The transit from Kushiro to Guam began at 0720 hr on 28 August and ended at 1415 hr on 3 September (universal time coordinated [UTC] + 10 hr) when the JOIDES Resolution met the supply boat Shamrock near Rota Island. The brake band part was transferred on board and repairs proceeded immediately. On the way to the rendezvous, the JOIDES Resolution made a pass over the summit of the unnamed seamount. After the rendezvous, a short survey was made over the seamount, from 1500 to 2210 hr, with the 3.5- and 12.0-kHz echo sounders and magnetometer.
After the end of the survey, the ship was positioned by Global Positioning System (GPS) at Site 1180 and thrusters were lowered. The vibrational isolated television (VIT)/subsea television (TV) camera was lowered to survey the seafloor. By 0100 hr on 4 September, the seafloor had been seen to have sediment upon it. It was not clear whether hard rock lay beneath, so it was decided to rig up the hammer drill and see if the bottom was suitable for drilling. A deck test of the hammer was made, and then it was run to the seafloor. Hole 1180A was spudded at 2162 meters below rig floor (mbrf) at 1315 hr on 4 September (Table T1). The bottom was soft, consisting of sandy sediments, probably volcanic ash. Because the seafloor was not firm, the hammer would not come up to full pressure; instead, the drill fluid flushed away the sediments, allowing the hammer to jet in. Hole 1180A penetrated 5 meters below seafloor (mbsf) before formation collapse necessitated pulling the hammer free of the sediment. The drill string was pulled clear at 1345 hr, and Hole 1180B was spudded nearby at 1400 hr. After 8 mbsf penetration, the same thing happened at Hole 1180B. The hole was terminated at 1415 hr, and Hole 1180C was spudded after a short offset at 1545 hr. This hole produced the same results and was ended at 1600 hr after 3 mbsf penetration.
It was decided that the sediments at Site 1180 were unsuitable for testing the HRRS, and the sonar on the VIT/subsea TV frame showed a smooth morphology in the vicinity. Consequently, the camera and pipe were tripped back to 800 mbrf. The JOIDES Resolution moved ~3 nmi upslope to the caldera rim and dropped a beacon to establish Site 1181. The pipe was run to the seafloor, and Hole 1181A was spudded at 0115 hr on 5 September in coarse rubble. This formation also proved unsuitable for HRRS tests because the drilling fluid mobilized the seafloor material, resulting in hole collapse around the drill string and loss of circulation. Hole 1181A was terminated at 0130 hr after 3 mbsf penetration. The results for the next two holes were similar. After offsetting 45 m south, Hole 1180B was spudded at 0315 hr and terminated at 0330 hr after 3 mbsf penetration. The ship offset 80 m north, and Hole 1180C was drilled from 0415 to 0430 hr with 3 mbsf penetration. After these unsatisfactory results, the ship moved in dynamic positioning mode ~250 m northeast, over the rim of the crater, so that we could look for a better spot to drill. Rubble and ash were all that were seen. The drill string and VIT/subsea TV frame were recovered, and the ship made ready to move to a new location; however, it became necessary to vacate the site because a low-pressure cell had intensified into a typhoon, named Saomai, and it was headed toward the area. After the poor luck in finding a suitable drilling location, it was decided to give the unnamed seamount the name Inutil, which is Spanish for "worthless."
It was necessary to head southwest away from the typhoon, so another potential site was located in conference with colleagues on shore. The new site was a seamount on the spreading ridge of the Mariana Trough, ~70 nmi southwest of Guam.