Student's Report:
Hello, we are Darin Tonks and Vito Maselli. We are Reefdogs that have gone to sea on the Ronald Brown to study hydrothermal vents with Dr. Baker and the NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL).

Each day is exciting, but as our reefdog shipmates have described before, some days we work with different departments. We have been working with the deck crew and we thought that you would like to know a little about how they operate. The first few days of our cruise, we were very busy on the deck. We helped with hoisting the TEP moorings that popped up and casting the CTD (please see Student Log entry #2 & 3 for acronym descriptions). That was when we were over the Axial Volcano. Since then, we have cruised South to the Cleft Segment of the Juan de Fuca Ridge and have been doing tow-yos for two days.

While the tow-yos are in operation, we busy our selves around the ship with Ordinary Seaman, Herb Watson. Herb is a good teacher and is our immediate boss when we work with the deck crew. He literally "taught us the ropes" and gave us a new appreciation for hard work. Herb has been with the Brown for most of her cruises and never looses his enthusiasm. He is quick with a joke and makes hard work fun. Deck operations that require the coordination of departments need constant radio and telephone communication.Acting Chief Bosun Mate, David Owen gives instructions to the assisting seaman. He calls the shots from the deck and tells the scientists what is happening. The bridge monitors the whole operation and makes all of the final decisions.

We learned that there are two ways to become an ordinary seaman. One is to get a letter of commitment from a Captain that says that you have a job on a ship. With that letter, you can go to the Coast Guard office and get "sworn in" to the Merchant Marines. The Merchant Marines is part of the US Department of Transportation and you are not obligated to a specific number of years of duty like the Navy or the Coast Guard. You may also get in by attending a Merchant Marine Academy. When you graduate from the academy, you are a third mate. If you haven't been to an academy, you can accumulate sea time by receiving discharge papers at the end of a hitch. Discharge papers are signed by the captain and provide proof of how many days you have been at sea. Once you have accumulated two years or so you may apply to take a test to become an Able Bodied Seaman. This allows you more responsibility on the boat and more freedom to travel on different ships around the world.

Working on deck is great. The fresh salt air makes you feel better and the sun warms your face. If we are not working on coordinated operations and it's good weather, Herb has us "chipping and painting." This is a never-ending task on a ship because the salt water is so corrosive. First we would chip away at spots on the deck where you can see rust stains or paint bubbles where rust is trying to come out. Once you have chipped the rust away, you prime it and then paint it. A "rule of thumb" that you can use when you're chipping and painting is that "If it moves, grease it. If it doesn't move, paint it." When the weather is rough, we work inside. We work with Herb and sometimes Ordinary Seaman, Reggie Williams. Reggie is part of the original crew of the Brown. Like Herb, he has been at sea for a long time and is ready to become an Able Bodied Seaman. Those guys work us hard but they also make it fun. One of our duties is to pick up the trash. We have to sort it and bag it so that we can put it in the incinerator. We do other things such as "swabbing the deck" and cleaning the "heads." Sometimes your work is tedious but it is all part of the things that are necessary to make the cruise run smoothly. We all know that we are helping the crew and makes us happy because it is all part of the experience that makes us students at sea.

Darin and Vito spooling out line with the deckhands.

Vito and Darin helping deploy the CTD.