ALTEX Arctic Cruise
October 7 - November 7, 2001
Tromso, Norway to the Arctic Circle
Logbook
November 6, 2001: Day #31
Docked - Tromso Naval Facility
Mike Pinto writes: We traveled through the fjords in the morning and arrived at the dock just after 12:00 pm. The Tromso area was beautiful with the surrounding hills covered in white. After burning data CD's, cleaning our rooms, turning in pagers and paying off coffee accounts, we off-loaded equipment being shipped back to Moss Landing. Prior to departing, we had a chance to meet with the entire crew during general quarters. Jim Bellingham expressed his thanks for all the assistance the Coast Guard crew had given the team and commented on the unique capabilities of the USCGC Healy and their commitment to science.
Thanks to long work days, dedication and teamwork, the cruise was an overwhelming success. There is still much work to be done before the ALTEX mission in 2003, but much has been learned to ensure a successful outcome. While everyone was disappointed of the failure of the ice buoys, much has been learned and the team is confident, with more testing, that the system will be successful.
The next step will be to go back to the lab and review and correlate the AUV and science data gathered and begin to make plans for improvements.
As we all head back to home or well deserved vacations, I'd like to end these cruise updates by taking the opportunity to thank the AUV team for putting up with me and my unending questions. I also would like to thank the Accounting staff back at MBARI who "held down the fort" while I was gone. Finally, I'd like to thank Dr. Marcia McNutt and Dr. Jim Bellingham for allowing me to be part of this unique experience.