U of W off on the BROWN BEAR TO THE ALEUTIANS :::::: 1957

 

HOME AGAIN
Betty Ann Morse, left and
Darrelyn Seman, waved from the  
afterdeck of the BROWN BEAR,
research vessel of the U of WA. 
They just returned from a 6,500-mile 
scientific expedition to the Aleutians. 
The cruise began 22 July 1957.
Tap image to enlarge.
Original gelatin-silver photograph from 
the Saltwater People Historical Society.

The Brown Bear arrived home late after a 6,500-mile expedition to the Aleutians, the longest cruise ever made by the University of Washington Oceanography Department.
        It had been a rough trip. Bunks felt much better as the Brown Bear lay tied up at the foot of the university campus than they did in storm-tossed waters.
        Betty Ann Morse, a research assistant, and Darrelyn Semon, an undergraduate student in oceanography, slept late.
        "It was a great trip," Morse said.
        "This was the first good night's sleep we've had in a long time," Semon murmured.
        The cruise was part of the International Geophysical Year program. The crew investigated the properties of the water on the two sides of the Aleutian Chain, to learn how and where there is an exchange of water between the Bering Sea and the North Pacific.
        Another subject of study was the deep water in the Aleutian Trench, south of the Aleutians.
        Dr. Paquette, a research professor of oceanography is the chief scientist for the cruise. "We found some interesting things about 25,000 feet deep in the Trench. Water is from .04 to .09 of a degree, Fahrenheit, warmer to the west."
        "The difficulty with oceanographic discoveries is that they're subtle. We don't really care about practical use. We were after knowledge."
        Words by Robert Heilman. The Seattle Times. 23 September 1957.

M.V. BROWN BEAR

Launched: 7 Nov. 1934

For: U.S. Bureau of Biological Survey and the Alaska Game Commission.

Builder: Winslow Marine Railway & Shipbuilding Company, Bainbridge Island, WA.

Cost: $125,000.

Tonnage 300 G.t.

114' x 27' x 13'

Propulsion: Two 200 H.P. Washington Iron Works diesel engines.

Speed: 8.5 knots.

Range: 4,000 to 5,400 nautical miles.

Crew: Accommodations for 16 crew and scientists.

1936: She made history's first survey of sea otters in and around the Aleutian Islands.

Owners: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; US Navy; University of Washington; National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration.

Fate: Late 1997 or early 1998, she was towed out to sea and scuttled in the Pacific Ocean off San Diego.

Source of above notes: Courtesy of Wikiwand for these specifications and lots more on her "bio."