Maybe I was a sailor in another life.

I walk up the gangplank to board the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Hudson and feel like I’ve come home. The great ship is resting easy alongside the wharf at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography in Dartmouth, her home when she’s in port. But in a few hours the crew will slip the Hudson’s lines and she’ll back slowly into Bedford Basin.

After some hours spent testing scientific gear and all the functions of the ship, and moving people back and forth to the wharf in the fast rescue craft, the ship will leave Halifax Harbour for the open water of the Atlantic. On board is a dedicated crew under Capt. Richard Smith, a collection of scientists and one freelance writer, yours truly, who has been counting down the days to this trip for months.

The Hudson is the queen of the coast guard’s research fleet. No matter that Canadian Press style manuals and the politically correct would have ships referred to in the gender neutral “it”; the Hudson is a lady through and through, and is referred to as “she” by those who love her. Including me.

Now 42 years old, the Hudson is a multidisciplinary science vessel and the first ship to circumnavigate North and South America, a feat completed over 11 months during 1969-70. She’s travelled millions of kilometres, taken part in countless scientific missions and has seen thousands of crew and scientific staff aboard her. In fact, it was on board the Hudson two years ago that scientists discovered the existence of a reef of Lophelia, the only cold-water coral that actuallys form a reef. As a result of that work, steps have been taken to protect open areas of the sea from damage by fishing.

So what’s a nice girl like me, who normally writes about books and gardens and farming, doing on board an ocean-going research vessel? Well, I’m here at the invitation of habitat biologist Don Gordon, who was also instrumental in my first trip on the Hudson two years ago. At the last minute, Don was unfortunately unable to go with us, and handed over the role of chief scientist to his colleague John Anderson.

The BIO scientists are going out to study fish habitat on several banks off Nova Scotia, taking with them an amazing collection of gear, most of which I don’t know the function of but which look terrifically interesting. Before our two-week trip is up, readers and I will know more about the work being done on board this ship by some of the brightest scientific minds in the country.

However, although the Hudson is a research vessel, she also is under the aegis of the coast guard and, if a distress call comes in while we’re at sea, she’ll proceed “full away” to help the disabled vessel, as has been done many times in the past.

The Hudson played a role in the search for the Ocean Ranger oil rig that sank off Newfoundland 23 years ago, and also helped with the more recent Swissair Flight 111 crash recovery effort off Peggys Cove. She and her sister ships on the East Coast play a vital role in protecting those who make their living on the water. I’ll be telling you more about that in future stories.

There are two distinct communities aboard the Hudson: the officers and crew who operate the vessel and see to the safety and needs of all on board, and the scientific staff who do the research. Although distinct, these aren’t separate communities; the deck crew is instrumental in deploying gear such as the Towcam, a unique video and camera setup towed behind the ship on a long cable, or the sidescan sonar that takes unique images of the seabed using sound pulses.

Many of the officers and crew take a keen interest in the research and the scientists hold regular briefings to explain what they’re doing and what they hope to achieve.

I boarded the Hudson the night before sailing because I wanted to reacquaint myself with the ship and get settled into my cabin, which is on the main deck looking out the port side of the vessel. Staff on the ship are given the freedom of the vessel, except for the engine room, which we may tour with permission and with an engineer to guide us, and the bridge when the vessel is leaving or entering the harbour, unless with special permission of the captain.

Safety is the priority, of course, and before we depart Bedford Basin for Sable Island Bank, 222 kilometres from Halifax Harbour, we’re taken through a thorough safety orientation, including fire drills and donning a survival suit. It isn’t any easier to put on a so-called “Gumby suit” this time than it was on my last trip, but survival-suit drill is a great icebreaker for getting to know your fellow staff members. It’s much less frustrating getting into the suit if there’s someone to help you.

When we do our fire drill, we go swiftly but carefully to our drill stations, with our life-jackets on, and prepare to board one of two 50-person life-rafts on board the Hudson. It’s an unpleasant fact of life that a few of those in a life-raft invariably get sick, and then often the rest of the passengers get sick out of sympathy, so a real trip in a lifeboat isn’t a pleasure cruise. But these rafts save many lives, in no small part because they are equipped with emergency position-indicating radio beacons. The beacons transmit a unique identifying signal on one of two radio frequencies, including one that is picked up by weather satellites. Some life-raft beacons also contain a global positioning receiver, making it even easier to locate a raft.

All this information is very comforting to those who may be uneasy at sea, except for the part about the seasickness. Having been out last time during hurricane Juan, I know I have good sea legs, so I’m not worried. It intrigues me, however, that on both this and the previous trips, there were individuals who regularly fight with queasy stomachs when at sea — yet they continue to go on the Hudson’s trips at every opportunity. That says much about the appeal of doing science at sea, and of the appeal of this great vessel.

I actually get a bit of a treat this trip, as I get to ride in the rescue craft before we depart the harbour. An hour before we leave, my sister is getting married, and I have to be there. I hope they’ll save me a piece of wedding cake, as I only have time to witness the ceremony and the picture-taking before rushing back to BIO and catching the rescue craft back out to the Hudson. At least I don’t have to climb in and out of the craft in a long dress and high heels while wearing a life-jacket. I’m not sure they would match.

jdelong

Freelance writer Jodi DeLong doesn’t get seasick, but hopes the Hudson doesn’t have to deal with a hurricane this time.