Daily Journal

June 14, 2010

By David M. Lawrence

I walked out on deck a few minutes ago to see second scientist Dave Murphy checking a fishing line we've had trailing the boat the past few days. Unfortunately, there's not much to check. The fish ain't biting, but we keep hoping for a strike – and likewise hope that whoever is on the quarterdeck notices.

Unfortunately, our fishing for plastic hasn't been nearly so uneventful. Each tow pulls up dozens of pieces. When the sea is calm enough, we can see hundreds of tiny bits of plastic drift by. Occasionally we see larger items, such as buoys for longline fishing rigs – one that we saw up close has clearly been lost. That type of debris makes for good photographs, but it's the tiny stuff that is almost impossible to shoot that's the most insidious. Marine predators often mistake the debris for food. It's not a very nutritious diet.

The wind is still missing in action today. We are steaming all the time, making good progress and getting a lot of science done, but we hope for a cold front to give us something to fill our sails with. Wind is better for our fuel consumption, and it's better for comfort in the library of the ship where I type this report. The library is adjacent to the engine room, which generates a lot of heat when the diesel is in action.

In addition to doing science, we are learning to be better sailors (in most cases) or just sailors (in my case). Yesterday we had a "man overboard" drill. The volunteers and crew responded fairly quickly. We can always improve, but it was a good showing nonetheless.

The past few days the volunteers have been learning the lines on the ship. Knowing what line is where is vitally important, as we need to be able to set and strike sails quickly and safely as conditions change. To encourage learning, the crew held a line chase today.

A line chase is a type of relay race in which each watch competes against one another to find a certain number of lines first. One watch member is given a card with a line on it and has to find it and return to the quarterdeck before the next watch member is given his or her line to find. I was especially worried about this exercise. I haven't had much time to study, but still didn't want to let the side down. I was given time to cram at the last minute, helped by members of my watch as well as others, and when the time came I didn't waste a lot of time being lost. Even with me among the ranks, our watch finished first.

I am no expert, but I at least know some of the lines and can get in the right neighborhood for the rest pretty quickly. I also learned all of the sails, including several that we have not set yet on this cruise. There will be other watch versus watch competitions. I suspect knot-tying may be one of them. I've had to resurrect long-buried Boy Scout knowledge to remember how to tie a bowline recently. I have yet to get one on first try during the cruise.

Tonight, B Watch has midwatch – from 2300 hours to 0300 hours. I should crawl in my bunk and get some shuteye, but with a Cheshire cat-smile of a moon hanging over a gorgeous sunset, I may get back on deck and relish more of the evening.

 

For more from sea, listen to Captain Chris McGuire's June 14 podcast from the SSV Corwith Cramer.