Getting Acquainted
Yesterday we arrived! I took my first steps on board the R/V Atlantis. That’s a view of its stern to the right. It’s quite an awesome ship for a research vessel. The first thing that struck me when I stepped on board (besides the fact that I had packed too much in my duffel bag) was all the smiling faces of the crew members. I was excited to see the cabin I would call home for the next two weeks. It’s quite nice for a ship cabin with a comfy chair, lockers, shelves, even our own personal sink. I share my cabin with a graduate student, also named Jill, and I feel lucky that I got the top bunk! I admit that I got lost a couple times at first trying to find my cabin, but I think I’ve got it down now.
All of the scientists are busy setting up their lab spaces, from scratch! It’s such a big job. There are two different chemistry labs here, one for fluid chemistry and one for dissolved gasses. There’s also a lab set up for the microbiologist, and one for our paleontologist will share their space. Even the FLEXE education team, which I am part of, set up a workspace too.
Perhaps the best thing about yesterday, however, was meeting my hero for the first time. From the time I was an undergraduate marine biology student I had heard of him. He has been all around the world, has worked with some of the world’s best scientists, and was there when some of the greatest deep-sea discoveries were made. In fact, he helped to collect the temperature data sets that you FLEXE students have been studying. He’s been around for quite a while now and has undergone a few “face lifts” so he is performing better than ever. I do appreciate his age, however, because I think “salty old dogs” make the best sailing companions. I stepped through one of the ships water-tight doors and there he was. Alvin is awesome– perhaps a bit smaller than I expected (you know, because I had such a big image of him in my head), but very regal and proud looking. I reached out my hand and touched him with my finger and chills ran down my spine. He is magnificent…
We set sail today at 1100 hours. Most people on the Atlantis are veterans of sailing on this ship, but for me, and a few other scientists, it’s all brand new. The picture to the left shows the Alvin Pilot, Sean Kelley and University of Washington oceanographer, Dr. Marv Lilley, working on the mass spectrophotometer.
There are so many new names to learn, rules to learn, and even information about the subject of the scientific research to learn. It seems a lot like the first day of school to me, only this time I’m the student, not the teacher.
There was a sense of urgency today, or perhaps it was necessity, to make sure everyone knew what to do in
order to be safe on the ship. We had several meetings that started right away in the morning focusing on safety. We learned about our requirements to wear proper shoes (even though it’s hot out, no flip flops allowed!), rope hazards, fire safety, and of course what to do in the event we need to abandon ship. Everyone had to wear their very trendy orange life vests and find their assigned emergency raft. I have to say, we all behaved much better than most students do through fire drills at school! It’s all very serious, but we also tell little jokes along the way. I learned from University of Leeds paleontologist, Dr. Cris Little (on the right at the safety drill in his life preserver) that enjoying a piece of ginger candy can be useful for potential sea sickness. Über cool hat!
We even had some Alvin (submersible) training today, where much of the focus was also safety. It was fascinating to learn about all that goes into simply maintaining the “air” inside the submersible. Perhaps I will share more on that later.
It is quite an experience living on a ship and I am finding it quite enjoyable. The people come from all walks of life from all around the world. It can be a very hazardous environment, and yet I have never felt safer. Tonight as I write this I have the pleasure of sitting on the deck, under the stars, next to some wonderful people I have met including Ronnie Whims, a member of the crew who is also quite an accomplished guitar player. His music helps me remember these past two days. I know that this cruise will be quite an experience.
So I will leave you all this evening with a question for you to ponder and perhaps respond to… How do you think you might feel getting acquainted to a new school or to new experiences like going on a scientific research expedition?
