OXFORD, Miss. – Throughout seven decades, including severe storms and several owners, the seafaring vessel Kit Jones and her crew have had numerous nautical adventures. From the coastal waters of the Atlantic Ocean to the choppy waves in the Gulf of Mexico, the wooden-hulled vessel’s voyages have ranged from pleasure cruises in her early years to underwater research explorations.
And while her volume of voyages may be slowly dwindling, the research vessel for the Mississippi Mineral Resources Institute at the University of Mississippi won’t be retired from service anytime soon.
“She’ll be going to the Chandelieur Islands off the coast of Louisiana between September and November,” said Andy Gossett, one of the mechanical systems engineers who maintain the vessel’s seaworthiness. “The Kit Jones has been through a lot, but she’s still going strong.”
Such praise is well deserved. Those who have served on her crews over the years have marveled at her ability to go the distance – both figuratively and literally.
“When the University of Mississippi purchased the ship in 1986, it was partially underwater off the coast of Georgia,” said Robin Buchannon, assistant vice chancellor for research and sponsored programs and former MMRI staffer. “Several MMRI employees went to Georgia and worked on her until she was again seaworthy.”
While the Kit Jones was still in Georgia, the University of Georgia contracted with MMRI to use her for collecting sediment samples in the near-shore areas off the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina. When that work was complete, winter was rapidly approaching and time to move the ship to her permanent home on the Mississippi Gulf Coast to ready her for the spring field season.
“MMRI staff sailed down the Atlantic coast, through Lake Okeechobee in central Florida to the Gulf of Mexico, and around to Point Cadet,” Buchannon said.
Once in Biloxi, the ship was transformed into a more spacious vessel to accommodate the crew and equipment for extended cruises. Improvements included state-of-the-art navigational equipment, a Cummings diesel engine and a hydraulically operated “A” frame for deployment and recovery of research equipment.
MMRI Mechanical Systems Engineer Matt Lowe recalls some rough times on board the Kit Jones.
“We did a core sampling job around Little Lake on the Mississippi-Louisiana line,” Lowe said. “I remember while trying to sail back to Biloxi, we had to endure a nine-hour storm in the Mississippi Sound. It was the worst storm I’ve ever been in, but the Kit Jones rode it out.”
Gossett remembers that the longest distance the vessel ever sailed was an eight-day trip from Biloxi to Atlantic City, N.J.
“We had three separate jobs along the East Coast; in Atlantic City; San Louis, Delaware; and Ocean City, Massachusetts,” he said. “It was the farthest away from home she’d ever traveled, and she pulled it off without a hitch.”
The vessel even survived the catastrophic destruction wreaked by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. After the storm had left the Kit Jones beached hard aground, her crew went down to Biloxi to repair her extensive damages.
“They did a fabulous job to revive her,” said Carol Lutken, interim MMRI director. “Services were not available, no one had air conditioning, temps were 100 degrees-plus and the mosquitoes were indescribably thick.”
The crew hauled the ship out of the mud, turned her right-side up, and re-launched into her home on the Mississippi Sound.
“Without a doubt, it’s a very strong, well-built boat,” said Ladd Schrantz, a retired marine technical specialist with MMRI and port captain for the Kit Jones.
“Even those 18-to-20-foot waves couldn’t sink her. I believe she’ll keep right on sailing as long as there are agencies that have need of her services,” Schrantz added.
The Kit Jones has not only served MMRI but has also been employed in research projects by the U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Navy, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, Mineral Management Service, industry and various components of Mississippi’s state government.
For more information, visit http://www.olemiss.edu/mmri or call 662-915-7320.