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Gerty Ward is a teacher with the PolarTREC program. Click here to read her PolarTREC Journal.

Cruise - 2008 Dispatches
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Dispatch 25, August 10, 2008
By Gerty Ward

Hands on Deck

By reading these journals, I hope that you have developed an appreciation for how science is done out here. The sense of scale is hard to imagine--everything is so BIG. The dip nets are Bongos, water sampling is by Rosette, mooring buoys weigh 2500 pounds, holes are made with 10" augers, our arms are replaced with cranes and winches and engines. And all of this is done outside in the Arctic, where both air and water temperatures hover around 0°C (and that is before the wind is taken into account). Decks are slippery, ice is moving, polar bears may be interested and all the while big heavy things, from helicopters to strings of glass balls, are moving around overhead.

Who runs all this equipment? The LSSL Deck Crew. The term Boatswain (abbreviated "Bosun") is an old mariner term used to describe the person in charge of the deck crew. Rico Amamio is the LSSL Boatswain. His crew helps us each and every day.

They run the cranes and winches that bring in the moorings, Rosette, and Bongo nets. They get us into the helicopter to get out onto the ice, and help us out on the ice. They drive the ship, and they make us smile!

Bosun Rico and the Trap Dan on the winch Danny on Deck

Rico Amamio is the Boatswain in charge of the deck crew.

Bosun Rico and Will Ostrom guide a sediment trap on a mooring aboard.

Dan Staples runs the winch for the bongo nets on the fore deck.

Quartermaster Danny Dunlap at the Rosette winch.

Winchman Crane operator Heli deck ops

Derrick Stone runs the Rosette winch while Will Burt waits for it to surface.

John Bray operates the crane on the fore deck. The crane is used to put a variety of large instruments, such as Bongo nets and mooring parts, in the water.

John Snow, Chief Officer Stan Nunn and Terry Rhyno help Waldeck Walczowski put on his life jacket prior to boarding the helicopter.

Assembling the ITP Polar bear guard Ice guard

Gary Morgan and Rick Krishfield connect the wire to the buoy in the final stages of ITP deployment. Gary's experienced hands are a huge help out on the ice.

Dave McGrath watches out for polar bears at Ice Camp Moonscape.

John Snow was our gun man at Ice Camp Louis.

Driving the ship Drummer Sampling

Quartermaster Barry Hill drives the ship, under the command of the Captain.

Quartermaster Steve Archibald practices in a storeroom so as to not bother any sleepers. He is bringing the set up this weekend for a jam session with the Captain and Chief Engineer.

Mike Worth and Eli.

Thank you LSSL Deck Crew!