Approaching the JR yesterday morning....pilot boat alongside for scale...
Four of us successfully board up rope ladder from heaving boat....felt very "survivorish". Here's my bag getting hauled aboard. I think we all looked awkward enough that they later lowered the gangway with the ship's crane to accommodate the departing scientific crew.
They all seemed pretty happy to be leaving after six weeks at sea.
A few hours later a fuel barge showed up and began the fueling process which continued throughout the night. Mid-morning today a second fuel barge tied up and also began refueling us. Apparently the weight of fuel, combined with this evening's low tide will give us the necessary clearance to pass under the Bridge of the Americas at the entrance to the canal. From wikipedia, the clearance under bridge is 201 feet at high tide. According to the IODP website the "air draught" of the JR's derrick, the height above the waterline, is 205 feet!!! This is gonna be close!
Posts
