Written by Kristen Kusek, Former Communications Director for USF CMS
ST. PETERSBURG, FL 鈥� Dozens of salty souls bid farewell to the beloved R/V Bellows on Thursday, August 29th during a ceremony sponsored by the (FIO). A 71-foot workhorse of the ocean science and education community for nearly 45 years, the Bellows was sold to TSR, Inc., which stands for . The vessel will be contracted primarily by the under the leadership of famed underwater archaeologist, , who will now sail her in search of shipwrecks.
鈥淲e plan to make discoveries of historic shipwrecks, and we鈥檙e gonna have a lot of fun doing it,鈥� said Spence. 鈥淲e hope to make you proud,鈥� he said at the send-off. In the near term Spence will take the Bellows to Cape Romain, South Carolina to investigate a group of unexplored shipwrecks.
The Bellows has called the USF College of Marine Science (USF CMS) home since 1972. She holds a special place in the hearts and careers of scores of marine scientists for whom the Bellows was their first research experience. All told, the Bellows, which had bunks for 10 people, welcomed several thousand students to call her home for about a week at a time.
鈥淒o not underestimate the power of that first expedition experience,鈥� said Dr. John Ogden, retired former head of FIO. 鈥淲e鈥檙e really going to miss her.鈥�
The Bellows secured itself in ocean history in 2005 when a team aboard her led by Dr. Al Hine, retired USF CMS professor, investigated what Hine called an 鈥渦nusual bump on the seafloor鈥� located about 100 miles west of Key West. The bump, known as Pulley Ridge, was actually a drowned barrier island that hosted what became known as the deepest reef powered by sunlight in the United States.
鈥淭he Bellows is truly an old friend,鈥� said Hine, who led 17 cruises aboard the Bellows, most to map the seafloor using sidescan sonar in the Gulf of Mexico.
鈥淪he sure does have a lot of water under her keel,鈥� added FIO鈥檚 Program Planner Rob Walker, who鈥檚 given more tours and participated in more cruises aboard the Bellows than one can count. She has crisscrossed the state of Florida, ventured Gulf-wide, and motored as far south as Puerto Rico, he said, helping scientists answer key questions about red tides, the geology of the seafloor, and even the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
We wish you fair seas and following winds, R/V Bellows!