During the 1980s, as a field technician and later the operations manager at EG&G Environmental Consultants and EG&G Oceanographic Services, Mr. John Ryther, Jr. participated in and later managed oceanographic mooring operations worldwide for the oil industry. Mr. Ryther worked in the North Sea, off Brazil, East Africa, the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska.
He also participated in large government funded oceanographic measurement programs including a multiyear Minerals Management Service funded Physical Oceanographic measurement program on Georges Bank, and later managed the field operations for a three year Northern California Circulation Study. During this period, Mr. Ryther participated in 10 to 20 offshore cruises per year on ships ranging from 100 to 200 feet, and deployed and recovered hundreds of surface and subsurface oceanographic moorings. He was also involved in mooring design and buoy fabrication.
In addition, Mr. Ryther managed the installation of the early NOAA acoustic doppler profiler systems at the Ambrose Tower off New York and at the Port of Miami and Charleston, South Carolina.
In the early 1990s, Mr. Ryther managed the installation of deepwater subsurface sediment trap moorings and a Meteorological Buoy at Dumpsite 106 off New York for Battelle and US EPA.
In 1996, CR was the prime contractor for the First Year Monitoring for the Cape Cod Disposal Site (CCDS) and managed the installation of bottom mounted current platforms and the CCDS Marker Buoy. CR working with their subcontractor Mooring Systems is still under contract to maintain the CCDS buoy.
CR and Mooring Systems have worked very closely over the past six years. Mooring Systems assisted CR in our NOAA training seminars to help fishermen convert their vessels for oceanographic work including oceanographic mooring deployments. In addition, CR assisted Mooring Systems in the initial testing of their prototype Trawl Resistant Acoustic Doppler Platforms.
Repairs and modifications to the CCDS Marker Buoy have been performed at the Mooring Systems' fabrication and welding shop in Cataumet, MA. Mooring Systems has also fabricated vibracore and piston core systems, A-frames, transducer brackets, a coring raft, and other specialty items for CR. CR has a one-ton pickup truck and heavy duty trailer and has routinely transport the CCDS buoy, anchor, and mooring hardware to and from Scituate Harbor.
For fabrication and repair work, CR also regularly uses Steverman Machine in Scituate, MA. A former fishermen with strong ties to the Scituate Fishing Community, Bob Steverman has fabricated oceanographic winches, A-frames, transducer mounts and performed numerous welding repairs for CR. Steverman Machine can provide additional support performing buoy fabrication and repair on the DAMOS project.
CR also works closely with Aquamarine Services in Hull, MA. Andy Spinale, the president of Aquamarine is one of CR's vessel captains and is the owner of the 36 ft R/V Sakonnet, a converted lobster boat, that was designed with a heavy duty winch and hydraulic A-frame for mooring deployment operations. Mr. Spinale currently is under contract to service the majority of boat moorings in Hull, MA.