needs an extra pair of hands to manage the ship (sub ops. coordinator Ken O'Brien lends his for this picture).
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Another day at the office for Dr. Tammy Frank.
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Click below to learn a bit more about this advanced and versatile deep-sea research tool...
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Is there a question you'd like to ask our intrepid correspondent? Send us an email at
AskAtSea@hboi.edu.
Selected questions will be forwarded to Brian, and we'll post the answers online.
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DISPATCH 12: Life On Board the R/V EDWIN LINK
@Sea correspondent/photographer, Brian Cousin
The red visible in this picture is actually an animal known by the scientific staff as "big red" that has been swallowed whole by a transparent comb jelly, Beroe. The comb jelly is no bigger than it's meal!
July 19 --
The JOHNSON-SEA-LINK submersible is down on it's first dive of the day, running transects in the population layer of animals deep below the surface. Up on the bridge of the R/V EDWIN LINK, operations are running smoothly for the captain, submersible ops. coordinator and sub communications tech.
Once the sub is underwater its depth and range are tracked and voice communications are maintained via a radio hydrophone tower lowered through the hull of the ship. The echo of the sub pilots voice and the sound of sonar pings travelling through hundreds of feet of water come through on the bridge loud and surprisingly clear. The ship moves slowly about on the surface, staying overhead of the subs position.
The bridge is the command center for all activities related to ship and submersible operations. Navigation controls are here; so are the ship's weather sensing and reporting instruments, radio and satellite communications equipment, and the communications and tracking station for the JSL.
This morning, Captain George Gunther is at the helm. While staying on top of the sub he is listening simultaneously to NOAA marine weather updates as well as reports on the tragic airplane crash involving John F. Kennedy, Jr.
George has been monitoring both news radio reports and VHF transmissions from search vessels near the scene since the missing plane was first reported. There are a number of ships searching the area of the crash now, including NOAA, Coast Guard and Navy vessels. Our position is 120 miles away, about 12 hours steam. Should our assistance be requested, George could be directed to transit the EDWIN LINK to the crash location.
The captain has a long list of responsibilities aboard ship - from safe ship and submersible operations to routine paperwork. George has a great sense of humor, which is a real asset during long stretches at sea. "As captain, I'm responsible for the safe navigation of the ship and checking weather updates. That's especially important now, as we're into hurricane season. A real key is staying on top of the weather. I figure even if nothing else works but you're still floating, you're ahead of the game." He laughs.
Even though Dr. Tammy Frank's and Dr. Edie Widder's cruise began on July 10, the EDWIN LINK has been working in the Gulf of Maine since the beginning of April on other oceanographic research funded by the National Science Foundation. The work keeps everyone busy and the time passes quickly. In off-watch hours the crew spends time reading, working out in the exercise room, and watching movies on video. One seaman on the LINK is also an illustrator, and takes up a corner in the galley as a part time studio.
"Everyone handles long missions at sea differently", says the captain. "Some people bug out - it's too much for them and they seek work doing something else. We might be away from Harbor Branch for three or four months but we're not usually offshore for more than three weeks at a time, so it's really not bad."
Visiting different countries is definitely a perk of working on the ship. Last year during one cruise alone, the crew pulled into port in French Guyana, Brazil, Barbados and Puerto Rico.
George likes working aboard the 168-foot Research Vessel EDWIN LINK. "It's a well-equipped boat with a nice layout. Due to being a converted supply vessel she handles sea-state really well".
For the third day, fortunately, sea-state hasn't been a problem for anyone on board. Steve Haddock led another blue-water dive this afternoon to collect more samples, and the sub is making an evening dive, back into the migrating layers of deep-sea organisms.
Another of Tammy Frank's Tucker trawls is scheduled as soon as the sub is back on the surface and it's collection buckets processed. Operations are proceeding at a busy pace on board ship, with scientific activities filling most of the day and half the night.
Did someone say something about a movie?
The 168-foot R/V EDWIN LINK is located at Oceanographer Canyon in the Gulf of Maine.
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