Image

The Driver’s Seat

Though vacant during a September port stop in Woods Hole, at sea the bridge on the research vessel Knorr is occupied around-the-clock by an officer and one of three ship’s mates. Watch-standers know these switches, gauges, dials, and screens, which used to guide the vessel into position (while docking, for example, or to recover a float or deploy a mooring), by heart. “The main control console is a big part of a mate’s watch,” said Adam Seamans, a captain on Knorr. “When they are new, they have to learn it quick.” The vessel, slated for retirement in the next few years, is one of several large research ships operated by WHOI. (Photo by Tom Kleindinst, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)