We actually didn’t get to see Nome for real. Our ride (a Zodiac) picked us up at the dock and brought us ~1/4 mile offshore to our boat. Norseman II is a former crab boat identical to the Northwestern from ‘The Deadliest Catch’, although there are some big differences. Instead of a huge open deck, they’ve added an extended cabin with a 14 person dining table, flat screen TVs, couches and work stations for computers and scientific equipment. It’s a really well designed setup for a research vessel. There is still a fairly large deck with multiple winches, a crane, and a 15’ A-frame. The ship’s crew are excellent seamen with diverse backgrounds of Navy, commercial fishing, and science (the captain has dual phd in Oceanography and Marine Ecology).
We spent next day transferring and packing gear. Then we set sail North through the Bering Strait. This was a tricky call. There was a storm rolling into the Chukchi about two days out. Transiting north was going to put us there right as it came through. But waiting in Nome for the storm to pass would mean losing good travel weather and being 4 days behind schedule. So we headed north for 48 hours getting into the Chukchi just as the wind picked up to 35knts and the seas kicked up to 10’. We found some shelter in the lee of Icy Cape, and point of land in the middle of nowhere along the arctic coast. We tested and tweaked our gear while riding out the worst of the storm at anchor at Icy Cape.
The next day we headed out to our work site. The wind had subsided somewhat but the waves were still around 8+ feet. We attempted some work but it was pretty obvious that it would be unsafe and unproductive so it was called off. We deployed some traps to capture amphipods for tissue samples. But that didn’t take long. It finally let up a bit and we got to work. FAST.....
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