INSIDE THE R / V SALLY RIDE
MADE IN THE USA
ROBOT ARMS AND HEAVELESS WINCHES
Deploying and recovering oceanographic instruments and sampling systems is the lifeblood of a research vessel . Sally Ride carries specialized heavy cranes , articulating booms and motion-compensated winches that enable our marine technicians to get instruments into and out of the water safely and carefully .
CTD LAUNCH & RECOVERY SYSTEM
STERN MAST
MAIN CRANE
WORKING ON DECK : WHERE SCIENCE MEETS THE SEA
Scientists get down to business on R / V Sally Ride ’ s fantail and work deck — where instruments are launched and recovered , temporary science systems are installed and portable seagoing laboratory vans can be secured . Heavy lifting devices ( like the stern A-frame ) handle the ship ’ s special scientific cables , which are used to lower equipment to the deepest points in the ocean — as deep as
10,000 meters ( more than six miles ) below .
STARBOARD SIDE LOAD HANDLING SYSTEM
CRANE CONTROL STATION
AFT CONTROL STATION
PRECISE MANEUVERABILITY
Dual controllable-pitch propellers , assisted by an azimuthing bow thruster and a stern tunnel thruster , afford remarkable control . Sally Ride can do an in-place 360 , which is important when the ship has a $ 500,000 instrument hanging at the end of 6,000 meters of wire over the starboard side — and the seas change . Turning the vessel in place may be the difference between a successful mission and the catastrophic loss of an instrument .
R / V Sally Ride came together in six years , painstakingly assembled piece by piece from a skeletal frame to sturdy seafarer . What once was a patchwork of mottled steel plates now boasts a gleaming coat of red , white and blue paint . And if that doesn ’ t inspire national pride on behalf of American scientific exploration , the ship ’ s commitment to the most cutting-edge equipment and lab spaces should .
No one knows more about that equipment than Paul Bueren , the Sally Ride ’ s senior chief engineer , who has been with Scripps for 35 years . Though Bueren spends more than half his year at sea , he was stationed dockside in Anacortes throughout construction of the Sally Ride . “ It was my first time being part of a new ship being built from scratch ,” says Bueren . Working closely with representatives from the Navy and other government entities , Bueren was tasked with overseeing the ship ’ s construction , offering his expertise at every stage .
Bueren is intimately familiar with every last nut and bolt on the Sally Ride , which is especially evident when it comes to the ship ’ s scientific equipment . “ Watch your step ,” he warned as we descended a narrow ladder from a computer room humming with servers to the bowels of the ship . A narrow bridge with railings floats above the floor , where various pieces of sensitive equipment below are hidden beneath protective metal sheaths . Here below the waterline , an array of advanced sonar and other sensor systems will enable scientists to do everything from mapping the seafloor to measuring colossal underwater waves .
The efficiency-minded ship is designed for oceanographic research of every variety , including biological , physical , chemical and geological . The Sally Ride features 25 berths for scientists , along with 2,000 square feet of configurable lab space and 3,000 square feet of deck space . The support equipment is especially eye-catching .
32 TRITON | FALL 2016