I had skipped a day, because I had to get my sea legs. What does that require? Holding
down my lunch while finding my way around Sea Dragon and working the lines and
winches. I thought I could handle it after my time on the tall ship, the
Corwith Cramer, through the SEA program. I was wrong. I guess once a puker,
always a puker. After taking 3 “crazy dream” pills and many dry heavings, I am
much better. Now I can actually enjoy my time here.
But before that on Sunday (3/8/15), we got our initial training
on how to sail.
Shanley, the skipper, taught us the
logic behind sailing knots,
what they are, what they are used for, and how to tie them.
- Figure 8
- Clove
Hitch/ Cleat Hitch
- Sheet
Bend
- Admiralty = stopper knot
- Square
knot
- Bowline
Then Meg, the deckhand, taught the points of sail.
Once we got these basics out of the way,
we got ready to set sail from Boca Chica to La Caleta after lunch. But not
before Capt. Eric gave us a quick
primer on sailing:
-
Bow, stern, port,
starboard
-
Main halyard,
main sheet and other types of lines
-
Main sail,
staysail, jib sheet (or the yankee)
That night, we listened to Eric talk
about VHF basics:
-
Know the exact
Rule#
-
“Very High
Frequency” = VHF
o
Lower freq. = lower range
o
Antennae and
powerlines control…
-
H/L button
o
L = 1 watts
o
H = 5 watts
o
25 watts = max
(what you are legally allowed to talk)
-
Listen first
before talking on a channel
-
Ch. 16 = “hailing/distress”
channel
o
Only one line of
conversation can happen at once
-
Call up
o
Say name 3x
o
This is “Sea
Dragon” 3 x
- Why 3x? Resolution may not be clear
-
Almost all the
time, everyone is on ch.16
o
Then ask the
receiver to switch
-
Radio etiquette
o
Repeat 3x if can’t
reach person
-
Phonetic alphabet
o
How to spell on
radio
Alfa
|
Hotel
|
Oscar
|
Victor
|
Bravo
|
India
|
Papa
|
Whiskey
|
Charlie
|
Juliet
|
Quebec
|
X-ray
|
Delta
|
Kilo
|
Romeo
|
Yankee
|
Echo
|
Lima
|
Sierra
|
Zulu
|
Foxtrot
|
Mike
|
Tango
|
|
Gulf
|
November
|
Uniform
|
|
-
Radio commands
o
“Over” = conversation is ongoing
o
“Out” = conversation is done
-
3 call types
o
Distress = “Mayday”, “Pan pan” “Pan medico”
o
Urgency
o
Safe Call = “Securite”
o
** all of these
stay on ch. 16
o
** always log “mayday”
calls
-
P.g. 56 = review International Distress Signal
-
Which flare to
use
o
Large smoke = daytime
o
Narrow = nighttime
-
P.g. 45 = “EPIRB”
o
Emergency radio
o
Sends out your
GPS signal/coordinates
Keene talked about:
- GPS
- Our track so far
on Google Earth (from Boca Chica to La Caleta)
We started anchor watch tonight.
- Sea waves were 2 m
high.
On Monday 3/9/15:
- We met up with Ruben
and the group at a beach in La Caleta. I was surprised to hear Ruben's professional opinion on coral nurseries, which was that they are not a solution to bring back corals. Afterwards we helped moved the cement blocks and other construction materials alongside some of the local fishermen who volunteered. Next, we snorkeled around the area where Ruben and his team were setting up the coral nurseries
-
At lunch time, we tried to set up the ROV, but couldn't do it in time because of the tangled cord. Before we set sail again, Eric taught us how to log our sea travels on nautical charts.
And then we were off. That’s when I got
seasick…5 minutes into sailing. Along with Dante and Thalles. After trying to
hold my puke in, I decided to let it all out over the platform at the stern of
the boat.
Three
pills later I got back to normal. Things looked up when we boarded the dinghy
to get to shore. My body was once again re-charged. At shore in La Caleta, we
met Dr. Ruben Torres and his interns: Kristine, Marina and Becca. Ruben along with
the 3 interns gave us a quick introduction on their background and their coral
reef nursery project. The also recruited a bunch of the local volunteers,
mostly coastal fishermen, to carry wire meshes and cement blocks to motor
boats. We helped as well. Afterwards, we got back to Sea Dragon to get our
snorkel gear.
We
could not see much of the bottom while snorkeling at the surface. There was a
lot of sediment in the water column. But from what I could see, Ruben and the
interns were laying the foundation for new coral nurseries in this area.
Later in the day, we all had lunch with
our guests on board Sea Dragon. Then we finally had our interview with Ruben
while Keene was recording the whole thing with his GoPro and attached
microphone. The thing that stuck out in my mind during the interview was that
Ruben made a point to tell us that he doesn’t believe these coral nurseries
will amount to much. They are not the
solution that will help to bring back coral reefs. This project, in his view,
is only a vehicle to get the average non-scientific public involved in habitat
restoration and marine protected area conservation. Writing this, I wished I
had asked Ruben this question: “Knowing all the obstacles and the “empty” goal
of restoring coral reefs, what drives you to do what you do?”
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