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By: Jesse Avendano
Hello everyone, my name is Jesse Avendano and I am a student at The New York City College of Technology with a major in Cellular and Molecular Biology. My time here at sea has been an experience I will never forget from beautiful sunsets to learning how to shower while keeping my balance. It was my first time ever visiting this part of the world in the North Pacific Ocean and getting to experience it with the crew onboard has been breathtaking. Embarking in Hawaii and setting sail has made me more well-rounded and unlocked a challenge of adapting to out of world experiences. With the help of leads onboard I’ve been able to learn the importance of what E/V Nautilus does for the scientific community and how seafloor mapping aids in our understanding in the world that lies beneath us. Oftentimes, we look up to the sky wondering what’s out there, but being here has turned my direction to what is beneath us. I was able to see onscreen a section of the seafloor mapping which looked a lot like a scorpion and I thought “wow, nature sure has a way of being very unique”.
New seafloor feature mapped during NA160. Photo Credit: Jesse Avendano
Not only does the sea allow for many organisms to call it home but it also is the passageway to other parts of the world. Walking up and eating lunch and dinner while getting to know everyone’s experiences and why they choose to be on the ocean has definitely made me question what more we can do out here at sea! We learned how to tie ropes with TJ, one of the ship’s crew, which was an informative learning lesson which could be useful as a life skill as I could not tie a knot to save my life! Aside from learning about the importance of seafloor mapping I have also been able to learn a couple of magic tricks from Emily which blew my mind how a simple card trick can play a good deception to the mind. Overall, my time at sea is one for the books and I will forever be grateful to have shared this experience with everyone onboard as I look forward to being back on the ocean once again!
A Nautilus Sunset. Photo Credit: Jesse Avendano
