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Daily Updates: May 2003
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Daily Updates: June 2003
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TODAY'S WEATHER
Mostly Cloudy
70°F (21.1°C)
Latitude: 38° 13'N
Longitude: 60° 26'W
Wind Direction: SSW
Wind Speed: 23 Knots
Sea State: 5
Sea Temperature: 70°F (21.1°C)
Swell(s) Height: 10 Foot
Barometric Pressure: 1008.5 MB
Visibility: Unrestricted

BREAKFAST
Waffles with real maple syrup
Hash browns
Grilled bagel
Sausage
Canadian bacon
fruit

LUNCH
Cajun kale soup
Pepperoni foca-za
Cheese pita-za
Smoked salmon, tomato, red onion on sliced bagel
Spinach-cheese quiche
Fruit

DINNER
Marinated ginger babyback ribs
Calypso fried fish
Hungarian beans (potato, tomato)
Scampi rice pilaf
Italian zucchini and peppers
Cut corn
Homemade southern-style biscuits
Chocolate peanut clusters

Changing horses
May 31, 2003
By Joe Appel

The best laid plans, it's said, often go awry. That lesson was all too true today, as the day started with rough seas and high winds. By 5:30 a.m., the Alvin dive for the day had been cancelled.

It was the second cancellation of the five-day-old cruise, but the Chief Scientists had little time to mourn their misfortune. They needed to come up with a new plan quickly in order to make the most of our remaining time.

"Obviously," said Chief Scientist Jess Adkins, "this is disappointing. But we still have a lot of time, and we should just keep doing what we can. Keep thinking good thoughts."

The cancellation wasn't so out of the ordinary. As 2nd Mate P.J. Leonard put it, "This is just how things go in this area. You're going to lose dives. This is the North Atlantic."

With not much to do standing still, RV Atlantis started sailing early this morning, conducting a SeaBeam survey over the Gregg/San Pablo Seamount that ended later in the day.

Adkins and Co-chief Scientist Dan Scheirer called a meeting of all the scientists this afternoon to let them know what was next, and also to keep everyone's spirits up.

"We're in deteriorating weather conditions," Scheirer said. The U.S. Navy, he added, had called the ship's Captain to tell him to leave the area due to forecasts of a strong low-pressure weather system less than 24 hours away.

"Any time the Navy calls the ship," said scientist Dana Yoerger, a veteran of these cruises, "instead of just relying on an e-mail or fax, you know it's very important."

The ship spent the rest of the day mapping Gregg/San Pablo Seamount, and then turned to head south toward the Muir Seamount, where the weather was calmer and therefore better suited to Alvin dives. Meanwhile, the ship would be trying to get Navy clearance for more dive areas.

And of course, returning to the target dive areas once the weather improves is still part of the plan.

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