Engaging the Public in the 38th Voyage Of The Whaling Ship the Charles W. Morgan with Coastal Telepresence Technology

Ivar Babb, University of Connecticut at Avery Point, NURTEC, Groton, CT, United States, Dwight Coleman, University of Rhode Island Narragansett Bay, Narragansett, RI, United States and Matthew Lawrence, NOAA, Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, Scituate, MA, United States
Abstract:
The world’s last remaining sail-powered whaling ship, the Charles W. Morgan, conducted her 38th voyage in 2014 traveling from Mystic, CT to NOAA’s Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary (SBNMS) as a symbolic journey to one of the world’s premier whale watching sites. This voyage captured the renaissance of the Morgan from a whale hunting ship to an emissary of ocean conservation. Low cost, microwave-based telepresence technology was installed aboard the Morgan, her support ship the M/V Rohan (a fishing vessel) and linked to the Pilgrim Monument to enable ship-to-shore webcasts that featured Sanctuary researchers, historians, artists and authors onboard the Morgan highlighting their research and outreach activities.

A partnership NURTEC at UConn, the Inner Space Center at URI, NOAA, SBNMS and the Mystic Seaport developed comprehensive research and historical content that was incorporated into the broadcasts, which were delivered to thousands of viewers. The concept of telepresence as envisioned for the Morgan’s voyage was not simply broadcasting a single camera feed, but to turn the Morgan into a mobile “news studio” that allowed multiple cameras onboard to focus on the business of sailing the ship, interviews with experts in maritime history and marine science onboard, and other onboard programming. In addition, an onshore studio was set up at the Pilgrim Monument in Provincetown, MA that integrated additional historians, scientists and archaeologists into the webcasts.

The public was able to follow the Morgan’s visit to the sanctuary on OceansLIVE (oceanslive.org) that broadcast three live shows daily from the vessel and other locations from July 11-13th. Each of the shows featured interviews and commentary with historians, scientists, authors and artists discussing the shift from whale hunting to whale watching in New England. This talk will review the range of science presented and provide an overview of the enabling technologies.

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