This document summarizes the voyages and research conducted aboard the RV Cape Henlopen, a 120-foot research vessel owned by the University of Delaware. The RV Cape Henlopen conducted geological, biological, chemical, physical, atmospheric, and other types of oceanographic research between Maine and Florida, Bermuda, and the Bahamas from 1976 to 2010. Some of the research highlighted included collecting water and sediment samples, deploying and retrieving moorings, studying blue sharks and swordfish, surveying hazards for drill rigs, and monitoring a site for industrial dumping. In 2010, the RV Cape Henlopen was retired and replaced by the RV Hugh R Sharp.

1. Voyages of a Coastal
Research Vessel

2. University-national oceanographic
laboratory system (UNOLS) is an
organization of 64 academic institutions
and national laboratories involved in
oceanographic research and joined for
the purpose of coordinating
oceanographic ships' schedules and
research facilities.

4. Of Which, the R V Cape Henlopen was
one

5. University of Delaware

6. Specifications
Year Built: 1976; Hull Material: Aluminum
Length: 120 Feet Draft: 10 Feet Beam: 23 Feet
Normal Cruising Speed: 10-12 Knots
Maximum Cruising: 15 Knots Minimum
Operational: ~1 Knot (Depending On
Conditions)
Endurance: 10-14 Days/24 Hours Per Day
(Depending On Operations)

7. Conceptionally built as a high speed
retriever of data, but…

8. Crew of Four, Two Technicians, a Cook
and Steward, and Fourteen Scientists

9. Range of Operation
Maine to Florida, Bermuda and
Bahamas
But It Always Seemed the Right
Place at the Wrong Time

10.  Geological
 Biological
 Chemical
 Physical
 Atmospheric
 Other
Types of Research

11. We’ll start with the Other
Target ship for Ohio Class submarines
after a re-fit of electronics

12. Hazard survey for USGS prior to
installation of Drill Rigs on Georges
Bank and offshore of Atlantic City NJ

13. Geologically, the Henlopen has seen
quite a bit of mud on deck
from the various
types of bottom
sampling
hardware

14. Periodically we would travel to
Bigalow Biological Laboratory in
Boothbay Maine

15. Our Objective Was to Obtain
Bottom Samples From Phipines
Ledge and Cultivator Shoal
out in the Gulf of Maine…..
We Would Usually
Exchange Scientific
Personnel at Mid
Cruise. In This Instance, It
Was Rockland

16. I still don’t know what that
town looks like

17. In 1988, we went to Bermuda to
replace the R/V Weatherbird
for winter duty

18. The issue of Climate Change
and its affect upon the oceans
was becoming more prominent
and NSF felt that continued
monitoring of their Bermuda
Site would insure more
accurate
data

19. So we camped out in St. George Harbor for four months

20. We made
friends

21. Gained respect for Harbor Radio

22. Had fun
But by April …
we were ready to
come home

23. In the area of Physical
Oceanography
we helped to gather data
by two prominent methods;
Water Sampling
and Moorings

24. Early on, samples were
taken using niskin bottles,
which were strung on a
cable and lowered to a
predetermined depth

25. In the early eighties,
the CTD (Conductivity,
temperature and depth)
was introduced

26. The rosette was lowered as
deep as 3000 meters
And data was transmitted
via conductor cable
to A computer which displayed
all of the pertinent data…
The chief scientist then made the
decision as to what depth to
sample the water column for
further investigation

27. Moorings Were Used
Extensively to Determine
Current and Temperature

28. Some of the moorings were upwards of
2500 meters long and required significant weight
to hold them on the bottom
Consequently, load placement was critical to
insure that stability was maintained

29. Deployment and retrieval of
the moorings required
considerable expertise and a
lot of coordination between
the bridge and deck….

30. In early October 1991 we towed a 75
foot wave monitoring spar buoy to the
rim of Washington Canyon

31. Later that month a meteorological abnormality occurred
in which a nor'easter met up with the remnants of a
hurricane to create havoc along the east coast from
Puerto Rico to Maine. Winds topped 100 miles over the
Ocean, and the average wave height was registered in
excess of 50ft by this buoy…..before it sank
That storm was later dubbed
the Halloween Storm of 1991,
although it is better known as
The Perfect Storm
Cutter Tamaroa
during storm

32. Biologically, we participated in numerous
endeavors

33. From the Monitoring of
Sanctioned Industrial
Dumping at a Site 100
Miles East of New Jersey

34. To assisting a Maryland Researcher
determine the effects of Jelly Fish
predation upon juvenile
anchovy larvae in the Chesapeake Bay

35. But the best ones were with a WHOI investigator
who was interested in the habits of the blue shark
and
swordfish…
So we
became long line fishermen

36. Loading and securing gear
for the trip out
to Oceanographers Canyon

37. In the afternoon we laid about 6 miles of long line…
The following morning we would retrieve ,
Looking for the right specimen to tag and track

38. Because of the numerous monitors
placed on the fish, we were able to
Determine its location and depth
When they surfaced, we were on the
lookout

39. And in one case, because further
investigation was required,
We harpooned….

40. Landed …..

41. And ultimately consumed….
one swordfish

42. In 2010 the Henlopen was retired and
Replaced by the Hugh R Sharp

43. The vessel has now been fitted as an
Archeological salvage vessel with its homeport in
The Dominican Republic

44. This is Jason….workhorse
of Deep Sea Lab of
Woods Hole
Oceanographic Institute
The device that helped
Robert Ballard find the
Titanic

45. So after 15 years, spending an average of 200 days
a year at sea, we moved to the northern neck of
Virginia, where I operated the Yacht Miss Ann for
the Tides Inn, while establishing a marine survey
business

46. The major theme of my business has been
No matter how lucky you are, one day you
will have A Bad Day at Sea