NOAA Teacher at Sea
Steven Frantz
Onboard NOAA Ship Oregon II
July 27 – August 8, 2012
Mission: Longline Shark Tagging Survey
Geographic area of cruise: Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic off the coast of Florida
Date: August 1, 2012
Weather Data From the Bridge:
Air Temperature (degrees C): 28.9
Wind Speed (knots): 13.94
Wind Direction (degree): 224º
Relative Humidity (percent): 082
Barometric Pressure (millibars): 1012.18
Water Depth (meters): 67.08
Water Temperature (degrees C): 28.5
Salinity (PSU): 35.649
Location:
Latitude: 3135.76N
Longitude: 07931.19W
Language at Sea
The language while at sea is English, however, there are many nautical terms you may not be familiar with. In today’s blog I will look into just some of the language typically used exclusively while on board not only the Oregon II, but also all ships in general. Along with the lesson on vocabulary, I will also be taking you on a visual tour of the Oregon II.
First let’s start with a little quiz. You’re on your own. This is NOT for a grade!!
- Bridge _____Right
- Port _____Restroom
- Starboard _____Stairs
- Bow _____Front of Ship
- Stern _____Floor
- Head _____Left
- Deck _____Bedroom
- Berthing _____Mop
- Rain Closet _____Rear of Ship
- Mess _____Control Room
- Ladder _____Shower
- 1829 _____Hallway
- Passageway _____Restaurant
- Swab _____Time
How do you think you did? Follow along on a guided tour of the Oregon II to find out!
Here I am steering the Oregon II preparing to deploy the high-flier for another longline survey. The Bridge is where the captain conrols the ship. And yes, today is Luau Day!
View from the Bridge overlooking the bow.
As you can see, Port is left (red light), Starboard is right (green light), Bow is the front of the ship, and Stern is the rear of the ship. Image courtesy of Google Images.
The Head is the Bathroom!
The Deck refers to each Floor of the ship.
Your Berthing is where you sleep. Bunk beds, three drawers, cabinet, one personal grooming shelf, shared sink and desk. On the Oregon II this is called your Stateroom.
Rain Closet is where we shower.
Mess Deck=Food Eating Area! Walter and Paul are the best. Furthermore, “Steward” is the term for chef.
The Ladder is the Stairs that take you from deck to deck.
The current time is 1829 (6:29 p.m.). We use a 24-hour clock. One p.m. is 1300, two p.m. is 1400, etc.
Passageways are the Hallways.
Maybe you’ve heard the expression, “Swab the Deck?” It just means “Mop the Floor.”
How did you do on the quiz? I thought I would share a few more interesting aspects about life on a ship.
All doors and drawers are latched. You just can’t have door and drawers swing back and forth as the ship rocks on the waves.
We must do our own laundry. There are four types of water on a ship. Of course fresh water and salt water you’ve heard of before. On the ship we also have brown water, which is water from laundry and sinks. We also have black water, which is the water from the head. You do remember what the head is don’t you?
People are trained to be on the ship’s Fire Response Team. We have fire drills on the Oregon II.
There is a gym for working out.
The Wet Lab isn’t used much (mainly for staging equipment) for the Longline Shark Survey.
The bulk of recording our research was done in the Dry Lab.
There you have it. A vocabulary tour of the Oregon II. Rest assured, we have been catching sharks. Stay tuned. There WILL BE sharks in my next blog!
Wow! Very interesting. So jealous you got to eat groupers.