One of Our's Sails the Seas!

Hi all! My name is Jesse. I am the one behind most of the blog posts the last year. For the last three years, I have been an interpreter on the beach with the program and loved every moment of it. It is through working for the program that I learned a few things, about the world and myself, that have led me to where I am today.

I learned:

-Science communication is incredibly important.

-My heart is with the environment.

-I LOVE THE OCEAN.

-Sometimes talking to people with opposing views to myself is when I learn the most.

-Seabirds are cool.

-For the most part, people want to learn about science and the natural environment, if it is approached in the right way.

-Always ask for what I want, the worst that can happen is I get told no.

Working for HRAP largely influenced the direction I am going with my formal education. I am currently a junior at Portland State University working towards my Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies, with a minor in Communication; hoping to be an environmental writer after graduation. It was through a few key conversations I had with visitors at the Rock that it became clear to me that I wanted to work for the environment through writing about it.

Last month, I had the opportunity to do something that I never thought I would get to do but has been a lifelong dream of mine. I got to sail aboard the R/V Sikuliaq in the Bering Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, from Nome to Seward Alaska. I went with a program called STEMSEAS, whose goal is to show undergrads what it is like to live and do scientific research aboard a research vessel in the ocean. I went alongside ten other college students from around the United States. While sailing, we studied biology, geology, and oceanography; did CDT casts, sediment grabs, and DNA analysis. I got to see just a glimpse of what it is like to do scientific research in the middle of the ocean.

But to me, all of this was secondary to the rest of the experience. I spent the first few days horribly seasick, unable to leave my stateroom. After the storms passed and the oceans calmed, the real fun began. My first morning feeling well we were in the lab examining the sediment, we had gathered, when the phone rang; it was the first mate calling to tell us that whales were nearby and we should come to the bridge to see them. The moment that I reached the bridge, looked up, and first the time realized we were in the middle of the ocean with no land in sight. My heart skipped a beat. I quickly saw the pod of Fin Whales and tears filled my eyes. I had spent years standing on the beach, watching ships on the horizon, dreaming of what it would be like to be out there looking in at the continent, and in this moment my dreams came true.

I spent the next three days running out to the deck, every time we got a whale call. I got to see many different species up close, including a family of Orcas, Dall’s Porpoises, Lions Mane Jellyfish, and so many sea birds. I saw three Tufted Puffin while in the North Pacific near the Aleutian Islands. This made my heart so warm because I have spent so many years watching these magnificent birds at the Rock, so seeing them in the middle of the ocean brought it full circle for me. The whole experience of being so excited over each new creature was humbling for me. It reminded me to not take the creatures that live at the Rock for granted; to be excited about every Sea Star and every Common Murre because it is highly possibly that it was a visitors first time seeing one of those creatures, just like it was my first time seeing Orcas.

I am incredibly grateful for the time I spent aboard to R/V Sikuliaq. It will forever impact my life moving forward. I can’t help but think that I would have had the opportunity to sail the Bering Sea if it wasn’t for the Haystack Rock Awareness Program.