RV Celtic Explorer Newfoundland & Labrador Fishery Survey: DAY 26

Date 24/02/2011 Time: 21:30 hrs (UTC)

Position:    51 35.98 N   51 57.29  W

Wind  18  Knots

After a long sleepless night of high winds that gusted over 50 knots NE (the worst) and another bout of raging stormy seas over Belle Isle Bank everyone on board was feeling a little worn out and broken today. It was decided that any ventures further North were futile with another storm, this time SW with winds up to 60 knots, forecast in about 48 h time. So we turned south, and with the wind and swells on our stern after lunch it became much calmer. We caught a rare glimpse of sky and then even the sun came out to play, moods lifted, the sampling continued and now we have a pleasant evening ahead of us in much calmer seas.

Looking out over the stern of the Celtic Explorer as the sun sets…

PhD student Craig Knickle, deep in thought?  Or possibly sleepy… !

We managed to carry on with the acoustic surveying and with the accompanying sampling in the wet lab. Shrimp was the order of the day, as we crossed Belle Isle Bank towards the Notre Dame Channel.

Our Chief Scientist Dr George Rose keeping a close watch on the echosounder screens.

We have had an amazing sunset today, hence the photos, however I have been told in no uncertain terms to  point out that this was a rare calm between the crazy and turbulent seas that have accompanied most of this trip. Although these photos could pass for a romantic night at sea in the Caribbean, we are still in the Western North Atlantic, in February…!

Watercolour painted sky…

So to end today, here is a picture of seas more typical of what we have experienced during the past few days!

Angry seas off the beam of the Celtic Explorer.

Many waves broke over her bow last night, sending shudders through the vessel, typically followed by steep rolls that made sleep difficult for everyone!

We will have a respite for maybe 24 h before the next bout of 60 knot winds.

Until tomorrow …

Blog and pictures by Kate Barley.

 

RV Celtic Explorer Newfoundland & Labrador Fishery Survey: DAY 25

Date 23/02/2011 Time: 21:30 hrs (UTC)

Position:  51 53.80 N 51 03.07 W

Wind 30 Knots

The weather has turned on us once again, with 4-6 metre waves.  We managed to get some survey work in this morning before the wave height began to rise, however this evening will certainly be a sleepless one for many of us as we try to stay in our bunks!

Room with a view:  Looking through the porthole (photo: Kate Barley)

There were some great sights to be had from various lookouts along the Celtic Explorer, watching the seabirds playing amongst the sea spray. 

A picture painting from the cabin (photo: Kate Barley)

Looking through the porthole can give a unique perspective at times! (photo: Kate Barley)

Down below the cabins became reminiscent of being inside a washing machine at times throughout the day.

The rolling waves (photo: Kate Barley)

The seabirds seemed to be really enjoying it and it was a really nice sight

A gull eyes us up as it goes by (photo: Kate Barley)

Onwards we go and hope the night will become a little calmer, who knows, out here on the seas anything can happen!

Until next time….

Kate Barley

RV Celtic Explorer Newfoundland & Labrador Fishery Survey: DAY 24

Date 22/02/2011 Time: 2230 hrs (UTC)

Position:  51 02.25 N 50 32.44 W

Wind 15 Knots

Sampling continued in the wet lab throughout the day, and the seas are calming to a nice gentle swell – the first such conditions we have enjoyed on the entire trip. We did some sampling at 500+ m and found very few commercial fishes but an interesting array of invertebrates.  Some soft corals were found; deep sea corals in the Newfoundland and Labrador region are only beginning to be studied.  Deep sea corals can be found all over the world and are long lived and slow growing. 

                       

Deep Sea Soft Coral – Duva Florida

Deep Sea Star Fish

This will be a short blog today as we have been very busy …

More tomorrow …

Blog by Kate Barley

RV Celtic Explorer Newfoundland & Labrador Fishery Survey: DAY 23

Date 21/02/2011 Time: 2230 hrs (UTC)

Position: 50 deg 32.1 N 50 deg 58.1 W, Speed 8.7 Knots

Wind 12 Knots NE

With the winds down today, even though the residual swell from the NE winds was still with us, conditions were much better both for echosounding and for the research fishing used to support the acoustic data interpretations. Several of these sets were done today.

Campelen 1800 Trawl (Photo: Kate Barley)

I got out my ‘spy lens’ for those close up but no one knows shots! 

Fishing ‘sets’ are done with great precision over short periods of time. The object is to catch a small sample of what is there – but not too much. The net is designed to do this but the main ingredient is the skill of the fishing crew.

Bosun Davy Murphy and Deckhand Paddy Kenny work on the net
(Photo: Kate Barley)

Deckhand Alec Carty signalling to the crane (Photo: Kate Barley)

    

Deckhand Paddy Kenny Lantry (Photo: Kate Barley)

            

The survey continues …

Kate Barley

RV Celtic Explorer Newfoundland & Labrador Fishery Survey: DAY 22

Date 20/02/2011 Time: 22:00 hrs (UTC)

Position: 49 41.97 N; 50 11.43 W

Back on the survey at last! With an air temperature of 1.5 degrees and a wind speed of 5 Knots, we are having some ‘warm, calm weather’ compared to the ice filled north!  There are still some big swells as the sea recovers from the storm but on the whole, the weather is behaving a little more than it was. 

Cook Pat Codd and Assistant Cook Michael Doogan cooking up the Sunday steaks in the galley
(photo: Ed Stern)

A key part of a long sea voyage is the galley. The focus of the blog today is food!... the galley and mess, some of the favourite places onboard, with a fun and exciting menu, and a great pair of cooks who seem to be able to fix great meals in any kind of weather. They offer up a healthy and varied menu which is much appreciated by both crew and scientists.

The menu of dreams on the Celtic Explorer, what more could one want for a Sunday dinner!  This is also the only way many of us keep track of what day of the week it is! (Photo: Kate Barley)

Assistant Cook Michael Doogan slices up some Gateau, mmmm! (Photo: Kate Barley)

Deckhand Paddy Kenny happy with his steak!  (Photo: Kate Barley)

Time for dinner in the mess! (Photo: Kate Barley)

Officer of Watch Richard O’Regan and Deckhand Paddy Kenny in the mess

Until next time….

Blog by Kate Barley

RV Celtic Explorer Newfoundland & Labrador Fishery Survey: DAY 21

Date 19/02/2011 Time: 20:00 hrs (UTC)

Position:  50 35.03 N; 054 01.59 W, on our way again!

The Celtic Explorer made a safe and swift exit from St Anthony and is now on way again in our continuing quest for knowledge of the seas. 

The weather has calmed to a nicer 15 knots and the swell seems like nothing compared to our previous adventures.  We are now moving south, away from all the ice and towards the Bonavista Corridor, where our survey will focus next. 

Chief Engineer Damien McCallig and 2^nd Engineer Robert Kirby at the control panel of the Engine Control Room (photo: Kate Barley)

Today is a feature blog day, I made an exciting visit to the heart of the ship, the place where it all happens!... The Engine Control Room.  For a traditionally ‘man’ centred area I was happy to note it was very clean and tidy and perhaps one of the nicest Engine Control Rooms I have seen!

The Celtic Explorer has a diesel electric power system, which has been designed to be super quiet for use in fisheries surveys – and it is. Acoustic survey thresholds can easily be lowered to -85 decibels which is 10 times lower than typical for fisheries research survey vessels!

The main engine screen indicating pressures and temperatures (photo: Kate Barley)

2^nd Engineer Robert Kirby maintaining one of the engine’s (photo: Kate Barley)

I even went for a visit to see the Celtic Explorer’s three shiny, clean engines, all 5700 Horsepower.  Ear defenders on and down we went into the engine room, pretty exciting stuff!

Centre main engine, 6-cyclinder, and a photo worthy of any engineer’s wall (photo: Kate Barley). 

Chief Engineer Damien McCallig keeping everything in order in the engine room (photo: Kate Barley)

ETO Dave Stewart looking for spares in the workshop (photo: Kate Barley)

Until next time…

Blog by Kate Barley

RV Celtic Explorer Newfoundland & Labrador Fishery Survey: DAY 20

Date 18/02/2011 Time: 23:30 hrs (UTC)

Position: 51 21.76 N; 055 34.42 W; St. Anthony, northern Newfoundland, docked

Day 20 was spent enjoying St. Anthony and getting ready for the main push of survey which will begin tomorrow. Graduate students Livia Goodbrand and Laura Wheeland went for a hike in the nearby hills, and seem to have conquered at least one.

Graduate Students Livia Goodbrand and Laura Wheeland conquering a hill near St. Anthony (photo by Laura Wheeland – how did she take it she is in the picture?)

Back inside the Celtic Explorer, quite refreshed, Laura decided to show everyone what she had learned at McMaster University during her BSc degree.

Graduate Student Laura Wheeland showing what she learned at McMaster,
and amazing dexterity in a moving boat (photo by Kate Barley)

Down in the bowels of the ship, the day shift went to work cleaning up the wet lab in preparation for the major push on the cod survey.

Graduate students Craig Knickle (foreground) and Kyle Krumsick (in background)
and sea tech Ed Stern scrubbing … (photo by Kate Barley)

Surveys take a lot of planning. We took advantage of the down time to rethink how best to use the final 10 days of the survey to maximize coverage.

Graduate student Riley Pollom, sea tech Gordon Adams, Chief Scientist Dr. George Rose
and Fisheries Biologist Wade Hiscock discuss the coming survey (photo by Kate Barley)

For dinner tonight, we had a fine meal of Irish haddock – almost as good as ‘northern cod’ and cooked to perfection. More about the hard working kitchen staff in a later blog – how important they are to life on the Celtic Explorer.

Outside the Bight, the winds are dropping quickly. By tomorrow they are expected to be down to reasonable levels (less than 30 knots) and the forecast is for fine weather (‘large days’ in the Newfoundland jargon) for the next week. The high seas, however, will be slower to come down, as the built up momentum in the ocean swells will not give way so easily. Our strategy will be to go with the southward swells initially, then turn north as they subside. We leave at daybreak…

Blog by Kate Barley and Dr. George Rose.

RV Celtic Explorer Newfoundland & Labrador Fishery Survey: DAY 19

Date 17/02/2011 Time: 22:00 hrs (UTC)

Position: 51 21.76 N; 055 34.42 W; St. Anthony, northern Newfoundland, docked

Day 19 began with the Celtic Explorer holding station in St. Anthony Bight, just outside the main harbour which was ice laden the previous evening. By mid-day the ice has blown out of the harbour and the vessel was docked at the shrimp plant wharf, where we were warmly greeted with typical rural Newfoundland hospitality by Jim Gibbons, the manager of St. Anthony Cold Storage and former Marine Institute student.

Coming into a now ice-free St. Anthony harbour, Newfoundland and Labrador, on a clear but windy day
(photo by Kate Barley)

Outside, however, the gale raged on, with a deep low off the Labrador Sea that just doesn’t want to push off. We have been instructing it to ‘push off’ in many colourful ways, but to no avail. Mother Nature is in charge here. Winds up to 70 knots are spinning counter-clockwise around this deep low and hammering Labrador and NE Newfoundland. Seas have risen to over 12 m. Some serious damage has been done to breakwaters and some communities under major tidal and storm surges. We can only stay put and watch the forecasts, relying on our experience in this region as to the best time and way to re-engage the survey. It will be at least another day…

Satellite image of the weather patterns in eastern North America today. Notice the swirl in the top right corner, which is the big low that is driving the winds and heavy seas off Labrador and NE Newfoundland
(courtesy of Environment Canada)

The NE and N winds have broken up much of the first year ice and compacted the rest near the coast and into the Strait of Belle Isle. Of note, there is very little ice this year, much less than normal. Harp seals, which pup on the ice at two locations, one in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, as they follow the ice through the Strait of Belle Isle, and the main ground at ‘the front’, normally off NE Newfoundland, will have a difficult time this year, as will our sealers. As the harp seal herd is now over 7 million animals, it is not likely that one poor pupping year will affect the population greatly, but if such conditions persist with a warming climate, there will almost certainly be an impact on distribution and abundance. As pupping time approaches (early April), what will happen will no doubt be interesting.

Current ice conditions in the Newfoundland-Labrador region, with full ice cover shown in red and partial in orange and yellow. Blue and white indicates almost no ice. (courtesy of Environment Canada)

Back in St. Anthony, we wait. Some crew and scientific staff have gone out for walks, others have worked out in the ship gym, still others have read or worked on their projects. Some brave souls have gone to the local Bingo game – the crew will certainly get a warm welcome from the local women what with their sporty Celtic Explorer clothes and charming accents. No Guiness though, it hasn’t made it this far.

Graduate student Genevieve D’Avignon and some crew members happy to touch dry land after the Celtic Explorer docked in St. Anthony (photo Kate Barley)

And so we wait with the patience of Job. The forecast is much better for next week, and we are preparing to pull out all the stops to get the main survey completed.

The Celtic Explorer has now seen its first ice, as loose as it was, and its first taste of the Labrador Sea. I can’t help but think of the Newfoundland song about Lukey’s Boat, changing the words and the tense somewhat ….

‘Aodhan’s boat was painted green, aha me boys,

Aodhan’s boat was painted green,

The prettiest boat we’ve ever seen,

Aha, me boys, a diddle a-day’

There are other verses which we will save for a more appropriate moment.

Until tomorrow say a prayer for better weather.

Blog by Kate Barley with local colour by Dr. George Rose.

RV Celtic Explorer Newfoundland & Labrador Fishery Survey: DAY 18

Blog Day 18: Celtic Explorer Newfoundland & Labrador Fishery Survey

Date 16/02/2011 Time: 22:00 hrs (UTC)

Position: 51 deg 22.9 N 55 deg 33.7 W, Speed 0 Knots, tucked away, safe from the storm.

The Northern Newfoundland town of St. Anthony (photo by Antony Hobin)

After a rough night of attempting to stay ahead of the hurricane force winds and seas during the crossing from the Hawke Channel off Labrador, by first light the Celtic Explorer entered the calmer sheltered waters of St. Anthony Bight and the town of St. Anthony.  The people of this region lived by fishing and hunting seals, and by and large they still do. Until the 1960s there were few or no roads to many Newfoundland outports (remote coastal settlements). Transportation was by boat in summer and fall and dog team in winter. Dr. Wilfred Grenfell established a ‘Mission’ in St. Anthony in the 1800s to serve the medical needs of many of these isolated communities. Before that there were no doctors and little medical care. Grenfell wrote several books about his experiences ‘on the Labrador’ and became a legend in this region. Many of his nurses and medical people are revered to this day along this rugged and isolated coast, with many people owing their lives to their dedication and humanity.

On entering St. Anthony harbour, the initial plan was to dock alongside the shrimp plant until the storm passes. But this plan was quickly put aside as sudden incursions of sea ice made such a plan risky – as more ice crammed into the harbour an easy escape might become impossible, and would require either an icebreaker or waiting until spring! On the wise advice of Newfoundland fishing master Captain Cecil Bannister and concurrence from our English-Irish crew who wanted to see the old country before spring, we left the harbour without touching shore – preferring to wait out the storm by holding position further out the Bight, away from the encroaching ice. 

The Celtic Explorer approaching the dock in St. Anthony (Photo: Jim Parsons, St. Anthony)

The down time has at least one silver lining, that is to organize the many biological samples collected prior to the storm with the specially built Campelen research trawl (designed to catch small but representative samples of most demersal - near bottom living – species).

The hardy Irish deck crew and the hauling in of the research net from waters with temperatures of -2 C the day prior to hurricane force winds. Such waters will freeze the hands in seconds (photo: Antony Hobin)

Fishery biologist Wade Hiscock and Technician Gordon Adams, both well seasoned Newfoundlanders, doing some final work on fish samples in the wet lab (photo: Antony Hobin)

Despite the storm, the day ended with some beautifully clear skies and a wonderful sunset.  It feels strange, but is a great relief to both scientists and crew, to be on the Celtic Explorer in calm waters after many stormy days. We wait in patience, the greatest virtue of all, for peaceful seas.

The rugged shores of northern Newfoundland as photographed from the bridge of the Celtic Explorer, as we hold position in St. Anthony Bight. Eric the Red and his band of Vikings landed near here about 1000 years ago – their longhouses uncovered by archaeologists some decades ago and now a Canadian National Monument. Several battles were fought with the Inuit people and Eric abandoned his settlement. His women, in true Viking style, fought right along with the men, and from the Sagas perhaps were fiercer (Photo: Kate Barley)

Until tomorrow ….

Blog by Kate Barley and Dr. George Rose

RV Celtic Explorer Newfoundland & Labrador Fishery Survey: DAY 17

Date 15/02/2011 Time: 20:00 hrs (UTC)

Position: 52 deg 29.4 N 54 deg 09.0 W, Speed 12 Knots, heading for St. Anthony and cover

Wind increasing to 45 Knots, with overnight expected to 65 knots NE and 10-12 m seas

Today was a decent survey day and much work was done by both shifts through day and night - with the echosounders backed up by several fishing sets. Much was learned about the distribution of juvenile Atlantic cod and pandalid shrimp.

Graduate student Livia Goodbrand monitors the acoustic data (or did she just swallow the canary?)
(photo by Ricoh)

Surface water temperatures in the study region reached -2.1 C – the infamous southward flowing Labrador Current. Some cold! CTDs (conductivity, temperature and depth) recorded from the Celtic Explorer show that this cold water does not extend below 200m, with a warm lens of Atlantic Ocean water with temperatures above 4 C occupying the bottom hundreds of metres in this region. Most of the fish in this region prefer the warmer waters and in winter are found there.

 

CTD profile of temperature and salinity off Labrador.

Meanwhile, the sampling must continue …..

The night shift sampling – graduate students Livia Goodbrand, Laura Wheeland, Craig Knickle and Kate Barley (doing double time from the day shift) at work (photo by Ricoh).

Back in the dry lab, the steadily growing database is monitored and quality checked ….

 

Fishery biologist Wade Hiscock wades through the data (photo by Ricoh)

STORM WARNING!!!

Unfortunately, the respite from harsh weather lasted only about 12 hours, and tonight the expectation is hurricane force NE winds – the worst kind in these waters – with seas expected to rise above 10 m!! Based on expert advice from our Newfoundland fishing master, Captain Cecil Bannister, we are heading for cover, discretion by far the better part of valour. The nearest ice free port is the northern Newfoundland town of St. Anthony (near the green blob on the map), the home of the famous Grenfell Mission, which served the coast of Labrador and northern Newfoundland for many years. Close by is the ancient Viking settlement at L’Anse aux Meadows, where Eric the Red visited some 1000 years ago from Iceland and Greenland and perhaps established the famous Vinland (it was warmer then). These are also the waters first fished for whales and cod by adventurous Basques in the late 1400s, and then by French and English adventurers and fishermen thereafter and by Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to the present day.

 

The most easterly region and Province of Canada - Newfoundland and Labrador. The Celtic Explorer is now heading from the Labrador Sea to the safe haven of St. Anthony, near the tip of the Great Northern Peninsula. The Labrador coast is closer, but wind driven ice blocks the way.

Dr. Rose has been interested in the history of this region of northern Newfoundland and southern Labrador, and their fisheries, for many years. He did his doctoral thesis on the cod and capelin fisheries of the Labrador Straits region, and witnessed the early archaeological explorations of the 15^th Century Basque whaling station at Red Bay in Labrador.

Chief Scientist Dr. George Rose studying a 17^th Century map of this region on his Mac (photo by Ricoh)

We will likely be harbour bound for the next two days until this fierce winter storm subsides.

Time to organize the collected data, read, and perhaps finish outstanding papers and project proposals. The important thing is that we will be safe in a snug and historic harbour in northern Newfoundland.

Until next time…

Blog by Dr. George Rose (a second string blogger for sure – but all other hands were working in the lab tonight)