Dave and Brian's Excellent Adventures

Sunday June 4, 2006

So many people have asked about the Donkey ride, and since I've been so busy I haven't had a chance to update the blog I can answer it now. The ride took 17 minutes (opposed to the 4 minute tram ride). They tied the three donkeys together and one gentleman led all three of us down. It seems the reason they use donkeys instead of horses, is because (And this is from a local) donkeys are more sure-footed. I don't know if I believe that considering Mary Nichols' donkey kept slipping it's hind hooves. Next answer to a question: donkeys smell. Let's end the conversation with that.

Now, as you'll notice the picture above this text shows the fan tail of the Endeavor. You can clearly see Hercules, and in the background you can make out the shape of Argus. If you look at the picture to the left of the text, you'll notice Hercules but no Argus. While out on the Endeavor we've run into a snag. It has a lot of politics envolved around it, so I'm not going to get into the rumors, but the facts are: We've lost the use of the bow thruster. And it doesn't seem that there will be a chance to get it fixed, before the end of the expedition.

As you may remember the bow thruster is used to help control the movement of the ship. More specifically it allows the crew of the Endeavor to keep the ship almost standing still, in one spot, no matter what the wind or current is doing. This poses a big problem. If the ship isn't able to keep position there are certain things we can do: More importantly if Hercules is in a spot next to a cliff, and the ship starts heading towards the cliff (by wind or current), without the bow thruster the ship may not be able to make a quick enough reaction to clear Hercules of the danger. So, we've been running with Argus in the water. Which means we can't get close to features (like vents or smokers) to get pretty pictures, and we can't take samples. That's not a great thing for the scientists. Yes, they are getting visual confirmations of places they'd like to go next time they can, with Hercules. The scientists are getting a better idea of the layout of the sea floor around Santorini, but there hands are tied, because of the limitation.

Now, this poses another problem. Right now, Argus is floating down about 500 meters. Argus isn't completely out of the ship's control. But, if Argus goes deep enough, it takes a long time for the ship's movement to affect where Argus ends up. Dr. Ballard's example was this: Think of Argus as a penny, hanging from a string, off the Empire State's Building. Now, try and land that penny down a grate on the street level. Difficult, but it can be done with the right tools. Our next stop after Santorini is the Sea of Crete. That part of the expedition takes us to an area that is 1500 meters deep. Oh, boy.