Dispatch 1: It's the Ship!

Luc Rainville

July 26, 2007


	View from the plane, approaching Kugluktuk. Note the nice halo around the shadow of the plane on the low cloud.

	Here she is! The CCGS Louis S. St. Laurent, waiting for us in the bay.

	Getting ready to leave land...

	Jim (left) and the helicopter pilot Chris Swanell on our way to the icebreaker.

	We all enjoyed the great weather at dinner time!
	All photos by Luc Rainville, WHOI

This morning Rick Krishfield, Kris Newhall, Jim Dunn, Steve Manganini and I all met in Edmonton, Alberta, after flying from different parts of the country. The five of us from WHOI are only a small portion of the international science team onboard the Canadian Coast Guard Ice Breaker Louis S. St. Laurent.

As in the previous years, we will be conducting oceanographic studies in the Beaufort Gyre, in the Arctic Ocean. There will be plankton net tows, CTD casts, mooring recoveries and deployments, buoy deployments, ice observations, and more. You will read more about the science projects during the next month.

This morning we flew from Edmonton to Kugluktuk via Yellowknife. All the flights were on time and well-coordinated, so we didn't have time to explore any of the cities. The Louis was already waiting when we arrived in Kugluktuk, so we went directly to the ship.

The ship itself is as welcoming as ever (from what I hear, I wasn't on the previous cruises). The atmosphere on the Louis is great. There are 27 scientists on board (including a team of journalists from Japan), and 51 crew members.

In the afternoon we had a little time to learn our way around the ship (although I still get lost on my way to dinner), and we all enjoyed the nice weather at dinner time with a wonderful bbq on the heli deck.

I am starting to learn names, and by the time I lowered the shades in my room (the sun never sets in summer here), it was clear that the crew and the science party will make this expedition a fantastic experience.

Last updated: October 7, 2019