Bao Tran Dos' Blog

Today was my first time going outside to explore the boat. I did not realize how big the ship is.

THe R/V Roger Revelle begins its steam west to the Oregon Endurance Offshore Site. Credit: M. Elend, University of Washington.

Students went out to see a green flash, which did not materialize. But, there was a beautiful sunset. Credit: Kelsy Cain, University of Washington, V17.

Aug 26, 2017

This is Tran speaking.

Today was my first time going outside to explore the boat. I did not realize how big the ship is. The view near the bridge was very beautiful yesterday. The sky was blue and the ocean has a shimmering glow to it due to the sun rays piercing through the Earth’s atmosphere. My group and I got all of the interviewing done. Which was really nice because tomorrow we are presenting our project in front of other shipmates. After dinner we begin to move location. Again, I started to feel seasick. I didn’t have to do my shift tonight because the waves were really high up and not very friendly. I retrieved to my bunk and call it a night since the ride was really rough. (>.<)

Over and out.

Aug 25, 2017

This is Tran speaking.

Tonight watch did not start till 0130. After Jason submerging couple of meters down we begin to see a couple of fishes. As the depth increase we saw a school full of fishes. They were swimming around Jason as the rov descended to the bottom of the ocean floor. We encountered two sharks on our way down. The sharks in term of size were frankly small. To be honest I was a little bit disappointed. I really want to see bigger shark. But I am fortunate that I got to see sharks on my watch because other students did not get a chance to. After about an hour into my shift I begin to feel sick again. I ended up having to run to the bathroom to throw up. I tried my best to stay for the remaining of my shift, but my body couldn’t hold it together anymore. I told my partner that I have to go since I wasn’t feeling well. I left thirty minutes before my shift ended. I felt terribly bad for leaving him by himself. That night I couldn’t sleep because I keep on vomiting. I slept through breakfast and lunch again. :(

Over and out.

Aug 24, 2017

This is Tran speaking.

I finished my second round of watches in the mission control room for Jason this morning in one piece. The highlight of this watch is seeing a shark. It was a baby shark. I wished it was an adult shark because I want some thriller and excitement to happen while being on watch. After when my shift was over I headed off to bed. I looked and felt so terrible because I did not get any sleep in before the watch. I slept like a baby all the way till noon today after I was release from my post. The boat begins to transit once they recovered Jason from the ocean. I have to say this transit went pretty smoothly because we are now moving with the currents. There was not that much up and down motions. My body feels way much more less stress and happier now than at the beginning of this trip. The cooks, like usual, did an excellent job today with the meals. I have to say my favorite food today is the Oreo and Cookies pie. It was not too soft nor too hard. It was not too sweet or too bitter. It was just right. I should learn some of their recipes before this trip is over. \(>.<)_
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Over and out.

Aug 23 2017

Last night or should I say morning, I sat in my ever first watch in the mission control room. It was really amazing, but at the same time very intense. There were three people in charge; navigator, pilot, and the engineer. The room has to be very quiet when they are in the middle of operation because this is a multi-million dollars’ project. If anything were to happen it would become a huge loss to the team. We saw a huge fish and an alkaline hydro thermal vent. The vent looks very beautiful and white. It was spurring out gas. After the watch I went to bed around 0410 in the morning. I was really hungry and very sleep deprived at that point. I debated for awhile whether or not should I go eat first then bed or vice versa. I decided to go to bed because I did not have any energy left in me to go feed myself. Fast forward to the meeting time which occurred at 1330. The students at UW minus Arron, went on the engineering room tour. It lasted about thirty minutes. My favorite part about the tour is learning about how they have six generators and make their own water by distilled the seawater. After the tour I went to take another power nap. Woke up just in time for dinner. I ate pork belly with gravy which was really good. The food here is surprisingly amazing. After dinner, I went and helped out Mitchel collect samples. Now I am going to go take a power nap before my next shift from 0000-0400. 

Over and out.

Aug 20 2017

We left port around 12:30 pm on August 20th, 2017. It was a very windy day and cloudy sky. The boat was shaking a lot. Motion sickness started to kick in for me around 1 pm. I been in the majority of the time. The boat ride felt like an endless rollercoaster ride. Up and down. Up and down. UP and DOWN. Nonstop. I haven’t been able to digest any food for the last 24 hours since we left port. My body was in a lot of stress and constantly in nausea mode. I felt like the whole world is about to crash on top of my chest breaking through my rib bones. I thought I was going to die out here in the ocean. We did a Jason’s tour at 1400. I saw a whale for the first time in real life and it was really fascinating. I begin to get seasick again so I left the tour early to go back to my bunk to lie down. The wave seemed to calm down around 1400-1700. I felt slightly better but still couldn’t get myself off my bed to go eat my sandwich, which I didn’t eat from lunch. Instead, I ended up eating the Kit Kat that my past self was being really smart about; storing some candies right next to my bed in case if I get hungry at night and feel too lazy to get down from my bunk which is located on top of my roommate. But once the boat arrived at the destination spot I was able to feel more like myself. I was able to make it to dinner and actually digest it. It was taco’s Monday. The food was very delicious. The cooks are really friendly. One of them even asked about my well being and wonder where have I been since I didn’t show up to any meals during the last 24 hours. Even though my body has been constantly questioning my decision of coming out here for the last day or so. I am glad that I came out here. I got to experience something that other people will never get to in their life time. I am very thankful. On top of that the people here are really nice and very welcoming. My first shift on this trip will be from 0000-0400 starting Tuesday. I pray that I survive my first shift without throwing up. >-<

Over and out.