By Nikki King, Oceanlab, University of Aberdeen
Dry land! Our first view of it since the 1st August and what a nice piece it was. Bantry Bay is a very pretty place off the SW coast of Ireland and gave us the perfect hiding place from the weather outside, and for conducting the EK60 calibration.
Bantry Bay
The foredeck and the view of Bantry Bay.
The poor St Andrews team had to be up at 3:00 am to start the calibration procedure, which basically involves dangling a tungsten ball with some glamorised fishing rods under the ship in the view of the acoustic gear, and then imaging it with sound. The sphere acts as a standard with which you can compare the data collected during the cruise.
The calibration winches.
Whilst we were still in Bantry Bay it was decided that it would be a good opportunity for the cruise photo. This is when Monty, the PI, attempts to get as many people together as possible for a cruise team photo. We had the normal standard cruise image and then went for a few variations! Judge for yourself which one is the better photo!
JC037 scientists and crew
Gavin's idea of a good cruise photo!
Science Ho!
We also had some distinguished guests take part in the team photo, the founding members of the “BEARD” society. Being the primadonnas that they are, they demanded a personal photo shoot with bearded photographer, David Shale, to get the cover image for their new book “Facial Hair: it’s not just for cruises”. The foreword will be written by Peter Bray who is also a fan of facial decoration and sports an impressive beard himself. It’ll be out in paperback (RRP 99p) at your local Nisa Supermarket for Christmas, and in the bargain bin by New Year.
David Shale, the bearded photographer, awaits the arrival of BEARD
"Facial hair: it's not just for cruises"
The calibration went very well, due to the hard work of the St Andrews team and the ship’s crew, and was completed by lunchtime. The team were rewarded with a drill in the lifeboat with Matt, Vanessa and Steve. Once this was complete it allowed us to leave Bantry Bay and set sail for Falmouth early.
Dr Cox, the sweaty fox, on board the lifeboat with Vanessa, Matt, Steve and John.
This will be my last cruise as the ECOMAR post-doc, as I am leaving for pastures new after this cruise. I’d just like to say that I’ve had a really enjoyable 3 years working on this project, and an excellent series of cruises. Out of them all though, and I’m not just saying this for effect, this one has been the most fun! So, I wish everyone from the RRS James Cook JC037 cruise all the best for their respective futures, as I say “adieu”…
TTFN
