Applying, packing, and travel:
I guess I should start at the very beginning. I found the MATE internship program completely by chance. I recently built a simple ROV and was looking at MATE’s website to see if it qualified for the ROV contest. I noticed the internships tab and realized that it was a really unique opportunity. It offered serious time at sea doing real hands-on work on research vessels. And they pay you. And cover travel. Most comparable positions aren’t available to undergrads. Excited, I applied and hoped for the best.
MATE got back to me saying that I may be placed on Healy and Oceanus, then that I would be on University of Delaware’s R/V Hugh R. Sharp for a whole six weeks. I was ecstatic. Sharp would be conducting an annual survey of sea scallops to help set fishing regulations.
Most of my preparation consisted of paperwork and emails. MATE wants participants to enroll for credit, so I signed up for my home university’s summer internship course. Big mistake. It is not set up for this type of program, it’s more expensive than MPC’s, and it requires a whole lot of paperwork and homework- some of which is impossible for me to do at sea. By the time I realized what I got myself into, it was too late to drop it. Be careful what you sign up for!
Packing. It’s always hard to know how much to pack. MATE’s “what to bring” list, though helpful, seemed very normal and I felt like I would need more things. My mentor said I’d need steel-toe boots and foul weather gear, but the ship could buy them for me. I packed my sailing foulies and found some steel toed boots in the closet. I brought enough clothes for about two or three weeks on a ship, which is significantly less than one might need for the same amount of time on land. The Sharp has a laundry machine but I didn’t expect it to be usable all the time. I brought some bedding, toiletries, snacks, a flashlight, and my leatherman multitool. I charged up my camera and brought a wide lens, a long lens, and a bunch of other gear.
Where I live in New York isn’t that far from Sharp’s port in Delaware. I was sort of surprised that MATE decided to fly me there instead of using a train or bus. Whatever works! I weighed my bag on a scale to make sure it was under the airline’s 50lb limit and moved some stuff to my backpack.
June 6th 2014 – Adventure begins.
4am. My airport taxi got there early to bring me to my 6am flight. His headlights shined into my house from the inky night as I got my things together and scrambled downstairs. My flight went to North Carolina, then Salisbury, Maryland. I stayed in a hotel overnight and was picked up the next day along with another UNOLS technician.