Christopher Bull bio photo

Christopher Bull

Aspiring Oceanographer at Northumbria University. Big data python enthusiast. Outdoor adventurer.

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[caption id=”attachment_313” align=”aligncenter” width=”300”]Southern Surveyor at dusk Southern Surveyor at dusk[/caption]

At the start of any adventure, I make a point of appreciating life’s simple pleasures. Feet on land, check. Happy stomach, check. Celebratory beer before alighting on dry ship, check. I’m ready to go! Are we leaving? No. There’s an industrial dispute about who’s going to put our container on the boat so we’re not leaving till tomorrow midday by the sounds of things. In the mean time, let me show you around.

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A little background about my home for the next two weeks. The Southern Surveyor was built in 1972 by Ranger Callisto in the UK it was bound for the north sea as a fishing vessel. In 1988 CSIRO bought the ship and converted it to a research ship. Since 2002 the ship has been administered by the Marine National Facility.

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Quick facts:

  • 66 metres long/12 metres wide

  • weight 1600 tones

  • endurance 26 days at sea at 11 knots (20 kp/h) – maximum speed is 14 knots

  • 250,000 litres of fuel

  • 70,000 tones of fresh water capacity

  • 6 cylinder 4 stroke engine

  • Cost is 80,000-100,000 dollars a day

Science equipment. The A frame on stern of the ship can lift 7 ton. There is 7000m of CTD wire, 5000m of trawl wire and a coring winch that can be used to 2000m.

In category: Southern_Surveyor