Day 1 The voyage begins: Chantelle Cook

While I am aboard the CSIRO research vessel (RV) Investigator, on its transit voyage from Sydney to Broome, I hope to bring you an informative and entertaining snap shot of my days on board.

The excitement had been radiating from me since I burst out of bed at 3 am. The trip of a life time is upon me – I have been chosen by CSIRO as one of two educators Australia-wide to join them on this research voyage. Despite the early start, I was determined to make the most of every single second!

As we rounded the bend at Woolloomooloo wharf I was awestruck at the sight and size of the Investigator. I had not visualised the height to be so tall and she stood very impressive at the dock. On board we made our way through the introductions, inductions and musters (and dinner – I will have to try very hard not to make this a food blog), putting faces to the names of the projects on board.

Eric Woehler is the Principal Investigator leading the Spatial and Temporal Variability in the Distribution and Abundance of Seabirds project. This project, one of the largest studies of seabirds in the world, tracks and catalogues the amount and behaviour of birds and other sea mammals and analyses the relationship of these sightings to scientific factors in the environment.

We also heard about the scientific tools that will be used to search for the Macumba wreck – an Australian war ship that was sunk by the Japanese off the northern coast of Australia in World War II. Over the next two weeks, I will work with the teams on these and many more research projects and learn about the science behind them. My role will be to develop classroom resources to engage primary school students in these real life science journeys.

The evening was topped off by the stunning city lights and views of a crescent moon over the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge as we made our way out of the heads and began our journey north to Broome.