Morgan: Side scanning- Take 1

Today  was our first day with Dr. Jeff Royal aboard since we left Sicily. Derek and some others have fleeted back to the US and Albania. Jeff instructed us that we would be sector scanning three sites today, but initially turned into 6 sites. :) We rapidly were able to drop the sector scanner down and figure out which direction we wanted to move, covering everything appropriately. After lunch and after what we thought was our last site, we started to head home and Jeff thought maybe we should try side sonar with our sector scan head. And to our dismay, it worked! Here are some photos of the process.

Shot 1:(from left to right) Emily, Loren, Jerry, Jeff, and Cameron, improvising on how to attach the sonar head to the pole.

Shot 2: Loren, Jerry and Jeff start the attachment process.

Shot 3: "Everybody say cheese!"

Shot 4: The group slowly slides the pole with the sonar head over the side, carefully placing it in the water and securing to the ship.

Shot 5: This was quite heavy so we needed all hands on deck!

Shot 6: Don't squish Emily!

Shot 7:  The captain peeks out of his forward window to make sure everything is going well.

Shot 8: The sonar has touched the water!

Shot 9: Richard and Jerry secure the clamp to keep the sonar stable.

Shot 10: A look ito the lab, this is what we see.

Shot 11: A closer look at side scan sonar imagery.

Stay tuned for more cool sonar stuff!!

xoxox

Emily: Anchors, Fortresses, and Nothing at All

Dubrovnik Harbor.  Emily Kovacs

Welcome to Dubrovnik!

Sorry it has been a few days again, we have been quite busy!

We arrived into Dubrovnik's main port late Friday evening.  Once we settled in, Saturday was spent picking up local groceries at the supermarket, getting the latest country's Dongle for Internet, and being able to explore the city.

I picked up one of the local buses to take me into "old town" which is about 2 km away from where we are docked.  You enter through the city gates that then take you to the main street.  The whole town is just foot traffic, and like Butrint, it is a UNESCO World Heritage site.  I was amazed that the town still uses public fountains that you can drink from.

Main square when you enter Old Town, with a big public fountain.  Emily Kovacs

The main avenue.  Emily Kovacs

Another public fountain.  Emily Kovacs

I loved exploring all the nooks and crannies throughout the town.  There was so much to take in and see.  I did venture out the southern gate to get a better view of the harbor.  I was not disappointed

Dubrovnik Harbor.  Emily Kovacs

Harbor.  Emily Kovacs

Dubrovnik.  Emily Kovacs

During my meandering, I was able to come across a gallery that caught my eye with its vibrant, fish paintings.  The artist who owns the gallery is Capt. Stjepko Mamic.  He is a fantastic artist who mainly uses pallet knives.  He was kind enough to invite me to have a cup of coffee and we ended up chatting for a few hours.  I could not have spent my evening in better company!  

Here is one of his websites if you want to check out his artwork:

http://rogallery.com/Mamic_Stjepko/mamic-gallery.html

View over Dubrovnik.  Emily Kovacs

But enough with fun adventures! Onto sector scanning!

The past two days have been prime examples of when scanning works out perfectly, and when it does not as much.

On Sunday we scanned two sites called Molunak 1 and 2 which were in 93 and 80 meters of water.  These two sites are estimated to be from the medieval time period.  Molunak 2 was the big surprise of the day.  We ended up scanning three separate anchors!  One of which had a skank (main body) that looked over three meters long.  The team even saw what looked like a cannon perhaps.  Its amazing to see what can turn up at the bottom of the sea!

Today was a example of the opposite.  We did one site which had a known wreck on it.  Following this site, we decided to scope out two other possible wreck locations.  We dropped the scanner onto the first spot hoping to find something around the size or 2 x 3 meters.  To our dismay, nothing showed up on the sonar screen.  We lifted up the scanner and moved to the next location near by.  We ended up doing two drops on this new site.  There was something down there, but whether it was a wreck, rocks, garbage or what, we couldn't tell.

Working on the coast south of Dubrovnik.  Emily Kovacs

We called it any early day because Derrick had to catch a plane out of town.  this gave us a free afternoon which I spent at one of the local beaches. It amazes me how clear the water is here.  Even though the beach was made up of rocks I enjoyed myself. While I went to the beach, Morgan and Kelci went into town to check out the local stores and dive shops.

Rocky beach.  Emily Kovacs

Well that's a quick bit of info about Dubrovnik and some of the ventures that have been going on.  Can't believe this is our last week with RPM already!  It's gone by too quickly!

Until next post!

Laku noć!

Emily: A Couple Days Break

Ciao everyone!

With all of our sector scanning we have been a busy crew!  But due to weather on the seas and the awesome work ethic we all have, we got a well deserved break for the past two days.

Yesterday, Morgan, myself and a few of our fellow crew members rented a car and went to Budva, Montenegro.  Budva is about an hours drive north of Bar.  The road ran along the coastline, zigzagging the mountainous region.

Map of our route. Google Maps

Upon arriving, the five us began to explore the "old town" area which is essentially enclosed within old fortress walls.  The inner area is made up of narrow, winding streets.  There are tons of little shops, bars, cafes, restaurants and nooks and crannies.  I fell in love immediately.  We ate lunch at a nice outdoor restaurant before heading to the beach.

Outside Old Town. Emily Kovacs

Exploring Old Town.  Emily Kovacs

The beach was fantastic!  Getting to the beach was half the fun.  There is a stone walkway following the base of a cliff side and just above the water's line that leads to a inlet.  Here you find hundreds of lounge chairs, umbrellas, concession stands and sunbathers.  For a relatively small area it is packed.  We picked a spot with some sand and a couple open lounge chairs and began a care free day at the beach!

Statue along the walk to the beach.  Budva in the background.  Emily Kovacs

Cliff side view.  Emily Kovacs

Our view from the beach.  Emily Kovacs

After the beach we headed back into town.  Our group meandered a bit before heading back to Bar.

Today I headed up to Stari Bar with our fellow interns, Will and Loren.  Stari Bar literally means "old town of Bar."  Here there is a small town that runs along the base of castle ruins.  Some of the ruins date back to 2,500 years ago.  But most of the ruins date from early 1000's. 

Mountains, Castle Ruins, and Town.  Emily Kovacs

The castle ruins cost 2 euros  to get in, but were well worth it.  Visitors are free to roam around the ruins with little limitations.  We were able to climb up castle walls that overlooked the mountains and Bar below.  There was even an old semi-subterranean church.  It had a defiant cave feel to it!  

Will going into the subterranean church.  Emily Kovacs

Inside the church.  Emily Kovacs

Ruins, with the port in the far background.  Emily Kovacs

Castle ruins.  Emily Kovacs

Pano of the mountains.  Emily Kovacs

After thoroughly exploring the ruins we headed into the town.  It was very quaint with old world charm.  Loren and I shopped around for a bit picking up some local products.  Will even found a little rooftop garden with different types of fruit trees and artwork on display. *Note: flip flops and polished pave stones on a hill are dangerous!*

Stari Bar.  Emily Kovacs

Rooftop garden.  Emily Kovacs

We had a great time in Stari Bar and I highly recommend it.

Tomorrow we will set out for Croatia!  It will be about a 6 to 7 hour ride north.  We will be stopping along the way to sector scan two sites.  Morgan and I will continue to keep you up to date with our latest missions and adventures!

Fun side note as I type this:  I just witnessed the International Space Station fly over.  Pretty cool!

Over and Out.

Emily

Howard the Bear (my travel associate) and I.  Emily Kovacs

Morgan: The Farmers Market in Bar, Montenegro

Hi everyone! We are still in Montenegro, actively on our way out to our first sector scan site of the day. This morning after breakfast, we went to the farmers market. It was quite the scene!

First we stopped at the fish market.

Then we made it over to the produce!

We bought a bunch of berries and ate a box before we even left the market, because they were just so delicious! 

If you have wondered what we have been up to, Sonar is the name and Sector Scanning is the game. Yesterday we sector scanned a total of three sites, Traste 1 and 2, and a modern aircraft. 

Well, we just arrived to our site for today, got to go!

Stay tuned for more!