The last cruise I was put into a situation I never thought I would have to face. I was running the High definition satellite dish that fed the live feed of the ROV JASON and associated shows back to shore as an outreach project headed by the URI Innerspace Center. It put all my trouble shooting skills to use, and proved to me that I could learn systems I had never even seen before and actually repair them.
Now I am back out in the Northern Pacific doing more multi-beaming and slowly trying to suss out a massive ongoing issue with our C-NAV gps system. I wish I could say at this moment I understood it, but I don’t. I am learning as I go, using the one tool that has rarely let me down, my uncanny ability to find underlying issues in complex systems.
On another note I can honestly say that being on a boat for three straight months, seeing science parties and crew members come and go, you begin to become much more a part of the ship crew familial group than one of the transient scientists. You develop friendships that are working relationships in such a close way that often times a glance or a small gesture can speak volumes during the chaotic times that can occur when massive problems are breaking loose.