Newsletter - August 2024
Our Community Internship
As reported in the last newsletter, Katarina Pruente carried out her internship to develop our Community engagement programme over a 6 month part-time placement which was completed at the end of June. This was funded through donations and from our own funds.
During the internship Kat made contact with more than 30 local and national organisations and found a widespread interest in collaborating with Explorer and the Society. She left us with a set of recommendations for future actions and contributed to a Community Fund application which successfully raised funds for a part time community worker to continue the work that she had started. We are very grateful for her efforts and look forward to continuing our collaboration when she has time available.
Perhaps the most important finding of this internship is the fact that the vast majority of those contacted in Leith appear to be interested in collaborating with SS Explorer and the Society. As Kat said ‘whenever I brought up Explorer to anyone in Leith, they were enthusiastic and curious to learn more about the relationship between Leith and SS Explorer’.
Conservation Management Plan Progress
Following the launch meeting in April, the Society has formally adopted the Plan and established working parties to deal with drydocking and major works and for developing the plan of interpretation. This will lead to a funding application to the National Lottery and other funders in the near future.
Leith Theatre Doors Open Day
Explorer will be taking part in Doors Open Day on 28th September at Leith Theatre. Please come and visit us during the day if you are in the area.
Work on Explorer is ongoing
The crew have started lifting the wooden decking on the starboard side deck to ensure that the rotten wood cannot trap water against the steel deck plates underneath, which accelerates corrosion. A Heritage Impact Assessment has been carried out to assure the ongoing works are not negatively affecting the historic significance of the vessel. The potential impact to the heritage significance of removing the wooden deck was deemed negligible compared to the opportunity to save the integral steel structures below.
Over the years the influence of time and weather, especially standing fresh water, have deteriorated the deck planks and seams of the ship’s side decks. In large parts they are rotten and became spongy, allowing vegetation to grow on them and holding water against the steel deck plates below.
Once the deck planks are removed any remaining studs that were used to bolt the planks down are grinded off to reduce trip hazards. These studs are heavily corroded and no longer of any use. If the deck is replaced in the future, new studs will need to be welded on. The steel plates underneath will need to be treated with needle guns and painted.
Visitors
We have had nearly 60 visitors on board in the last few months with groups from Midlothian Camera Club and Edinburgh Science Festival, along with a lot of individual visitors.
If you would like to visit Explorer please contact us here: https://www.theexplorer.scot/book-a-tour
Adventures on the RRS Discovery:
Navigating the Challenges and Wonders of Oceanic Research
Marta Maria Cecchetto who joined us as a Trustee last year is a Postdoctoral Associate at The Lyell Centre for Earth and Marine Science and Technology at Heriot-Watt University. She has written a short report about her most recent survey trip – which sounds very similar to the Explorer trips from many years ago:
Who hasn't at least once thought about giving up everything and going to live on a boat in the middle of the sea? Let me tell you, it’s not as simple as it sounds. This is my job. Every so often, I leave everything behind and spend months at a time in the middle of the ocean for fieldwork. Even though it’s hard work, you get to live through unique experiences—some good, some bad. Sunsets and sunrises are breathtaking, but seasickness is a real challenge, and there’s nowhere to escape!
My most recent adventure was aboard the British ship RRS Discovery, hunting for “white waters” in the Iceland Basin of the North Atlantic. “White waters” are areas so rich in coccolithophores—tiny planktonic organisms that produce calcium carbonate shells (similar to corals)—that the water appears a very light blue.
Living on a ship for extended periods has its perks, like no cooking or cleaning for a month! But it’s also incredibly demanding work. Shifts usually last 12 hours on and 12 hours off. During these hours, we collected an extensive amount of water samples using a CTD (conductivity, temperature, and depth profiler). Once ashore, these samples are subjected to detailed analysis for various parameters, including nutrient concentrations, oxygen levels, and other vital indicators of ocean health. Nutrients like nitrate, phosphate, and silicate are crucial for understanding the biological productivity of the ocean, while oxygen measurements help us track changes in water masses and their potential impacts on marine life.
In addition to CTD deployments, we also deployed autonomous underwater vehicles, such as the famous glider "Boaty McBoatface." These gliders can traverse large sections of the ocean autonomously, collecting data on temperature, salinity, and even acoustic signals from marine life. The data they gather provides invaluable insights into ocean dynamics over time, complementing the snapshot measurements we take during our voyage.
Light and acoustic measurements are another critical component of our research. Light profiles help us understand the penetration of sunlight into the ocean, which affects the growth of phytoplankton and other marine organisms. Acoustic measurements allow us to map the distribution of fish and other marine life, providing a clearer picture of the ocean’s ecosystem.
It’s indeed an incredible experience. The people you meet aboard, you have to be very good at compromising, as even though these are quite large ships, you’re sharing very small spaces with the same people for a very long time.
My favourite time is always right before a CTD deployment, before the real work begins, when you get to just enjoy the calm before the storm. Hard work is sometimes interrupted by curious wildlife, a reminder of the incredible world we’re privileged to explore.
Even more impressive is to think about how research was conducted on the Explorer! Considering the technology we have now, it must have been incredibly challenging for the scientists aboard, working with much more rudimentary equipment. Today, we are fortunate to have advanced tools that allow us to explore the ocean in ways that were once unimaginable.
Historic Ships Action Group
Explorer has joined the newly formed Historic Ships Action Group which has been established to lobby national governments, councils and other funders on behalf of the large Historic Ships in Scotland which all face funding challenges of one sort or another. In addition to Explorer, the group includes HMS Unicorn, RRS Discovery, the Tall Ship Glenlee, PS Waverley, Maid of the Loch, Sir Walter Scott, and TS Queen Mary. It will also be open to other large historic ships in Scotland including RY Britannia and MV Fingal who have different funding streams due to their Commercial activities. The inaugural meeting will be held in September and we will be reporting on progress as we move forward.
Leith Waterfront development: Harbour 31
Forth Ports have held the first public consultation on their Harbour 31 proposals for land at the west end of Edinburgh Dock which includes the historic graving dock and the Victorian brick warehouses. You can find the plans at https://harbour31.com/the-dry-dock/
Since this is intended to be an open, publicly-accessible space we are keen to find a way to include Explorer and move the vessel to a new berth north of the graving dock. We have made a submission to Forth Ports planning consultants in response to the consultation and look forward to their response. The next public presentation of the plans will be at a date to be announced in September.
SS Explorer Preservation Society
August 2024