It’s late Monday evening. The phone rings. It’s Dave Alberg, Superintendent of the监视器National Marine Sanctuary. “We need some additional crew to take our research vessel, theSRVx, down to Beaufort, NC. Want to join us?”
我甚至没有时间思考。“当然，戴夫。我们什么时候离开？“
“0-Dark-30。船在诺福克的小溪码头停靠。“
5:30am, 5:30pm, it didn’t matter what time he said. This was an amazing opportunity to learn about the capabilities of NOAA’s 85-foot vesselSRVx(Small Research Vessel), to visit the监视器国家海上庇护所脱离哈特拉斯海岸，并帮助将船只降到博览会上进行维护工作。
蒂娜和我遇到了Pasquale Draos，这次旅行的队长，John Wagner和Noaa的Joe Hoyt。我们装载了供应，越过浮动计划和一些安全程序，很快就会进行。我们离开了小溪和前往弗吉尼亚海滩的海角亨利南部。水光滑扁平。不太喜欢浴缸，但漂亮的近距离。
Didn’t take long before we saw the first amazing sight of the day…a humpback whale swimming slowly on the surface about 3 miles off the beach. It surfaced a few times, flipped its powerful fluke, and even saluted theSRVxa few times with one of its massive white and black pectoral fins. Tina snapped away with her camera and captured the moment.
DeRosa kept a steady eye at the helm despite the calm conditions on the water. The guy was dialed in; checking the navigation system and sonar, monitoring speed to keep fuel consumption down. He said the vessel could push 35 or 36 knots, but he kept it a sane 12 knots. We traded stories. He told tall tales of trips on ships up and down the Atlantic and Pacific. We spun yarns about conserving and exhibiting precious artifacts from the监视器at The Mariners’ Museum.
As we crossed into North Carolina and out toward the Gulf Stream, we started seeing more signs of life on the water. Large seat turtles swam into view from time to time, but dipped deeper when they detected the boat. We saw baitfish formed into tight groups, known as bait balls, likely being pursued by larger fish. Periodically flying fish popped from the wake cutting off the bow of theSRVx, skimming and gliding above the water of the Gulf Stream. Unfortunately no pictures of those guys. They are too quick!
Every few hours a few yellowfin tuna would bust the surface of the water. Their hydrodynamic torpedo shaped bodies launched through the air then back down into the nearly purple water with just a small splash. I think we also spotted some skipjacks or bonita.
Eventually we made it all the way out past the Diamond Shoals light, an old abandoned offshore lighthouse, and into the监视器National Marine Sanctuary, a 1-mile diameter column of water that surrounds the ironclad. As we drifted 240 feet above the corroded, decaying remains of the USS监视器, Tina and I tossed sprigs of rosemary overboard from theSRVx在1862年12月31日，船员16岁的牺牲纪念纪念。
We then continued on a southwest heading as the sun slowly dipped beneath the waters to our west. Although we were watching very closely, we never saw the famed green flash. But it provided a beautiful, colorful show.
我们在大约10:30下午10:30加入Beaufort，并停靠了SRVx。在镇上快速吃晚餐后，我们睡在船前部的令人惊讶的舒适的船员泊位。我们在几个小时后搬走了，然后通过雾在射频岛和阿伦德尔街桥下面的雾巡航。然后，我们通过核心小溪推动，慢慢地向Jarrett Bay Boatwork慢慢地工作，在未来几周内，SRVX将经历一些常规维护。
NOAA之间的伙伴关系监视器国家海洋保护区和水手博物馆很强劲。虽然这次旅行没有利用潜水者或恢复文物，但它允许两个群体讨论将我们的优势和资产结合起来的额外方法来实现共同的目标。SRVX是一个坚实的，能力的船只，应该为NOAA提供必要的CapabiLites访问和研究Monitor国家海洋保护区和其他重要的马rine sites on the east and west coast. Staff from The Mariners’ Museum also hope to use the vessel in support of delivering live educational programs from the sea.
真棒，有什么机会和冒险。哇。