The Crew

Today we’re at station 34 of 36!

The most important people on the R/V Thompson are her crew; none of our work would be possible without them doing their jobs; their willingness to go above and beyond makes our jobs a good bit easier.

On our ship is:

Captain Russ: responsible for the overall operations of the ship, loads of paperwork, and any disciplinary action that might arise (yep, they even have a brig on this ship!). But don’t get the wrong idea; he’s regularly seen doing deck work, holding tag lines for crane loads, and carrying our heavy seawaters up to their storage spots on various decks. This is a very rare quality in a captain, and we find it awesome!

Captain Russ (background) holds a safety line along with AB Dave (left) and AB Jason (right) as Chief Mate Kris (center) directs the crane operator. This is every bit as crazy as Bettina Sohst’s photo makes it look!

Chief (first) Mate Kris, 2^nd Mate Matt, and 3^rd Mate Kim: each of whom is responsible for two 4 hours shifts on the bridge during the day. They keep the ship on course and let us know when it’s safe to deploy our equipment over the side. Last week I was up with Kim when a fishing vessel radioed us and she was responsible for communicating our heading and making sure there was no collision.  Kris also doubles as our medic on the ship, and maintains the small hospital on board.

Kim on watch up on the bridge [photo by Bettina Sohst].

Chief Engineer Jim: the title implies his role. Jim is in charge of making sure the ship is able to run, from the big things like the diesel engines that propel us and power generators, to the freezers staying cold, the air conditioning running, the sewage tanks not overflowing, and the water system which continually makes fresh water.

Engineers Andy, Mike & Mark: are the certified engineers that work under Jim’s direction to keep things running smoothly. They do it all, from fixing broken heads [toilets] to repairing the toaster. They have an extensive workshop and can even machine parts when needed. Also, Andy is our barber (but he seems to only give buzz cuts).

Oilers Ves, Scott, Orlando, and Mario : Similarly to the engineers, these 4 keep the ship running. The only difference I’ve found is they haven’t earned their engineer’s certificate yet.

[left to right, in order of heads] Orlando, Ves, Mike, Dave, and Rob carrying a fire hose (photo by Katlin Bowman).

  

ABs Mike, Rob, Brian, Dave, Michele, and Jason: The able bodied sea(wo)men are here to do whatever needs doing. They clean the “public” heads, run the winch for deck ops, chip paint, wash the floors, repair ventilation, help us carry heavy things around the ship, fetch spray paint for Thanksgiving turkeys… you name it and they can do it. Today, Michele even dug out the Christmas tree and a few of us helped her put it up in the lounge!

ABs Brian, Jason, and Dave [1^st, 3^rd, and 4^th from foreground] help us move boxes filled with samples [photo by Bettina Sohst].

Galley staff: Cook Dan, 2^nd Cook Liz, and Mess Attendant Mai. Liz wakes up before dawn (~04:30) every day to start breakfast; Dan joins her shortly after she gets the baked goods (coffee cake, scones, and sometimes brownies!) to make eggs, bacon, quiche, etc. They have breakfast, lunch and dinner ready exactly on time every day. Over the course of 60 days that’s 9,900 meals for all of us! They quite impressively managed to keep the green lettuce going for 47 days, and we’re still eating fresh plums and apples. No scurvy on this ship! Mai has 2 important roles: washing all our dishes and keeping the snack bar stocked. 

Marine Technicians Patrick and Stephan: Technically not part of the crew, these two are responsible for keeping us scientists from running amuck. They are our liaisons with the bridge for deck ops, and help us fix our gear when it breaks, and overall provide scientists support for their work.  

 Patrick overseeing a deployment.

  

In addition to the daily roles they play, everyone above is also in charge of specific tasks when it comes to abandoning ship, (wo)man overboard, or a fire. This is really important, so they meet weekly on safety and have drills at least once a month which everyone participates in. Earlier this week we did an abandon ship and fire drill.

The crew is reminded of abandon ship procedures.

 

Michele and Ves practice deploying the ladder for climbing overboard. Apparently we aren’t supposed to just jump in during emergencies.

 

Each firefighter has someone to help dress them. Here Dan helps Ves suit up; Liz helps Michele, and Orlando helps AB Mike.

Fire hoses are tested, which requires a lot of strength. Mario, Dan, Liz and Mike shoot one overboard.

During all of this, the scientists retrieve their survival gear and meet at our muster point for roll call. The large gathering of disheveled people looks a lot like kids getting ready to board a bus home from summer camp. 

Gretchen Swarr (WHOI) smirks at me while Bettina Sohst (Old Dominion University) tries to nap [the drill caught her during her off shift].

Rob Sherrell (Rutgers) also sleeps (seeing a pattern yet?)

 

Nick Hawco and Brett Longworth (both WHOI) look on as Sarah Nicholas (U Mn) demonstrates her preparedness for evacuation.

 

Our co-chief scientists Chris German (WHOI) and Jim Moffett (Univ. of Southern California) trying to get arrested by the fashion police, instilling confidence in us, mustering.