Archive of October 6th, 2007

Teacher at Sea log for October 6th, 2007 by Linda Sciaroni

While the engineers take care of everything that moves, the 7 members of the deck crew take care of everything that is still. During the cruise they do a lot of physical work to get science equipment in and out of the water, like working the cranes and hauling the instruments. They maintain the paint and prevent rust on the ships decks. They also have jobs like driving the Zodiac, our short-range vessel, to shore, and they stand watch waiting for orders should anything goes awry. One crewmember described it as hours of idleness punctuated by moments of sheer terror. I attended the first mate's two training meetings held for these crewmembers. One was a class on cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and the use of the automated external defibrillator (AED), and the other was how to operate ships carbon dioxide firefighting equipment. From the questions and the faces, it is clear many had seen emergencies and had been faced with split second life or death situations. Just last night as there were issues with the recovery of the Jason 2 I saw how smoothly and safely they could communicate and get a job done. No drama; total confidence. I could picture many of my fun loving students really enjoying this type of work.

I spoke at length with Thomas Perry about why he enjoys his work. Thomas has the honor of being a member of the plank crew, meaning he was on the first crew to serve aboard the Kilo Moana. He emphasized how fortunate he is to be aboard a science vessel because of the added element of learning that is available to him. He loves to watch what we are doing and he asks questions about our work. Thomas was forced by circumstance not to finish high school and has taken a keen interest in growing wiser every day. The work can be hard, but the location is beautiful and the community aboard the ship suits his personality well. We talked about "going up the Hawsepipe" and the career path of promotion from deck hand, to able-bodied seaman (AB), to third mate, and how he could obtain raises and promotions. There is a preference these days to hire those who have attended a maritime academy. There are pros and cons to this trend. Thomas is very articulate about what he can offer to the depth and breadth of experience among the crew. He has been the pilot of small boats for many years and is local to the Hawaiian Islands. Thomas has continually spoken of his caring for school children's education.

Presented by the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology at the University of Hawaii, with financial support from the National Science Foundation.