After yet another good night of sleep, I got up and ready in time to make lunch. Today, lunch options were quite a mix of dishes having origins in India, China, Italy, and Poland. Respectively, they included vegetable lentil soup, Szechuan chicken and rice, vegetable pizza, and kielbasa. Plus, there was the usual salad bar and leftover chocolate chip bars from the cookout.

Post-lunch, I finished writing up the results of the first Extreme Experiment for posting. I also began preparations for tomorrow’s Phone Call to the Deep, which will be the third of four. Before long, it was time to attend the science seminar for the day, which was scheduled to begin at 1:45 p.m. (1345). Due to some technical difficulties, we had our daily science meeting first to discuss the outcome of yesterday’s dive, get a report on the progress of today’s dive, and address any other concerns. Eventually, the technical problems were corrected, with collaboration between Alison, Joe, and Chrissy, and the third seminar of the series began. Dr. Alison Murray presented the seminar regarding the techniques used in her research to study the genes of the microorganisms associated with the Pompeii worm. (See Neat Stuff to learn about some of the equipment she’s using in her lab).

Once the meeting was over, I was looking forward to going outside because I had yet to do so. I sat out in the sun for a little while, chatting with some of the crew and anticipating Alvin’s return to the surface. Today’s recovery seemed especially efficient, with everything going smoothly and quickly. Even the scientists seemed to sort through and retrieve their various samples from the basket in record time. So I took my pictures of all the action and still had plenty of time to spare before dinner.

On my way back inside, I ran into Jim McGill, one of three Able Bodied Seamen (AB) aboard. He is also my opponent for the ping-pong tournament. Since we both had a little free time, we decided to play our round of games as not to hold up the rest of the players. The first round is best of three (21-point game). Unfortunately, he beat me the first two games. I was making the same mistake over and over again, but I couldn’t seem to correct it. I had no problem returning the ball, but I was often too forceful and would hit the ball off the table. The second game I did a better job, and even held the lead for a while, but he eventually came back to win. I had fun regardless. Now I’m in the losers (“second chance”) bracket, and am set to play Anthony (Alvin pilot) next. He’s already trying to intimidate me!

Jim and I headed off to dinner to find a pasta feast. There were two types of lasagna (cheese and eggplant), spaghetti with sauce, salad, broccoli, and garlic bread. Dessert was chocolate almond cake. Everything was delicious, of course. Before we finished our dinner, Jim agreed to help me practice my ping-pong to help me beat Anthony. He also has to practice a bit for his match-up with George Silva (1st Mate) in the winners' bracket.

As usual, my “crunch time” to get all the Web site postings ready really starts after dinner. So I sat down to edit the pictures, videos, and write all the captions and this journal entry. Before doing all of that, though, I walked around the ship to make sure I wasn’t missing any good footage. Now, I’m all done, and I’m really going to watch a movie this time. It will be only the second time so far, with the first being “Weird Science” — a hilarious classic — last night.

Until tomorrow…

The engine room aboard the Atlantis is "un-manned" during the evenings. That means that at the end of the day, the "duty" engineer makes a thorough round of the engine room before going off to bed. If there is a condition that requires the attention of an engineer, an alarm buzzer and flashing light inside the cabin will alert the engineer. I had the duty last night and did not have any alarms. However, the sound of my alarm clock did wake me from my very sound sleep. It was 0530, an hour before I would have to be in the engine room to prepare for the morning’s Alvin launch. But first I would take my shower, get dressed, and most importantly of all, grab a cup of coffee from the galley before going down into "the pit," which is what we call the engine room.

It is now 0615 and I have another sip of my coffee — still waking up. I check the monitoring system in the control room — all is normal. There is one 16-cylinder and one 8-cylinder Caterpillar Diesel engine running. The large engine provides power to the two propulsion motors and bow thruster. The smaller engine provides power to the ship’s other systems, including lighting, air conditioning, refrigeration, and navigation equipment. All together, there are three large engines and three small engines. When launching the Alvin, as a safety precaution, two large engines and two small engines are "on-line." In case there is a problem with one of the engines and it has to be shut down, there will be sufficient power remaining to safely continue the launch.

I make my way down to the lower engine room — I am sure to have my hearing protection on, as the engines are very loud. I check the engines to be sure that there is a good oil level and cooling water is lined up and flowing. The engine starts by flipping a switch and an electrical circuit opens an air valve to turn a motor and start the diesel. I flip the switch and after a minute the engine roars to life. I do the same for another engine and it too roars to life — it is a good morning! I walk around the engines to be sure that everything is as it should be. I make my way back to the control room and wait for the engines to warm up. While I wait, I finish my now rather cool cup of coffee and schedule the repairs that will be done for that day. Paul, the third engineer, appears from aft of the control room. He has been warming up and checking over the A-Frame — a type of crane used to launch Alvin from the stern of the Atlantis. Soon, Alvin will begin its journey from its hangar, lifted by the A-frame and lowered into the Pacific Ocean and onward below. An engineer will stand by in the control room until the daily procedure is completed. The whole evolution is completed, engines are secured and the engine gang starts on the day-to-day tasks in "the pit." I will work on no. 4 diesel engine today, performing some scheduled and not-so-scheduled repairs.

At around 1500 (3 p.m.) a call goes out that Alvin has left the bottom and should be up on the surface in about an hour. The procedure for retrieving Alvin, from an engineer’s perspective, is very similar to the launch sequence of events. Diesel engines and hydraulic pumps for the A-frame are started, allowed to warm up, and put on line. Once Alvin is safely in its hangar, the diesels and pumps are secured. Today was an uneventful day as far as the launch, recovery, and support of Alvin dive operations are concerned from my perspective — it was a good day!