Going South from Ascension Island
We left remote Ascension Island yesterday evening on a SSE course toward the Island of Saint Helena. It was a day for lectures, for basking in the tropical sun, reading and dozing. A morning lecture by Jim Kelley emphasized that the open oceans are low in nutrients and consequently in biological productivity compared with coastal zones and areas of upwelling – a fact known to oceanographers, commercial fishers, and, apparently, marine birds and mammals as well. Endeavour sailed through beautiful deep blue, but biologically very quiet seas.
With no birds, whales, dolphins, or volcanic islands illustrating today’s report, we turn, instead, to some of the people who make Endeavour run so smoothly. The ship’s officers, looking smart in their tropical whites, are always on hand to guide the ship and patiently answer our questions regarding navigation. We thank the galley staff three times daily (four, counting tea-time.) But it takes many more to make the ship run smoothly. Here, a gathering of deck hands on the aft deck. They keep the Zodiacs inflated, the engines fueled and operational. They raise and lower the boats before and after each excursion. They help us safely on and off at the platform and sometimes ashore as well. They check the lifeboats and safety equipment ceaselessly, so that it will be in perfect operating condition if ever called upon. They clean, they paint and they polish, and the next day they do it all over again. Thanks, guys.
We left remote Ascension Island yesterday evening on a SSE course toward the Island of Saint Helena. It was a day for lectures, for basking in the tropical sun, reading and dozing. A morning lecture by Jim Kelley emphasized that the open oceans are low in nutrients and consequently in biological productivity compared with coastal zones and areas of upwelling – a fact known to oceanographers, commercial fishers, and, apparently, marine birds and mammals as well. Endeavour sailed through beautiful deep blue, but biologically very quiet seas.
With no birds, whales, dolphins, or volcanic islands illustrating today’s report, we turn, instead, to some of the people who make Endeavour run so smoothly. The ship’s officers, looking smart in their tropical whites, are always on hand to guide the ship and patiently answer our questions regarding navigation. We thank the galley staff three times daily (four, counting tea-time.) But it takes many more to make the ship run smoothly. Here, a gathering of deck hands on the aft deck. They keep the Zodiacs inflated, the engines fueled and operational. They raise and lower the boats before and after each excursion. They help us safely on and off at the platform and sometimes ashore as well. They check the lifeboats and safety equipment ceaselessly, so that it will be in perfect operating condition if ever called upon. They clean, they paint and they polish, and the next day they do it all over again. Thanks, guys.
