Day 3: A day in the life of an Educator on Board
By: Lloyd Godson
Part 1
It’s day three of our voyage from Hobart to the Bass Strait, and I’m finally starting to feel like I’ve settled in enough to write a blog post. Even though I’ve worked on a variety of research vessels in Australia and abroad, the RV Investigator strikes me as a unique scientific facility. Many of the crew have told me it’s the best ship they’ve ever worked on and I can see why. This particular voyage is unique too. The Australian Hydrographic Office (AHO) has chartered the vessel to conduct a hydrographic (seafloor mapping) survey for nautical charting purposes.
On Dr Ben Arthur’s advice, Day 1 and 2 were spent getting familiar with the ship and life at sea. It takes a while to find your way around the 10 or so decks (where was the gym again?), meet the crew and personnel (there are 20 crew and 22 other personnel on board this voyage) and get your sea legs (the 4-6m swell and 45 knot winds didn’t help with that last night). Day three is coming to an end now.
This is what kept me and the other educators busy today:
6:30am: I wake to the repeated sound of a low pitched “ping” from the multi beam sonar mapping the seafloor beneath us. My berth, which is close to the bow on the 1st platform deck, is directly above the gondola drop keel and scientific sonar system. It’s the first time I notice it. The sound of the water swooshing around and slapping against the hull last night was far too loud. I’m glad that weather is behind us now. Being sea sick is a miserable feeling. I check the ship’s intranet for notices from Brett Muir, the voyage manager, take a look at the weather forecast and send my family a good morning message. It’s time for breakfast.
Part 2
7:00-7:30am: After a nice hot shower, I make my way up to the mess on the focsle deck for breakfast. I opt for a light breakfast today and chat with Dr Eric Woehler about his seabird and marine mammal observations from the day before. We have already identified 18 species of seabirds and 2 species of cetaceans within a 300m transect of the ship. Eric has been up on the level 7 observation deck (Monkey Island) since 6am. He shows me some pictures of the moon set and sunrise over Wilsons Promontory he captured earlier. I’m eager to get back up there and assist Eric however I can. Monkey Island is located above the bridge so also happens to have the best view on the ship.
7:30-11:00am: For the next few hours, I sit with Eric and the other educators on board helping with the seabird and marine mammal observations. I shout out to Eric, “Shy Albatross, 2’oclock, 200m out, flying towards the bow”. He confirms my sighting and logs it in the ship’s database. I had no idea how to identify a Shy Albatross at the beginning of this voyage. Eric’s passions for sea birds is rubbing off on us all. He’ll be up here during daylight hours for the next 10 days straight, so he appreciates all the extra eyes. We have a lot to learn, but Eric is patient and more than happy to share his incredible knowledge and stories with us all. At some point in the morning, Chad (a fellow educator on board from Brisbane) and I venture down onto the main deck to observe a temperature probe being winched over the side. Later in the voyage, once the mapping is complete, we’ll be taking sediment samples too, using the MNF Smith-McIntyre Grab. All of this meteorological and oceanographic data is being collected to contribute to current modelling systems and assist in the management of the Commonwealth Marine Reserve at Hogan Island.
Part 3
11:00-11:30am: I head into the operations room to observe the team of hydrographers at work. They are working in two 12 hour rotational watches and are responsible for the collection of data from the sonars around the clock. The ship is systemically covering our survey area in a pattern akin to mowing the lawns. The hydrographers are checking and controlling the quality of the data being collected as it needs to meet stringent international standards to facilitate safe navigation.
11:30am-12:30pm: I head back down to the mess for a hearty lunch, and then further down to my cabin to catch up on some emails for school. I remind my students and colleagues that tomorrow at 2pm I’ll be chatting to them live from the vessel. I’m looking forward to taking them on a tour of the vessel using the ship’s Wi-Fi and Satellite connectivity. Simone (a fellow educator on board from Adelaide) spoke to her students today. They enjoyed watching her attempting to don her immersion suit in under two minutes!
12:30-5:00pm: I head back to Monkey Island for some more seabird observations and interesting conservations. The conversations we have on the ship are as varied as the people that are working together to make this voyage a success. One minute you’re talking about fractures and faults with a geoscientist and the next you’re discussing how the ship’s waste management system works with the head cook. It’s almost dinner time now. I wonder what we’ll learn about over dinner tonight?