While in transit, my mentor has shown me the ropes (no pun intended). The list of responsibilities of a marine technician seem as long as the day, but to button hole the job description, I would say, marine techs are here to serve the mission, which includes the needs of the many as well as the few, professional and personal. In addition, one tries to throw in whenever and wherever possible to get the job done. In general, we are the keeper of data, the link in communication and the glue that holds all the parts as a whole (next to the steward, of course, the food has been AMAZING!). Casting CTD’s has become mostly a night time event as the TAO buoys have to be done in the light of day. The CTD’s can acquire much more than just conductivity, temperature and depth; in fact, they can be outfitted with various sensors or equipment to measure or sample just about any parameter that the science crew requires. The one in the picture is loaded with this vessel’s standard equipment, which includes 24 bottles to sample water and oxygen sensors. Oh, and the catching? When we pull a buoy out the fish follow, and we get out the mitts because they practically jump on the deck! Fresh and local fish are a staple on this ship!