University of Delaware Office of Public Relations The Messenger Vol. 5, No. 3/1996 At mid-life, UD's research ship at its busiest In April 1976, the R/V Cape Henlopen, the College of Marine Studies research vessel, was almost late for its own christening ceremony, rounding the bend under threatening skies into the harbor at Lewes, Del., with just a few hours to spare. The ship has undergone many changes over the years, from the addition of "flopper stoppers"-to diminish a side-to-side roll-to the latest upgrade of its satellite-directed navigational equipment. Most ships are used for 30-40 years, and as the Henlopen approaches mid-life, even more enhancements are planned. Under Timothy Pfeiffer, director of marine operations, the Cape Henlopen successfully completed its busiest year yet-198 days at sea in 1995. Only five fewer days at sea are scheduled for this year. "The biggest single factor that affects the success of the ship is unquestionably the performance of the crew," Pfeiffer says. "Our crew is highly skilled, but, even more important than that, they also are highly motivated and they make a real effort to ensure that scientists finish their projects properly." The crew, more than anything, accounts for the ship's heavy schedule and the large number of repeat use requests from scientists, he says. "For example, someone comes aboard our ship, finds that the crew is a joy to work with, that they were extremely helpful, overcame all the problems and managed to find a little whatchamajigit to replace the thingamabob that the scientist forgot. [The scientist] gets off the ship saying, 'I got more data and had a more successful cruise than I have ever had before because your crew was so fantastic. The next time I write a proposal, I'm going to request to do my work on your ship.'" The Henlopen's use is scheduled by the scheduling committee of the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS), a fleet of academically owned research ships that receives 70 percent of its funding from the National Science Foundation. "We work locally in the Delaware and Chesapeake bays and nearby coasts, so our schedule is pretty simple and straightforward. People who want to use a ship in the Indian Ocean or the Arctic Sea may have to wait two or three years before there's an appropriate ship in that area," Pfeiffer explains. It costs between $5,500 to $6,000 a day to use the Cape Henlopen, so only scientists with funded proposals are in the running for its use. "Organizing a field oceanographic experiment is a major job," Pfeiffer says. "If you're not positive what the capabilities of the winches are and what services the crew will be able to provide for you, it makes planning even more difficult." Six people serve as the Henlopen staff, and the ship sails with a crew of four. "We have the perfect balance of licenses and skills so that we can maintain a continuing rotation with two people at home and four people on the ship at all time," Pfeiffer says. "Normally, we sail for 10 days and have five days off. We usually come into port in the morning and leave the next morning or that night. That gives us just enough time to refuel and get food and clean sheets." In busy 1996, there will be only three 24-hour docks. Despite his years at sea, Pfeiffer insists the territory is too tame to generate any really good sea stories. "What you really need for a story like that is for us to have a cruise where we go out and discover the Titanic or something like that. "That's just not going to happen in our world. We do good, solid marine science-about evenly split between the biological, chemical and physical disciplines-but, it's not the stuff of which great sea stories are made. The level of professionalism among the crew is sufficiently high that it's rare we have a cruise that is not just simple, routine work." -Elizabeth A. Chajes