Image

Target Practice

September 9, 2012

At sea, technicians and crew have to be ready for anything—from fixing broken scientific instruments to keeping the science party and other mariners safe under any circumstances. Here, Reggie Proctor and Jerry Beard (left to right), two crewmembers on a recent cruise aboard R/V Knorr sharpen their firefighting skills. For safety reasons, the crew can’t practice with a live hose in confined spaces, so they set up an obstacle course on the fantail. Proctor and Beard have just succeeded in using the hose stream to push a bleach bottle down a line and into the wooden box at left.(Photo by Ellen Roosen, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)