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Bucking the Stream
The ships are now traveling against the Gulf Stream--a
massive current of warm water that flows up the southeastern coast of the
US before curving out across the Atlantic toward Europe. Gulf Stream waters
make the climate of northern Europe much more temperate than it would be
otherwise, but right now, they are making our life more difficult.
Carolyn has been making about 6.5 knots "over the
ground," but the flow of water past NR-1 raises her apparent speed
to 11 knots. That's enough to make everyone worry about cables and connectors
again. For better or worse, this current will be against us for days to
come. A limb of the Gulf Stream flows into the Gulf of Mexico between Trinidad
and Cuba. It makes a broad counter-clockwise loop before exiting the Gulf
through the Straits of Florida--hence its name in the Gulf--the Loop Current.
In the days of sail, ships would enter the Gulf by sailing past Trinidad
and ride the Loop Current up into the central Gulf. Our route through the
Straits will take us dead against the flow...
The sailors on NR-1 have had a busy day settling in for
their long transit. They have submerged to their transit depth of about
150 ft and are only able to communicate with Carolyn via UQC--a so-called
underwater telephone that projects a high-frequency version of speech.
On Carolyn, life is also getting into a routine of work and preparation.
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