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For my crew interview I chose to go straight to the man with the most important job. No offense Captain Dave, but I went downstairs to talk to the crew member tasked with keeping us alive, keeping us afloat, and keeping our sewage system running, Chief Engineer Ray Rodriguez. I first me Ray on my walk-through of the Engine Room. The place looked like a movie set with blinking buttons and switches covering every inch of the walls and counters. The place is loud! Incredibly loud! Ray handed my small group earplugs and showed us around the massive machines keep us afloat. He knew how every system operated and explained its importance on the R/V Revelle. Ray joked a bit as we shouted over the engine pistons to ask what the large black valves in front of us controlled. “You touch that and this whole place is gonna stink!” I quickly found the words Sewage System and backed away.
Tracking Ray down to grab a sit-down interview proved tricky, he’s a busy guy, and I can’t just walk into the restricted crew member only engine room unannounced, this is a Naval ship. We met in the library, and I basically wanted to know what brought Ray onto the ship and what he enjoyed about being at sea. “Basically, I’m here because someone asked….and I’m here” He doesn’t beat around the bush. Ray’s certifications to operate specific equipment aboard the ship make him highly sought after and keep him constantly working. Usually aboard oil drilling vessels, this was Ray’s first science expedition. He grew up in New York, which you can pick up from his accent, but currently lives in St. Cloud, Florida. The first ship he served on was the American Ace in 1980, he served as a cadet. He comes from a military family. His wife attended Kings Point Maritime Academy and father graduated West Point Military Academy in ’65.
During our interview we talked about the dangers of being at sea and the unpredictability of the ocean. Ray remembered an Alaskan shrimping vessel that lost 3 crew members during a rough storm. I asked where his favorite places were that the job had taken him, ” Hands down, without a doubt New Zealand and Australia! The color of the water, the bay, it’s the most beautiful.” We talk travel stories for a while, he told me all about the Taj Mahal and Bombay and before long we got talking about Ray’s real pride and joy, his exceptional children. His fourteen-year-old is 6’4″ and killing it on the courts, accompanied with the technical know-how that has him focused on Duke or MIT. Ray’s older children are following their parents’ call to service with his older son, 18, attending Kings Point Academy and daughter, 21, on her way to graduate West Point. He has glory in his children’s accomplishments and boasts about them like a proud father. From our conversations his children sound well rounded, intelligent, and like they are greatly loved by their parents.
Ray told me the best part about being on these expeditions is, “The people. Listening, getting to know them and their problems. That’s what I like.” After being on the ship for 11 days, spending most of it in transit, usually talking to the crew and playing cards with my team, I agree with Chief Engineer Ray Rodriguez, the best part about the ship is its people.
-Gabriel
