Way back in 1962, the FLIP ship first set sail. I first learned about it from a science newsletter in my school's library in that same year, then later read about it in National Geographic magazine. I've followed news about it with interest ever since. This year marks its 50th year of operation.
In the early '70s, when I was in the U.S. Navy and stationed in Long Beach, California, I found out that the FLIP ship was based out of Scripps Institute of Oceanography in San Diego – just a short drive down the coast. I called and discovered that it was in port, and I was able to arrange a visit through a friendly research assistant (the fellow my call was routed to). I spent an interesting afternoon going through the ship. After being used to the USS Long Beach (the nuclear powered cruiser that I was stationed on), the FLIP ship looked positively tiny to my eyes!
These days, the FLIP ship has its own home page on the web. I also found this short news story on it, with a video of the flipping action.
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