Science At Sea: Expectations vs. Reality

Tanner weighs in on how science and life at sea is shaping up to his prior expectations

By Tanner Eischen

As a first-time member of an oceanographic cruise, many aspects of life at sea are different than I expected. Where to start…? The food. I did not expect to be so well-fed while floating along in the middle of the northern Pacific. The best part: dessert. There are seemingly endless amounts of pie, cheesecake, donuts, cookies, brownies, etc. in more flavors than I could have ever expected to be stored on a ship. I am not sure if everyone else is enjoying it, but, hey, I sure am. I might eat (pun intended) my words in the final weeks of the cruise, however, when we have begun to run low on essential and favorite items. For example, we have already witnessed the end of bananas, avocados, cucumbers, and cherry tomatoes.

It’s not like I expected everything to go completely smoothly, but I definitely did not expect the surveying equipment to malfunction. It feels as though we are pulling in the streamers and/or shutting down for nearby mammals every week, sometimes every few days. The more experienced members tell me this is just part of the job, and the crew of the Langseth always manage to quickly solve the problem and keep data coming in.

I expected my work shifts to be longer and more arduous, but this has allowed for some quality bonding time with the other scientists and crew members, and work time. I did not expect to participate in so many games/competitions while aboard the ship. We are currently in the middle of a heated ping pong tournament, and I hear rumors that a dance competition is on the way. Cornhole, Cribbage, the Werewolf game (French version of Mafia), Ticket to Ride, Codename, and Oh Hell have all made appearances.

When you're confined at sea for 5 weeks, your science party becomes a small (albeit science-heavy) family

As this is my first maritime experience, I expected to be seasick; and I was spot-on. Symptoms have included, to varying degrees, exhaustion, nausea, dizziness, and trouble sleeping. Luckily, no vomiting yet (fingers crossed for the rest of the trip). I did not come unprepared, however. Thank goodness for doctors whom prescribe scopolamine patches.

In short, I had a variety of expectations regarding life at sea which did not always reflect reality. Almost every experience aboard the ship has been new or surprising, and I appreciate most of them. Despite a few frustrations (e.g. seasickness and a general inability to communicate with the outside world), I have thoroughly enjoyed this opportunity.