CEPR - Cerberus - Perret Ridge

11:11 PM 9/17/2005
Man, am I bushed. Shortly after my last post, I got called away to help Paskie with a different site: CEPR (Cerberus - Perret Ridge). We (Bill and I) picked him up from the staging area up on the beach.

We set up CEPR while dancing in and out of fog. It was still nice enough that Bill slung our hut up to us. Poor guy was run absolutely ragged today; he slung 3 huts to the three groups of us (Guy & Max, near Cerberus; Ed & Cyrus in the NE corner CEAP - Cerberus-Anvil Peak; and Paski & I). Also crawling about the caldera were the geology crew, each in a different spot. Not only did Bill have to get all of us out there and sling huts, but there were other loads of goods that needed to go out also; batteries & cement & solar panels, for example. Then, to top it off, each of us had forgotten something or other and he had to haul it all back to whomever it was. Paskie & I forgot water; Guy didn't have a drill or a VCO, Ed needed solar panels... )

The site setup went pretty well; the hut is facing mostly south, with the antenna shooting the signal just under the solar panels. I spent all my time digging holes for the hut's j-bolts and for the seismometer. Then I mixed and poured the cement for each of the huts corners.... Getting the right consistency was a challenge.

Another challenge was finding the proper place for the seismometer. The digging was great, but my first hole (3' deep) was about 3 feet too far from the hut: the cable wouldn't reach. The next hole was better. I learned that when you bury a seismometer, leave a coil in the cable, just below the sod level. Don't pack the instrument itself at first, rather pack the soil gently around it. John did the wiring of stuff. We had a small glitch in the water (already mentioned) but also with the nuts for the J-bolts; they were just a tiny bit too small. We used nuts from the eye-bolts instead and siliconed the hole.

Cyrus caught a tiny halibut (don't mention it to him...), and then played me some more backgammon. He finally won one, after a 7-game loosing streak; now I'm up only by 6...
Went out to look at the moon this evening. It is beautiful and bright and full. The sea is looking inky black, yet still reflects the moonlight in a ghostly, yet pretty, manner.

Tomorrow, were going back to finish the site (30 mins tops... I need to finish burying the cable, and John needs to change out the voltage controller. Then, weather permitting, we'll head over to CESW and install a hut there.

The rest of the crew will scatter around the island installing the rest of the sites, while the geologists do a mad scramble for their last bit of information.

Weather looks like it'll be getting worse, so we're planning on pulling up anchor at 7pm tomorrow, and skidattling back to Amchitka. Hopefully we can do it before the seas get too rough. Bill will, meanwhile, fly to Adak and get the replacement pump for the boat. Looks like a long day for all of us. G'night.

Site CESW (Cerberus-Southwest)

Unbelievable. The sunrise this morning was beautiful, and the weather very nice. I went up with Paskie to the CESW site (Cerberus-Southwest) to prep for the hut. Unfortunately, it was too foggy to sling, but at least the site is now set up. Meanwhile, Ed and Cy are setting up a hut in the NW that will need to be repeated before reaching Amchitka.


Prepping the site involves locating the general place for the hut, then determining if you can "see" the place you're transmitting to, and also determining which direction the signal will need to travel. For us, there's a beacon transmitting from the Amchitka site that we use to determine if a site is able to communicate.



First, John pulled out a thing that detected the beacon. It was behaving as though it had a loose wire, but was able to detect the signal fine. Next, he pulled out the GPS and calibrated it... He had Amchitka programmed in, so he knew exactly which direction to point stuff.

Afterwards, there was nothing to do but dig. We removed sod over an area about 6' square, where the hut was to be placed. Next, we dug holes in each of the four corners (for cement) and dug a larger hole for where the wires and stuff will be leaving the hut.

The fog didn't seem to have any intentions of clearing, so we hopped in the chopper and headed back to the boat (after a brief detour to some junk that was in the caldera.)

Transferring ashore in Semisopochnoi

OK, it has finally happened! I was seriously beginning to doubt the possibility .... We're sitting in salt-and-pepper bight, off the east coast of Semisopochnoi. Earlier today (maybe around 5:30pm?) we offloaded six huts, 30 batteries, a crate of solar panels, cement, and other various implements of desctruction.

The day started with a fast and furious 4-wheeler ride up to Amchitka's site, where I was to help Paski and Cyrus bolt down solar panels into the solar panel farm. Almost as soon as we got there, the pilot radioed in that the crossing was calm. At that point, I continued to try to bolt down the crossmembers for the farm, while Paskie and Cy gathered their stuff. The new plan?

All hands down to the boat. We're going to get to Semi, and then offload absolutely everything that's required for the island, while there's good weather. The crossing was unevenful; the sun was shining, and I was even able to hang out on deck behind the wheelhouse and catch some sun. Of course, the wind was very cold, so I did so in my mustang survival suit. Less chance of skin cancer that way, anyway.

The process of offloading went fantastically well. It only took us about an hour and 15 to shuttle off something like 12 loads. The wind in the bay was (is) still whipping through at a respectable speed, but Bill made it look like sling-loading was effortless. Anthony was in charge of hooking up the loads to the helicopter, while chief operated the sling, and the rest of us rigged huts and put batteries/cement into bags.

Tomorrow morning, we'll break into perhaps three groups to set up sites. Guy has already reconnaissanced one site, which John and I will travel to in the morning. He'll be doing more reconnaissance while everyone else digs/pours/wires/drills the other sites. I wonder, if the weather is nice to us, will we be able to do almost all of Semi tomorrow? Dare to dream...

Oh, and today we finally got a little recreation in. Several fishinglines were dropped from the boat, though only Max cought something -- only to loose it. (100 lbs?) Crab pot is still on the boat waiting for launch.

thesis work

Today, I just hung around on the boat trying to get some of my thesis work done. If it weren't for the wind, today would have actually been a fantastic day; I sat on the stern of the boat and read my statistics book. Then, I settled down to do a little computing.

For lunch, I finished up the sushi, and had a keilbasa sandwich. Dinner was a fantastic porkloin with some sort of orange-zest sauce and then wonderful chocolate brownie for dessert. Mmmm...

Most of the day was spent inside the galley on the computer. In the evening, we popped in Groundhog day (how appropriate), and powowed on the future plans. It's likely that tomorrow will be too rough to leave, but the skipper will check at 8am.

Guy beat me at backgammon, but I'm now 10-8 with Cyrus. Oh yeah, the entire crew has come off the island (amchitka) temporarily and is on board for the night. Thought it would be funny if we pulled anchor at 4am and dragged everyone, including John, out for a joy-ride on the swells.

Weather report

Weather promises to be not-so-great again... here's an example of the typical forcast...

AREA 175 ADAK- KISKA
GALE WARNING
TODAY W35 13' (ex. winds out of the west at 35knots, seas 13 feet)
TONITE SW30 down to W20 11'
FRI NW 20 up to W30 12'
FRI NITE W35 13'
SAT W25 11'
SUN+MON SW20 8'

Usually, the last day has a nicer forcast than the previous. However, as the date draws closer, it always evaporates.

Looks like the pump won't be here 'till Monday earliest.

Semi-working

The word for today was wind. We waited for chocolate chip cookies to come out of the oven, and then hopped in the helicopter for a ride up to the earth station work site (Jess, Ed, Myself). Guy was going to fly to semi to scout out the station locations when the copter returned. Well, the fog came down, and we only were flown most of the way there... we landed at the end of the runway, and then hopped in the back of the four-wheeler for the rest of the trip.

We mixed some cement for the bottom portion of the solar panel frame. By the time we were done with that, the weather started to sour. After lunch, a pelting mist had appeared, with winds gusting to probably 65mph. We couldn't accomplish anything, so we took shelter in the storm port and just hung out for hours. eventually, max took us back to the docks, though not before I was able to check e-mail. Mostly junk. blech.

Steaks for dinner along with a conversation about casting this trip. I (fortunately) got Antonio Banderas to play me. Steve Martin was guy, Demi played Jess, Harrison Ford played Bill, and the rest escape me right now.

The night ended with a great scrabble game (played in teams of 2 with me and Jess on the winning team) and Backgammon (I lost to Guy).

Water restrictions

Still full from last night's dinner. Can't do laundry today, and there's no shower... We're under water restrictions because the water pump bit the dust. That is, the ship has the capability of desalinating seawater in order to create fresh water for use; the pump that does so is what crapped out. We're waiting for a replacement to be shipped to Adak. Once there, our helicopter pilot will retrieve it.

Mission accomplished! (not)

Well, today's weather was absolutely beautiful. We sailed out and got three stations in the ground... and then I woke up.

Actually, today, the weather got progressively worse. Rather than sit around and twiddle my thumbs / play computer / beat my head against the wall thanks to my thesis, I went up to the earth station (with Ed) to help with the installation. We arrived at around 11am, and then put jumpers on a great many batteries. This is so that we can connect them up in parallel.
After that task, we put the frames on 20 solar panels. By then, the wind was howling and the rain (and sometimes sleet) was coming down pretty hard at us. Meanwhile, John and Cyrus monkeyed with the base of the solar panel array.

Riding back to the docks in the back of the four-wheeler was a bit wet, though I was wearing my mustang suit, which protected me pretty well. The skiff ride was a bit rough; the skiff was being pounded about by the surf, making it very difficult to board at the docks... There were enough hands at the boat to make departing O.K., though.

Upon arrival at the boat, we were greeted with platters of sushi, rolled up by the captain. MMmmm... I ate about a half a a plate by myself. And the food just kept on coming... Nachos, Salad, Shrimp Alfredo, and -- after several games of backgammon with Guy and a neandratholic scrabble game with Michelle, Jess, and Guy -- Chocolate chip cookies. mmmm...

I also called mom to say I was alive, and called Katie to take care of the Galapagos trip. I ended up giving her my credit card to deal with it, while she wrote a check for her own part.

Oddly enough, I just realized... I'm in the eastern most part of the United states! Weird.

Grog

7:16 AM 9/13/2005
I wanted to write in my log last night,but couldn't bring myself to do it. I'd been lying in bed listening to podcasts (including Mugglenet's podcast) for about an hour and a half... The whole time the boat is violently pitching back and forth in a fairly good imitation of that very first night at sea. Actually, it was miserable. Other than sticking my head up into the wheelhouse earlier, I never even got a look at Semi. At the time, the mountain was pretty socked in, so there wasn't all that much to see.

After that visit, I headed to bed, and rolled around there 'till the motion finally started to get to me. I headed up to the wheelhouse at 19:00 hoping to get my mitts on some chewable (fast acting, hopefully) Dramamine as well as get a good look at the horizonline. Noone on the boat was having much fun... When it was all over, and we were back in harbor, Jessica had this unbelieving look on her face, and could pretty much only bring herself to say one small word repeatedly while slowly moving her head from side to side.

I should make point to explain the effects of rough sea travel. You can't get anything done. You can't read. You can't write. You can't stand. You can't really think. You're afraid to get out of bed, 'cause you're pretty sure you'll be flung into a wall, or pole, or ceiling, or collapse on the floor. The best place to be is somewhere in the center of the boat, but that's on deck, and that's being pounded repeatedly by waves.

Once the abuse is over, you're thouroghly exhausted. You're not really in the mood to talk much and now you're too beat up to read/work/whatever. And if you've drugged yourself up with seasick meds, you're doubly so. I managed to just grab some food (I was starved, we got in to anchorage back at Constantine at 22:00) and come back to collapse in bed. Didn't close the door. Didn't turn off the light. Didn't undress. Somewhere around midnight I awoke to the inevitable flash of a camera and sill, I couldn't do anything. Next, I awoke at 3am, in the same state, but with the door closed.

Strange dreams swam through my brain last night, putting me a bit off this morning. Some involved past relationships, while others involved moving and appraisals, or native locations where I was until recently unwelcome, or movie houses with some sort movie playing... and pretty much any word spoken or story told in the wheelhouse incorporated itself into my dreams last night. Right now, I'm writing this and still trying to shake it all off.

Yestermorn, I came across a book of Robert Service poems. Wow. Despite being a bit long-winded, he's damn good. Some of them felt like they fit a little too well, though in the end, most turned somewhat sour. "The man who didn't fit in" was one that hit pretty close to the mark.

Anyway, back to describing the day... As soon as we set anchor, we sent a skiff out to retrieve Tina and Michelle - both were lucky enough to fly past our boat as it was struggling to return to Amchitka and both were very happy not to be on the boat. As the helicopter passed us, the captain radioed them "Wish you were here". Bill, the pilot, radioed back "I don't".

Guess I'm about ready for breakfast now, though I'm still groggy...

Crossing and retreat

If you put mirrors on the walls, you'd have a pretty good (or violent) funhouse. We're currently retreating from the bight (er, half-formed bay) on the NE side of Semisopochnoi. The crossing wasn't too bad, having taken us something like 3-4 hours. However, as soon as we entered the bight -- our supposed safe-spot--, we got our a** handed to us. We're rolling in ways that I didn't know possible. I can feel my eyeballs pushing in and out of my skull as they try to work free.
A couple minutes ago, I tried to leave the main area of the boat -- I wanted to head aft to sit, have a soda, and watch the sea move about. I didn't make it out the door. Upon opening the hatchway, we rolled one way and another, and the sea reclaimed the deck. No, I didn't get wet, but I took the hint and came back inside. (It was very hard to control the door enough to close it) Upon reentry, the crew (all taking refuge in the galley) just sorta looked at me. Apparently the deck hand had tried to leave earlier with similar success.

Every time I turn around, it seems that I've screwed myself in some other way with my okmok stuff. I was going to look at some days of data, but I'm missing my tremorindex information. Then, I decided to look at other data -- the pseudoplots for each station... but they're in .ps format, which isn't read by anything known to my computer. What's worse, I don't seem to be improving with Spider Solitaire.... (I don't expect anyone to understand the details of the last paragraph, but the general frustration should be easy to grasp)

Anyway, we're looking for refuge on a different part of the Isle. If that doesn't work out, then we'll have to motor on back to Constantine Harbor in Amchitka. That's more than just a little frustrating -- I want to start working!!!

I tried to call (anyone) on the sat-phone, but couldn't get the system up and working just right. I'll try again when we're at anchor.

I also learned that a survival bag was left for me by Ryan (yeay!) as was the orange flightsuit by Ray. So, at least all that stuff is in order!