Marine Technical Internship Blog

Here is a quick summary of my first week on the RV Atlantis. I boarded my flight from California to Seattle, WA, early in the morning.

***View from the plane as it descended to Seattle, WA***

Once I landed, I hopped on the bus and headed to Anacortes, (a snappy four-hour ride), and arrived at my hotel. My fellow interns, Grace and Cherisse, and I explored the quaint town and dined at one of the local restaurants.

***Picture of the R/V Atlantis***

The following morning, we boarded the ship and met Allison Heater, an SSSG, our lead during our internship. We were shown to our rooms in the science berthing, also known as “the snake pit.” It sounds scary; however, my room is very very nice. After settling in, we toured the 274 ft vessel, the R/V Atlantis: mess, the many labs…we were introduced to the lead scientist Jennifer Johnson and the rest of the SSSG: Robbie Laird, Chris Grinder, Larry George, and Catie Graver. We continued our exploration of the ship since it would be our home as we make our way to Woods Hole, Massachusetts. 

***A-frame test, it lifted 100,000 lbs for 10 minutes***

As we readied to depart Anacortes, we spent the next few days prepping the ship. I helped secure the vessel for sea. Friday morning, I watched our departure on the bridge as we left Anacortes. Soon after leaving port the Chief Mate, PJ, scheduled a safety drill to go over how to use Emergency Escape Breathing Devices, EEBA., and we practiced putting on an immersion suit. The next few days were dedicated to testing/calibrating scientific equipment: the EK 80 and multibeam.

***Test path for the multibeam***

Today is day 5 on the R/V Atlantis. I boarded the ship Monday morning at the shipyard in Anacortes, Washington. I made it to town easily and enjoyed the plane ride here! It was a cool experience with great views. We started Monday off with a tour of the ship and unpacking our bags in the Science Berthing hall, also known as the ‘snake pit’. I was introduced to what felt like tons of new faces and was honestly in awe by the size of the vessel. Within a few hours of boarding I took the time to walk around and familiarize myself with the ships layout, safety plans, and escape routes. Thankfully that helped me learn my way around quickly. I met the SSSG team, they will be acting as our mentors during the cruise. Everyone on board is very friendly and open to answering questions or talking about their work or interests. In the past 5 days I still don’t think I have met everyone since everybody is on different schedules. I have enjoyed listening to their stories and experiences, and what they like about Woods Hole and the Atlantis. 

We left the shipyard at 0900 Thursday, July 16th. The Captian invited the interns to watch us depart from the bridge and that was an unforgettable experience and view as a crowd of people on the docks and surrounding ships bid farewell to the Atlantis. SInce we left the shipyard we have spend most of our time in Puget Sound up until a few hours ago. Now (1600) we are heading towards the open ocean! 

Since boarding the ship Monday I have spend most of my time shadowing the SSSG team. I have watched them troubleshoot, work on wifi connection problems, work on patch pannels and tons more. In addition to that, I have soldered wires, made color-coordinated ethernet cables for the patch panels, installed desktops, downloaded programs and files, and cleaned the Hydro Lab. I have observed a deployment of a Sonardyne Compatt 6 Transponder to test its connections and readings, and I have observed real time data from the hull mounted multibeam sonar from the computer lab. Readings from the multibeam should be coming in 24/7 during this whole trip so I am looking forward to seeing the different terrains we pass over. While the ship was in the shipyard, it was completely stripped clean dry to its bones. New equipment was installed, maintence was done and new painting, flooring, and many other things were done to the Atlantis. In the past few weeks they have been working on hauling everything back on board and putting the ship back together just enough to cruise. This means the multiple labs, office spaces, and more common spaces are piled high with boxes and containers. The labs specifically are basically storage spaces. Ultimately the goal of this cruise is to both return the Atlantis to Woods Hole, and get it close to ready for a science expedition. This means having all the labs set up, all electrical wiring completed and the computer terminals in place, desks, shelving, and chairs assembled together and everything inside deep cleaned and some spaces even painted. I admit it is a lot to do and I am a little skeptical of how much willl actually get done. Electrical work isnt exactly my background, however I am looking forward to learning all I can. Besides, who knows when you’ll need to make a custom length ethernet cable on whim. It’s a skill, like all, that I am glad to have. 

In total my first impressions of the ship and its crew is overwhelmingly amazing and I am looking forward to the rest of the cruise. It is hard to believe that 5 days have already passed, feels like only 1 or 2 days ago I boarded the ship..

Until next time-

Hello Everyone!

My name is Cherisse Figueroa and I am a recent graduate from Humboldt State University where I majored in Oceanography.

I am beyond excited to be a part of this amazing opportunity to work alongside establish scientists aboard the R/V Atlantis, especially in the field that I am personally most interested in: deep sea science. What my long term goal is to contribute to this new and unknown area of the ocean, primarily focusing on complex communities that form on hydrothermal vents or whale falls. Being chosen for this expedition, not only do I work alongside people who have done exactly what I want to do, I get hands on experience with the equipment and lifestyle I will hopefully one day be able to use myself in my professional future!

For the past year, I have been able to keep myself pretty busy working in the commercial fishing industry in Alaska boarding fishing vessels in the Bering Sea. I have been out at sea for most of the year, only coming to land for short periods of time. My position aboard the vessels is to do at-sea biological sampling and data entry for the vessel aboard and aiding in the preservation of sustainable fishing in one of the most healthy and controlled oceans in the world. It is physically tiring, working in some of the most trecherous weather conditions, and no WiFi, but I love my job and what I can do for better fishing practices.

Speaking of being at sea for most of the year, I recently disembarked my last vessel I was on for the past 3 months 4 days ago and now will be boarding the Atlantis is 3. Good thing I won’t lose my sea legs!

See you soon!

Hi! My name is Bella, and I am excited to begin my internship aboard the R/V Atlantis.  I am flying out to Washington to meet the crew and the other interns where we will begin our cruise down the California coast through the Panama Canal to our final destination Woods Hole Massachusetts. While on the ship I will work with the marine technicians.

A little about me: I attend California Maritime Academy in Vallejo California double majoring in Marine Engineering Technology and Oceanography.  I enjoyed two summers at sea experiences thus far.  The first, my freshman year with my school where we traveled to Samoa, Solomon Islands, Saipan, and Hawaii and then with MSC on the USNS Fall River, and our ports included the Philippines, Australia, Timor-Leste, and Indonesia.  During both of these cruises, my focus was engineering.  My interest in engineering began in middle school when I discovered my love of robotics.  I competed in FIRST robotics and Botball in both middle and high school.  I enrolled in my high school’s CTE Engineering Pathway and was the only girl to graduate my year as a completer. 

I look forward to sharing stories on this journey and hope it will encourage other girls to think about careers in science and technology.  I also am looking forward to getting out of the desert heat!  I live in the Coachella Valley and this summer has been like an infernal – days over 120 degrees and humid.  The upside the beautiful sunsets we enjoy.

Good Evening Everyone! 

This is my first official post since being accepted as a MATES At-Sea Intern! My name is Grace Fulton and I will be boarding the R/V Atlantis in 12 short days to embark on a 4-5 week cruise from Washington to Massachusetts. I am a recent graduate of Cape Fear Community College in Wilmington, North Carolina. From Cape Fear I recieved an Associate in Applied Sciences in Marine Technology and an Associate’s degree in General Education. I have had some experience going offshore on a research vessel, the R/V Cape Hatteras, for 5 straight days and nights. However 5 days seems like a small amount of time compared to 5 weeks. That said I am so excited to begin this internship. Growing up on the East Coast I have never been further north than Washington, D.C. and not been further west than the Appalachian Mountians of NC. I am looking forward to traveling to Seattle, excited to see the Panama Canal and looking forward to landing in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. Im also excited to be sailing in the Pacific Ocean and watch the sun set on the water’s horizon for the first time! I am looking forward to meeting the two other interns and learning from them, as well as the ships crew. I know this is going to be an incredible adventure! 

Wish me luck for my first time flying in a plane!!! 

Until next time