These Are a Few of Our Favorite Things
When I first considered the idea of being on a boat for a month, it seemed to be a very daunting experience. My longest trip on water had been approximately three hours maximum, on a ferry between islands. I was incredibly unsure what to expect about being on a boat of this size, spending a month on the water with no land in sight, or spending so much time (and in very close quarters) with people I hadn’t met before. Needless to say, I have been enjoying myself immensely and have loved getting to know the rest of the science party and ship crew. My favorite thing has definitely turned out to be the connections I have formed and the peacefulness being away from on-land responsibilities has brought. I tend to be a very shy person, and in the spirit of trying new things, I really wanted to push myself out of my comfort zone for this blog and try to start a conversation with everybody aboard the Langseth. So what better way to do this then ask them what their favorite thing is about being on a boat? The following is a list of (almost) everyone I’ve spoken to and what they enjoy most about being on a ship.
I have split the list into three sections to explore how length of time at sea alters what becomes a favorite thing on the boat. The sections are as follows: those who are on a long boat trip for the first time, those who have been on another research cruise in the past, and those who have spent a lot of time on deck in the open seas. (Note: all names and positions have been selected by each individual and may or may not be accurate representations of what they do on the boat)
FIRST TIME BOAT TRAVELERS:
- Kenni: The library 📚
- Giselle - Post chocolate-milk loopy time in the evenings 🍫🥛
- Crystal - Being out on deck to watch the wildlife and assembling the Ocean Bottom Seismometers (OBS) 🔩
- Cris - Talking to the bridge (where the captains and mates control the ship) on the radio to tell them that we completed the survey and we can start moving to the next OBS deployment station 📻
- Kavi - Not having to do any dishes ️🍴
- Jess - Sitting out on the muster deck even though it’s been compromised by bird poop 🐦⬛
- Anant - Looking out the window and seeing the birds swoop down and catch helpless flying fish 🐟
RETURNING BOAT TRAVELERS:
- William David DePalma Frazer - Most of the sunsets and sunrises are very pretty 🌅
- Josh - Being disconnected from all of the typical responsibilities we have on land and being able to focus only on science, like a little science vacation: 🧑🏫
- Cate BiggestDog McLeod - Galley gabs 💬
- Dilini - The consistent rocking of the boat ⛴️
BOAT CONNOISSEURS:
- Captain - It is much easier to make time for exercise while on the boat 🏃
- Dave - The travel and ability to see new places and how people live in those places. It’s also great to meet interesting new people, and to see my wife (Joselyn) everyday 🤗
- Joselyn (Second Mate, Ship’s Navigator) - Hanging out with my husband (Dave) and taking in God’s beauty ️🌌
- Matthew Richard Phelps (Third Mate) - My paycheck 💰
- Chief Engineer Jay - I never have to drive to work, never get stuck in traffic, the coffee’s free and they kill you with the fresh-baked cookies 🍪
- Vinni (First Engineer) - Bubbles 🫧
- Kenneth Jackson - Seeing different places and being on this type of vessel ⛴️
- Joe Walsh - The time off 💆
- Steve - Traveling to different destinations 🧳
- Carl - The pay 💸
- Gilles (Marine Technician) - Being at sea ⛵
- Brian (Marine Science Technician 2) - Working with people from different backgrounds and diverse places ️💂♂️
- Nick (Ship Tech) - Rough weather for the sense of adventure and excitement ️🌀
- Cody - Working with people from all over the world 🤠
- Tim Kane - Specifically on this boat the crew and the science party have both been more positive and fun. The science party helps a lot more and is more involved than in the past. And the food is better! 😋
- Hannah Brewer (Rev. Admiral Dr. Brewer) - Being not on land (no shade to the land, Hannah just thinks the ocean is cooler!) 🌊
- Dan - The short commute 🛻
- Allen - Sunset, stars, and lightning storms in the distance ️⚡
- Robert (AB) - The ability to travel to ports you can’t usually and exploring the surrounding area as well 🌞
- John - Better time off than a shoreside job 👨🍳
- Chantal - The challenge of each day. Everything is harder on a boat, from taking a shower to cooking, and it provides the adrenaline of doing something really hard and then looking back and saying “I did it!”. There really is no place as peaceful and refreshing as being in the middle of the ocean 🥳
- Opus McGuinness (Chief Cruise Director) - Standing midwatch and navigating the boat in the dark, especially when there’s stars out ✨
- Bubbles (Boat Mascot) - Being the star of the show 🤩
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
It would feel wrong to not share one of the most popular answers, although they all chose to remain nameless: Getting off of the boat 🧘
Thanks for joining me on this fun adventure! I enjoyed this experience a lot and encourage everyone reading to also do one thing out of their comfort zone this week!
Signing off,
Helin
Share this page:
