The Coast Guard meets with all funding agencies in the spring preceding the year for which ship time has been requested to discuss scheduling options.
Discussions continue through the summer while final funding decisions are being reached.
The ship s schedule for the following year firms up by late August or September. The Marine Science coordinator is located at the Coast Guard's Pacific Area headquarters in Alameda, California. As soon as possible after a science cruise has been scheduled, a planning meeting with principal investigators will be arranged. Marine science personnel are happy to answer questions about the ship or refer inquiries to the appropriate person. Email addresses are effective for both inport and underway use.