Visit a FIO Research Ship

Usually, Mondays are shopping days but I had seen in the Sunday paper that the Florida Institute of Technology (FIT) was hosting an open tour of the newest research vessel from the Florida Institute of Oceanography (FIO). The R/V W.T. Hogarth, FIO’s newest state-of-the-art Research Vessel completed construction in May 2017 and will be ready for work in January 2018, following sea trials and the R/V W.T. Hogarth Florida 2017-2018 Ports Tour (PDF). I decided to go after mowing the yard. It was 76 degrees and sunny.

I have a connection to FIT, I graduated with an MS in Applied Mathematics back in 1989. Plus, it was a beautiful day and I wanted to take some pictures.

The tour started at 2PM and they were taking 15 people at a time. The line was not too long so I estimated, using applied Math, that I would be in the fourth group. I took some photos from the pier while waiting.
This piece of equipment does something underwater.

The boat will be based at USF in St Petersburg. There are 21 Florida colleges that are part of the FIO. They have a really nice link here: FIO Home Page

From the web page:

The recently launched R/V W.T. Hogarth is a 78-foot coastal class vessel built from the ground up in Tarpon Springs Florida to be a state-of-the-art research vessel. Costing over $6 million dollars, this vessel will serve as a floating laboratory for decades to come advancing oceanography and training the next several generations of marine scientists across the State. The Hogarth will be on display and open to the public at major ports around the state of Florida for a limited period this spring. 

There was a schedule for the 2018 tour:

• 1/19 Fort Pierce– Hosted by Florida Atlantic University, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute
• 1/22 Cape Canaveral– Hosted by Florida Institute of Technology
• 1/25 Jacksonville– Hosted by University of North Florida
• 1/29 Fort Lauderdale– Hosted by Nova Southeastern University
• 1/31 Miami– Hosted by Florida International University
• 2/2 Key West– Location to be announced
• TBD Fort Myers– Hosted by Florida Gulf Coast University
• 3/17 Pensacola– Hosted by University of West Florida
• 3/27 Carrabelle– Hosted by Florida State and Florida A&M
• 3/30 Cedar Key– Hosted by University of Florida 

Of course, there were graphics involved, they said the ship is rented out to the different universities at a cost of $5500/day. It is $7500/day for a private company wishing to do research.

Here is the tour map:

Finally, our group was next. Here is the previous group getting a briefing on the back of the ship:

My tour guide was Dr. Philip Kramer. He joined the Florida Institute of Oceanography as the Director in August 2016. Previously, Phil spent 13 years with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) as a senior scientist initiating and advancing marine conservation efforts in Florida and internationally in more than a dozen countries around the world.

 We started our tour on the back of the ship, top deck. This deck is loaded with winches and other equipment. They have a crane, several winches, and J-hooks. This is the winch control center:

You can see the line of people still waiting for the tour on the pier.

Although this cable looks just like steel cable, there is actually communication and computer lines running in the middle. This allows for communication and control of whatever is being lowered into the water. I think he said 1500 feet of cable.

This is one of the complicated devices that take samples. I am not sure if this one takes water or ground samples. You can see there are lots of weights to help it drop down:

I did get a photo of Dr. Kramer as he talked. Trained as a tropical marine geologist with a Ph.D. from the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science.

 There were two little men tied to the top of the weights. I did not ask why and I regret it...

Another fancy piece of equipment...

Inside they have a dry side and a wet side. The dry side is where the scientists will have their computers set up and places to take notes. the wet side is where the equipment comes in. They have large sinks for rinsing things. This is a small remote camera and sensor. He said it had an acoustic panel too.

This is the total device with computers and controls. He said this one cost about $150,000.

We did get to go up and meet the Captain, David Coy. He was actually plotted their next leg of the tour to Jacksonville. He asked if we had any questions. This ship is equipped with a system that will keep the ship within a meter of a spot even if the seas are rough. He said the thrusters are controlled by the computer which is hooked to a GPS system. As a Captain, he said it would be impossible for a human to perform the same task. I guess when they are using those winches, they want to keep the ship steady at the surface.

The captain has a First Mate (Asst Captain), an engineer, and a full-time chef.; crew of four. Although the ship is 78 feet long, the top speed is only about 10 knots.

I took the next few pictures from the bridge. Ocean Club Marina:

Calendar for January 2018:

Current weather:

View of the bow:

Next stop was the galley. I am sure it is an important part of the ship. Two large tables and plenty of room. Not sure why so red...

Dr. Kramer said that the ship can hold 65,000 gallons of fuel. Their problem for long trips is not enough freezer and refrigeration to keep the crew fed. Up to 10 scientists can be on the ship, plus the crew of four.
I did catch this photo of the stove and freezer. he said they have plans to add more.

Down another deck and we saw where the crew sleeps and poops and even does laundry. Two rooms hold four scientists and there is one room for two senior scientists. Looks comfy:

Overall, I was very glad I spent the time for this tour of an ocean research ship. My only experience was in the Galapagos, but that ship had a crew of over 30 and could accommodate a 100 people. But conceptually, it was the same. I took this last photo as I was leaving...

Does anyone want to be an oceanographer?