Diary writing has never been a strength of mine and my intention to write regularly to this blog was always under threat. And so true to form I am sitting down to write this, my second entry in just over three weeks – about 10 days later than I had hoped for.
Cruise track showing sampling stations
Since the last time I wrote when we were approaching the Azores, we have transected the northern gyre of the Atlantic where surface seawater temperatures where in parts greater than 28°C, we have crossed the area of equatorial upwelling, which was coincident with heavy cloud cover and much to the delight of Marie Cheize (from the University of Brest )at times torrential rain. Marie is collecting aerosol samples and when possible rainwater for isolation of bacteria and determination of dissolved iron.
The SHRIMP, a camera platform for surveying the sea bed, was fixed after a huge effort by the NMF-SS technicians and has been deployed to depths in excess of 5000 metres on two occasions. After a faltering start and a change of station due to a couple of equipment failures Rachael Beale, Joanna Dixon and Stephanie Sargeant got their marathon 30 hour sampling exercise underway – and came out the other end smiling!
We have had a Halloween party, and were joined onboard Saturday afternoon by King Neptune his wife and courtiers in order to celebrate the crossing of the equator by those not to have done so before – the pollywogs.
Captain Roger Chamberlain delivering committal service
Sunday afternoon was a time for great reflection when a service was held by Captain Roger Chamberlain to undertake the committal to the deep of the ashes of Captain Richard Bourne. Richard had sailed with a number of the ships compliment and scientists on board, including myself in 1994 when Roger was his first officer, and it was for us all a very moving experience. The order of service included Psalm 107 “Those who go down to the sea in ships and follow their trade in great waters, these men have seen the works of God and his wonders of the deep……” and the seafarers version of Psalm 23 “The Lord is my pilot, I will not drift. He lights me across dark waters……..”.
Ship's officers during the Remembrance service
Following the scattering of the ashes Captain Chamberlain then added his own dedication to Captain Bourne: “When a friend passes on, we tend to look at their life as a ship passing over the horizon. One may lose all sight of the ship, but in your heart you know it’s still there. And so ‘Deadlight Dick’ (as Richard was affectionately known) may have left us now, but we know he will remain in our hearts. He will always be ‘just over the horizon’. Richard – you will always be remembered as my mentor, my guide and best of all, my friend. I remember when he retired; he asked me, ‘How will you remember me? I said I will remember you for what you gave me rather than what you taught me. In fact many of us here today are saying goodbye to someone they respected, enjoyed and trusted. Indeed, we all trusted him through many a stormy and eventful passage.”
And so what next? We are currently at 4° south and heading into the vastness of the southern gyre, there will be another 30 hours station this week and SHRIMP should be getting wet again towards the end of the week, by my reckoning we have 17 days of science left and so I should be able to manage at least one more communiqué before we hit Punta Arenas!