Sand Point, Alaska

NOAA Teacher at Sea: Tammy Orilio

NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson

Mission: Pollock Survey
Geographical Area of Cruise: Gulf of Alaska

Date: 27 June 2011

Weather Data from the Bridge:

Latitude: 55.33 N

Longitude:  -160.52 W

Wind Speed:  18.24 knots

Surface Water Temp:  7.3 degrees C

Water Depth:  28.43 m

Air Temp:  8.2 degrees C

Relative Humidity:  91%

Personal Log:

I woke up yesterday to the sound of the anchor being dropped (it's a really loud noise that goes on for a few minutes).  We weren't scheduled to stop anywhere, so I figured something out of the ordinary had to be happening in order for us to be dropping anchor, and I soon found out what happened.  Turns out a crew member had an accident onboard,  so we headed to the nearest community to get to a medical facility, which is Sand Point- a small little fishing village.   

So we ended up spending the day anchored in Sand Point yesterday.  It was foggy & rainy yet again, so a few of the scientists purchased fishing licenses online and they fished off the back deck.  They ended up catching some cod, halibut, and sculpins (Irish lords to be exact).  They also ended up dragging some kelp up to the surface, and of course I was excited about that because I love seaweeds :)  And I've never seen live kelp in person before- I've only seen the dried stuff we ate in Marine 1!

Some buildings and a couple of windmills in Sand Point.

A barge anchored in the bay.

Morning on 26 June 2011.  

A helicopter leaves the airport on 27 June. That spit of land is the runway. 

Docks. 

We think this is Laminaria, but not positive. 

Some kind of kelp.  Salty.  

We are still anchored here, because one of our science team members is going to fly out of here this afternoon to get to a meeting in Juneau.  Sadly, our trip is essentially over- we are not going to do any more fishing :(  I'm disappointed that the trip was cut a few days short, but the situation was out of everyone's control, so there's nothing I can do about it.  I am thankful that I did get to go on this trip even if it was short- it was a great experience!
We're supposed to be leaving Sand Point at some point this evening, and the weather forecast doesn't look so good.  High winds- up to 35 knots (that's about 40 mph) and 18 ft seas are forecast for tonight, with only a little decrease for tomorrow.  Going to be a great time!! I will definitely have to take my seasick medication before we leave here.

Question of the Day:

• What kingdom & phylum are brown algae (such as kelp) in?