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Front row vessel

Captain Ken Houtler and mate Ian Hanley stand on the bow of their vessel, the R/V Tioga, for a good view of the dockside press conference about WHOI’s role in the National Science Foundation’s Ocean Observatories Iniative. WHOI’s fast, versatile coastal research boat is designed for day and overnight trips for oceanography in coastal waters. Tioga‘s diverse resume includes frequent visits to the Martha’s Vineyard Coastal Observatory; plying coastal waters to sample for harmful algal blooms; an in-the-water necropsy of a dead whale; and an emergency at-sea transfer of a crew member from another WHOI ship, the R/V Knorr, in the middle of the night. (Photo by Sean Whelan, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)