Laundry Day

By Carol McCracken

The most recent message received from the owner of the researach vessel Gambo, was:  “Are You Ready For Us?”  The owner’s name is Dr. Alun Hubbard, a glaciologist.  Gambo is leaving Greenland on Friday, August 28th.

This email was received by Phin Sprague, Jr., manager of Portland Yacht Services, from Dr. Hubbard last week.  Sprague says the yard is ready for the Gambo’s arrival in mid-September ’09.  The Gambo will be hauled  immediately upon her arrival and stored inside one of the storage sheds at Portland Yacht Services, “PYS” for the winter.

The 45 ft. cutter Gambo left PYS on July 14 for the west coast of Greenalnd to conduct climate change research on a major glacier on the western coast.  She had a crew of five.  One woman, a high school English teacher from southern Maine, disembarked the Gambo when she arrived at St. Anthony’s Harbor, Newfoundland, in a pre-planned half way stop.  This is the first year of a two year project funded by NASA and the British government, predominantly.  She had expected to leave PYS on July 10 but was delayed by the slow arrival of equipment necessary to make the roughly two week + journey. Despite the delay in departure from PYS, she arrived in Greenland pretty much on schedule – around August 1.  The Gambo arrived at PYS on June 17 from South America in  need of major repairs to make the trip to Greenland to do the research.

“I’m look forward to greeting the Gambo and her crew when they arrive here,” said Sprague.  “We’ll take excellent care of her for Dr. Hubbard.”

Please see previous posts on MHN about the journey of the Gambo to Greenland on June 28th and July 14th.

Please Google Gambo and/or Dr. Alun Hubbard for more details.