7 February, 2001

-66.53 Latitude

145.10 Longitude

The Watch

The Watch is a gathering place of sorts. It is where people check in at the beginning of the shift. We work in two-hour blocks and record information in a logbook every 5 to 15 minutes, depending on what we are looking at on the bottom of the ocean. The log includes things like the ship position (latitude and longitude) the time, the depth of the water, the direction the boat is facing, and the speed. The log is also the place to record anything out of the ordinary. During the watch you are constantly looking at the monitors to see if everything is working. If anything appears out of the ordinary the watch person immediately informs the watch captain, who takes the information and contacts the people that can fix the problem. Every time we make an entry in the log book we also go to the map and plot the position, so at any given time anyone can know where we are.