It's Official: I'm on a Boat

Hi friends,

It's time to break out your best T-Pain impression, 'cause I'm on a boat! We're still at port on the not-so-Lonely Island of Singapore, so I can't say it has been smooth sailing as of yet. But getting to the JOIDES Resolution is a good first step. And lo', is she a site to behold!

At 469 feet in length and 69 feet in width, the JR is quite a bit bigger that speedboat your silly friend is always bragging about, but is less than half the length of the largest cruise ships sailing the temperate seas at the present. The most conspicuous feature of the ship is the derrick at its center, which rises 205 feet above the water and helps suspend several thousand feet of drill pipe when the ship is coring seafloor sediments. The ship also features a full suite of labs devoted to preparing and analyzing samples from sediment cores once they're drilled pulled up to the ship, several levels of bunks, a lounge, a movie room, and a gym. While the living isn't luxurious, it's quite comfortable all things considered.

Once the expedition sets sail, the ship will be home to about 125 people for two months; 50 or so of these folks will be members of the science party (including yours truly) plus lab technicians, while the other 65 are ocean drilling specialists and other professionals devoted to operating the drill rig. The science party consists of scientists from many of the nations that collaborate to operate IODP of varying levels of experience, from graduate students like myself to seasoned veterans who have been sailing on IODP Expeditions for over 20 years. Many of the specialists are staff of Siem Offshore, the company that actually owns the JR and operates about 50 vessels devoted to exploration drilling for the oil & gas industry. 125 may seem like a lot of people to be working on a boat at once, but because the ship operates 24 hours a day, only half of the ship's inhabitants are up and working at any given time. Rooms are also double-occupancy as a result of this.

We should be a port for a few more days, during which time I and the rest of the scientists will continue getting accustomed to the ship and going over important policies. The ship is a bit maze-like, so an inordinate amount of this time will probably be spent accidentally walking into the wrong room and getting distracted (Wait, this is the mess hall? I'm trying to get to the gym...oh, is that a self-serve frozen custard machine? Maybe I'll just have a small cone and then go to the gym...). But it's certainly a good way to introduce yourself to folks and start making new friends with similar interests from around the globe.

Until next time!

- Dan

P.S.  - You can learn lots more about the JR by going to the ship's website, http://joidesresolution.org/. There's even a virtual tour!