I know it has been a long time since I have posted anything to this blog. After my sojourn in Bettles in December, Fairbanks had an extremely cold winter. In January we had 19 days of temperatures 40 below (F) or colder. I sent some of you a photo of the thermometer on my porch bottomed out at minus 60. It was too cold to cross-country ski, too cold to go on long walks in the woods, it was often too cold to drive the car as the power steering doesn't function at 100% at those temperatures. It was even too cold for the dog to be out long -- she prefers temperatures around minus 20.
So ... basically I drank wine, ate pasta, and watched DVDs. Not much to blog about there... But in June everything changed.
In the summer of 2010 I trained to be a Marine Mammal Observer (MMO). Due to the disastrous oil spill in the Gulf, oil exploration in the Arctic was put on hold. Now, in 2012, it was going to happen -- like it or not. I can recommend an excellent book for any of you interested in the history of oil exploration and development offshore in Alaska: The Eskimo and the Oilman: The Battle at the Top of the World for America's Future, by Bob Reiss. It presents the point of view of native residents of the North Slope, of Royal Dutch Shell, and highlights the incredible inefficiency of the bureaucracies responsible for issuing permits. The author is a journalist and the arguments are presented, for the most part, without bias. It is easy reading.
It started for me in late May with Helicopter Underwater Egress Training (HUET) in Kenai, AK.
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| Helicopter simulator |
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| Underwater upside down |
This exercise was daunting, even given scuba diving experience and having been a synchronized swimmer in high school. Being strapped into this contraption in a buoyant flight suit -- and having to knock out a door or window and release the seat and shoulder harness underwater was challenging. I had to repeat several of the "dunks" before I was able to pass. There are several u-tube videos of this training if you want to scare yourselves.
I flew out to Dutch Harbor in late July after a number of delays mainly resulting from the late disappearance of ice in the Arctic this summer. We were further delayed once we were on the ships. I was briefly on the Harvey Spirit waiting for the Sisuaq, the ship on which I was assigned, to arrive from Bellingham, WA.
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| Dutch Harbor is a beautiful place to be stranded for a month. |
Dutch Harbor is thought by many to be one of the most beautiful harbors in the world. The weather changes every 5 minutes so everything looks different each time you look out.
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| The Sisuaq arriving. |
The Sisuaq, a Harvey Gulf International supply vessel was great -- the ship, the crew, the experience. We made lots of trips from Captain's Bay to Broad Bay for crew changes and grocery deliveries to other vessels also waiting to get out of Dutch.
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| Makushin Volcano seen from Broad Bay |
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Yours truly in full PPE
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| Which one is the "real" me |
Above I am standing on the deck of the Sisuaq with the Noble Discoverer (the "Disco") behind me. The photo on the right, as most of you know, is from when I was at USF.
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| The Kulluk on the way to the Beaufort Sea. |
The Kulluk is the second of Shell's drill rigs. Here the tugs have just hooked up to tow it to the prospect site in the Beaufort Sea. All vessel movements in the Beaufort were on hold until the Inuit whale hunt was finished.
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| Gateway to the Bering Sea. |
My next ship was the Aiviq, an icebreaker/anchor handler. Our job was to tow the drill rig, Kulluk, to the site in the Beaufort Sea after the Inuit whale hunt was over.
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| The Aiviq |
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| My least favorite aspect of this job |
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| This is what we trained for |
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| Bridge of the Aiviq |
The bridge on the Aiviq was amazing. Imagine 360 degrees view. Our work station was where you see the laptop. This was an interesting deployment -- quite different in tone from the Sisuaq. The Oil Spill Response Team was fantastic.
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| The Kulluk in the fog |
We were tied to the Kulluk, towing it around for nearly two weeks. Finally they were able to set the 12 anchors and we could leave it at the drill site.
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| The Kulluk at sunset |
The colors in the arctic are really extraordinary -- not easily captured in photos. The Kulluk was the only thing we had to look at that far out in the Beaufort. I kind of got attached to it.
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| The Brooks Range as seen from the Beaufort |
We could occasionally see the Brooks Range off in the distance. Just being out on the Arctic Ocean was so special. One of the guys from the Oil Spill Response Team put it well asking "Can you believe we are really out here?" Not to mention getting paid for it.
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| Jackie's cake |
As most of you know, I celebrated my birthday out there. One of the Oil Spill Response Team made this wonderful cake. In case you find it hard to interpret, there is a whale (probably a bowhead), a seal (species unknown) and an observer (me). My colleagues gave me the DVD On the Ice, a film produced and directed in Barrow. We watched it in the lounge with most of the Inupiaq crew who knew everyone in the film. It is a powerful work and has won a number of prizes -- including at Sundance. The director is Andrew Okpeaha MacLean. Needless to say this was a VERY memorable birthday.
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| Sunset on the Beaufort Sea |
As you can imagine, the blog doesn't begin to capture the magnitude of this experience. I'm scheduled to go out on the Tor Viking later this month so I will also get to work in the Chuckchi -- and maybe be able to continue on back through the Bering Straight to Dutch as the season finishes up. Sometimes I can't believe how lucky I have been. I wish everyone the opportunity to do what they have always dreamed of.
