Sperm Whale Seismic Study (SWSS)

Summer Breeze Daily Reports - July 22, 2005

Having suffered a comprehensive failure in the electrical system, the Summer Breeze was forced to make a port call in Galveston.

During the past week the damaged wiring harness, which runs throughout the boat, has been removed and completely replaced. In addition to the damaged and melted wiring, the starter motor and alternator were also affected. The starter has been replaced with a new unit, and the alternator has been completely re-built.

In order to make the necessary repairs, areas of the boat have needed to be dismantled to gain access to the engine. This has lead to considerable disruption on board. We are now in the process of making the boat ready for sea. The repair schedule happened to coincide with a planned crew change, and Jonathan Gordon is due to re-join the boat this evening.

Our current plan is to make a short sea trial this afternoon. The trial will allow us to run the engine up to speed in order to test the repaired systems. We will also use the sea trial as an opportunity to refill the diesel tanks. If all the tests go as planned, we will re-stock the boat with fresh provisions and hope to be ready for sea by late this evening once Jonathan is back on board.

The Summer Breeze has one final cruise planned for this season. This will take us from Galveston towards deep water where we will resume our sperm whale photo ID and acoustic monitoring, and will end with the boat being returned to her base in Tampa, Florida.

During our stay in Galveston we have received tremendous help, support and kindness from Stacie Arms. Stacie has opened her house to the crew providing food, beds, showers, washing machines, TV, good company and a home away from home. We offer her our thanks and owe her a huge amount. Thank you, Stacie.