And We Are Off

as of 1800, July 29th.  The bow thruster is 'fixed' but nobody can say for sure quite how.  Boards were switched around and around and around and around and voila!  QED.  Cannot be too smug about this situation, however, as the gremlin is still onboard and sure to jump out if given the chance.

The new science plan is to do virtually everything we had scheduled EXCEPT the La Push line.  The time lost resolving the bow thruster problem ate up all the time we had for that transit.  If all goes well from here, we are on the road to a successful cruise.

With fingers crossed, we steam into the night to the first station - SH70.  Once there, we will do our shakedown CTD cast and water sampling drill.  Stay tuned for more on this saga!

Fred Prahl, Chief Scientist