by Crew Interview
Hillary Smith
Today is beautiful. The weather is warm, the sun is shining, and the sea is calm. Sitting in plastic Adirondack chairs on the first floor balcony, I get to know a bit about Kim.
She is the Second Cook on the R/V Sikuliaq. While she has only worked for two years on this vessel, she has been in the industry for the past ten years. Originally from Nebraska, Kim was living in Florida when she made friends with someone who worked as a chef on a research ship. Whenever he would come back to Florida after a contract he would tell her stories about his travels. At the time Kim was working in retail. Inspired by the adventure stories, Kim got her safety certification so she could apply for shipboard positions and her friend let her know when a spot opened up. She did not know how to cook then, but knew she could learn.
Her first trip as crew was to the Bahamas. After arriving and dropping of the science team, the crew went snorkeling. Most of the trips she has worked were in tropical areas. The Sikuliaq has allowed her to see more northern regions. On her first trip into the ice she was able to see polar bears and beautiful scenery. Her favorite place she has visited through her work was Samoa and American Samoa. Since it is a place with little tourism she was able to get a feel for local life.
In addition to traveling to new places, Kim also enjoys learning about the diversity of research in ocean science. She likes getting to know the scientists that come aboard and learn about what they are working on. Kim especially likes seeing the submarines and other instrumentations. On one of the trips, the science team was using a four-person submarine. Jokingly, Kim commented several times about wanting to go out in the manned submarine. When it was time to do a test dive the scientists asked her if she wanted to go. She did. Kim went down in the submarine several hundred feet into the ocean.
Since she has only worked on research vessels, and the UNOLS community is so small, she has had the opportunity to work with the same crew and scientists on multiple vessels over the years. It is always exciting to see a familiar face and catch up with someone you have not seen in a while. The crew of the Sikuliaq spend a lot of time together. Fortunately, everyone gets along well and the community feels like a family. Kim points out what a patient teacher the Chef, Mark, is and how much she has learned from him. She does not imagine herself doing anything else.
—–A special thanks to Kim for letting me chat with her and write this blog post about her experiences on UNOLS research vessels!
