by Captain Bryon Wilson
Experience at sea/Background:
Bryon has a background in Marine Biology and started sailing in 1984 as a crewman in the Caribbean Sea with the Smithsonian Institute. He did this for two years before moving on to commercial fishing.
At first Bryon did not like fishing, but soon realized he could work half of the year and make good money. They fished for Pollock and the temperatures got down to the mid twenty’s sometimes.
He fished for fourteen years before going back to oceanographic research in 2001. He did that for ten years and then took a job with an off-shore oil company off the coast of Asia for three years. But for the last two years, Bryon has been back on oceanographic research vessels.
Scariest moment at sea:
Bryon was off the coast of Madagascar and the seas were 30 feet tall. These were not any ordinary 30 foot sea waves though. They were pyramid waves which means the waves were converging three different ways making a pyramid. The sea was so rough it bent the bow blades, broke items in the boat, and made people fall instantly.
Other interesting facts:
- In his free time Bryon likes to Scuba Dive and ride his motorcycle.
- Bryon said growing up he was attracted to the sea, and went fishing and sailing any chance he got.
- His first Masters job was for the University of Hawaii in 2007
- He has one brother and one sister and they are both in the medical field.
- Growing up he was a part of a military family which caused them to move around a lot while he was growing up.
- He attended University of California Long Beach State
-Alex Portwood
