by 
By: Dr. Jeanette Pirlo | STEMSEAS Educator and Assistant Professor, CSU Stanislaus
It wasn’t but a few weeks ago when I was invited to be an educator onboard the E/V Nautilus for the second time. The catch though was that I’d be the STEMSEAS educator with previous experience….now don’t get me wrong, there is nothing more I enjoy than being in charge, HOWEVER this was the big times and I wasn’t sure I had paid enough attention last year to do a good job.
Summer 2023 found me as junior educator to my mentor and dear friend, Dr. Lisa White, on the inagural cruise between STEMSEAS and OET on the Nautilus. Lisa has years of experience leading students on ship-board internships, and I was tagging along for fun (okay fine, for the experience). I knew Lisa had done a great deal of work while managing the trip, but i didn’t know just HOW. MUCH. WORK. Below is but a short daily excerpt of a day as a STEMSEAS educator in charge as we led up to the trip, while at sea, and finally, handing my charges over to grateful parents.
May 16, 2024 – 1 week before departure
As an Assistant Professor at Stanislaus State, we are finishing up the Spring Semester, and I still have finals to administer, essays to grade, final grades to input, pack, clean, emails, cry, etc. The trip seems months away.
May 20, 2024 – 3 days before departure
“Don’t forget to grab your passport! Put it in your backback.” This has been my mental mantra for the last week and for the last week I keep forgetting my passport. I’ve been having stress dreams of being in Hawaii and the Captain keeps asking for my passport and I don’t have it. BUT TODAY! i remember to grab it, put it in my backpack and expect to sleep soundly. Now, I just need to grade these 24 exams….
May 22, 2024 11:50p – 7 hours before departure
If these students do not submit their essays in time…..I swear…..And I have to finish packing….and I have to finish the trip’s daily schedule….double check my passport’s in my backpack….do I shower tonight? tomorrow morning? tonight for sure, sleep a few extra hours….
May 23, 2024 6a – 25 hours to departure
TODAY IS THE DAY! Luggage is loaded! Off to pick up Nayeli, Johana, and Jesus from campus and then off to the airport. but first…..coffeee….activate Lisa-mode as one participants misses their first flight out of New York. Uniformed gate personnel claim there is no other flights from New York to Hawaii that day (how is this possible?! and on Memorial Day weekend?!) Participant finds another attendant and gets placed on a new flight. Will arrive to Honolulu a little later than anticipated, but at least will arrive the today as planned. Okay, crisis averted, off to the airport so we can board our flight as well.
** 7 hours later **
WE HAVE ARRIVED! Honolulu is beautiful! Now off to the hotel to eat and relax and explore! JUST KIDDING! The students are off to do all of these fun activities, I’m back on my logistics game. Our delayed participant’s replacement flight was delayed due to bad weather and even though they’ve arrived safely to Seattle for their layover, they missed the flight to Hawai’i and there’s no later flight out. The airline is not comping a hotel stay. Thank god for Larkin who is able to book a hotel room for our student, and we get him a new flight out of Seattle, expected to land in Honolulu by noon the next day. Not ideal, but at least he’ll arrive the day before departure. In the meantime, I’m gonna eat and pass out. Wait, I still have to grade essays, input final grades, and work on that pesky daily schedule…..sleep is overrated (how does Lisa do it?!)
Stan State participants, from left to right: Jesus Valencia, Nayeli Ramos, Johana Dominguez, & Jeanette Pirlo. Photo Credit: Jeanette Pirlo
May 24, 2024, 11a – 20 hours to departure (or is it….?)
All of our students have arrived or are in-transit! We are checked out of the hotel, loaded into 2 vans and headed over to the docks to FINALLY board the Nautilus. We are scheduled to leave tomorrow at 7a. First things first though, COVID tests prior to boarding. Although COVID has mainly been relegated to the background of our daily terrestrial lives, the folks that live onboard ships still take heavy precautions regarding COVID. Being out at sea for extended periods of time, especially so far out to sea where the ship is closer to astraunauts on the International Space Station than to anyone on land, it is imperative that crew remain as healthy as possible. This means that anyone coming onboard must follow strict COVID protocols including masking the week prior boarding, avoiding crowded, indoor spaces, and testing prior to boarding. People that test positive are isolated from the rest of the crew, receive hand delivered meals, and are exempt from tasks until their tests come back negative. Luckily, everyone tested negative and we were invited to board the Nautilus. Additionally, we were notified that we would actually be departing the Honolulu harbor at 2000 hours (10p Honolulu time) that same night! Even though the time table had moved up 9 hours, we were all onboard, and ready to begin our adventure. Just kidding, we have one last student arriving in Honolulu at noon! As the rest of the team gets a tour of the Nautilus, I am anxiously awaiting our last member at the dock gate. As soon as he arrives, we get him COVID-tested (negative!) onboard, and introduced to everyone!
COVID-tests prior to boarding. Photo courtesy: Jeanette Pirlo
We held our first STEMSEAS activity today with short introductions by everyone and the exchange of the tiny gifts, a beautiful tradition. Every STEMSEAS member, students and mentors, bring a tiny gift to give to each member of the group. The gifts are meant to represent a little bit of who we are, so that we can take each one of us back home. The stories behind every gift are moving and thoughtful. There are hand painted artwork, heart-shaped glasses, inspiring quotes to get us through the hardest days, and so much more. I will cherish these gifts for a very long time.
Now off to our cabins (luxurious for the educators, useful for the students lol) to unpack and settle in (and take motion sickness meds just in case…..). I’m really hoping that because we’ll be leaving at night, we’ll wake up with our sea legs!
1950 hours (9:50p Hawai’i Time)
The Harbor Pilot is onboard and we are casting off! This is the last time we will see land until June 3rd when we dock in Canada. It’s a beautiful night, balmy, light breeze, and a sky so clear you can see a million stars. As soon as we get into deeper water, the pilot jumps back into his pilot boat, and we are truly off. It’s getting really chilly on the Monkey Deck as we pick up speed. I’m off to bed, hoping to stave off sea sickness. Wish us luck.
May 25, 2024, 4a local time…..
Hello sea sickness my old friend…..in the infamous words of Charles Darwin as he sailed on the HMS Beagle in 1861 “I am very poorly today and very stupid and hate everybody and everything.”
May 25, 2024 11a local time
I think I feel a little better, perhaps I’ll peek my head out of my cabin for lunch……on second thought, maybe I’ll just lay down. Thank God for my amazing bunk mate, Larkin. She has brought me bread, olives, and some broccoli. I’m feeling a bit more settled and will try to eat. I hope students are doing okay….I hope the Captain doesn’t run the Muster Drill today….guess we’ll see
Best Roommate! Larkin Bohn, Scicommer extraordinaire (left) and Jeanette Pirlo (right) at sunset. Photo Credit: Larkin Bohn
May 26, 2024, 9a local time
**Blaring Alarm** Yup, there’s the muster drill…. put on shoes, mask, sunglasses, grab my life jacket, head up to the muster station. Still getting accustomed to walking on a moving ship, but here we go….all the students are here. Some looking a little worse for wear than others, but at least everyone is mobile. I’m feeling loads better and ready to start the STEMSEAS programming.
Larkin, our STEMSEAS Science Communicator and Mentor, gives a fantastic Intro to SciComm after lunch. We take a quick cookie break (1500 local time, every day!) and enjoy the fresh baked cookies by the Nautilus’ chefs. Afterward, Alondra, near-peer mentor, gives an inspiring talk on Crystalizing our Goals, and we begin brainstorming students’ scicomm projects. Each student must produce a sciece communication piece, in any format, for any audience, of their time onboard. Already, some of the ideas are really exciting! I’m looking forward to what they settle on!
Happy Birthday Mari! It’s hard being away from your loved ones during your birthday, but the crew made Mari a delicious cake, and we all sang her happy birthday (check out her post!). It felt good to have something so wonderful to celebrate after a few days of feeling miserable.
By the way, the Uno games are getting REAL competitive….lives have been changed forever, friendships have been ended (jk we’re all still friends, except at around the UNO table….alliances are fleeting)
May 27, 2024, Memorial Day
Sailing out of Honolulu so close to Memorial Day had me reflecting on the sacrifices made daily by our troops. It is truly a previledge to sail through the Pacific without fear, and it’s all thanks to their sacrifice and constant vegilence. Thank you to those who have served, are serving, and for those who have given up their lives to keep us safe. And to their families who have also sacrificed so much for us to embark on these exploration endeavors.
Today also marks the first time change of three as we sail towards North America.
Additionally, we did my favorite activity, which is rebuilding the jaw of the megatoothed-shark, O. megalodon from 3D printed teeth (Shout out Stan State’s Fab Lab!). STEMSEAS Students first estimated the length of Megalodon (Courtesy of the Florida Museum), then rebuilt the jaw. This is such a fun activity to do while out in the middle of the Pacific where O. megaladon roamed 3 million years ago. And it makes for really cute photos!
Students work at reconstructing the meg jaw. Photo Credit: Larkin Bohn
May 28, 2024
Students were introduced to biogeography, big data and asked to discuss marine mammal distribution across the Northern Pacific. Presentations on their fossil marine mammal will be in a few days. They’ve been working hard at outlining their SciComm projects, and learning about Deep Sea Mapping with the mapping crew onboard. We have settled into our routines and the calendar has ceased to have meaning. Our time is dictated by meals (Breakfast 730-830, Lunch 1130-1230, Cookie Hour 1500, Dinner 1630-1730). We do keep a daily schedule on the whiteboard in the galley (“The Board of Lies”). Even though we try to establish a daily list of activities, more often than not, they change. Living on a ship is about flexibility, patience, and understanding.
May 29, 2024
Time change number 2 today. Breakfast is getting harder to make every morning….Cool talks today by Deck Chief TJ Scanlon, introducing ROV Herculus and it’s capabilities, as well as a trainign and orientation in the Control Van by Dave and Expedition Leader, Marley. After dinner, Marley shared her journey to Nautilus, demonstrating alternate careers in the marine sciences. We also celebrated another birthday onboard! One of the crew, Hermes was celebrated with cake!
May 30, 2024
SciComm projects check in. Students share progress on their projects and make timelines for work needed to complete prior to disembarking. I did a short microfossils chat in the Wet Lab, screenwashed some matrix, and set it out to dry. Tomorrow, we’ll look it over and see what we find. Dave gave a wonderful talk on Alaska, his home state, and then we did a dress rehearsel for tomorrow’s Live Q&A, the first of the season. There are 11 seats in the Control Van, and 15 people will be on the Live event. We wanted to make sure that everyone from STEMSEAS had a chance to introduce themselves, but we had to practice the “switch.” Dress rehearsal went great, now to be up at the Control Van by 830 tomorrow morning, ready to go in our Nautilus swag. DON’T BE LATE!
(Left) Replicas of different microfossils. Photo Credit: ML Parker. (Right) Nayeli observes microfossils. Photo Credit: ML Parker
May 31, 2024
NO ONE WAS LATE! And we’re ready to go! The Live Q&A went great! We had great questions from the audience, and we even had a chance to say hi to family and friends! I’m so proud of the STEMSEAS students and their willingness to share their journeys with folks during the Q&A. The rest of the day consisted of project check ins, biogeography presentations, and a special knot tying workshop with TJ. Swazi tried some card magic tricks on me….they didn’t work. I don’t think he should hang up his videography career dreams for magician just yet.
Mic check prior to Live Q&A. From Left to Right: Larkin Bohn, Emily Jones, and Jeanette Pirlo. Photo Credit: Jeanette Pirlo
June 1, 2024
Last time change of the trip. We are now on Pacific Time, which is my home time zone, aka mornings are my least favorite part of the day! Today was a relaxed day, meant for working on scicomm presentations. Emily did show me a cool card trick….haven’t figured out how it works yet…but give me a few days. We also played a CUT-THROAT game of Ecologies. Who knew building healthy biomes would be so competitive. I’m looking forward to incorporating the game in my classroom.
June 2, 2024
Today is our last full day at sea. It’s bitter-sweet. I’m looking forward to being home with my cat, but at the same time, the sea is an alluring mistress that keeps you captivated, and once away, always calls you back for more. As I sit on the Social Deck, alone and in the dark, listening to the rain falling on deck and the waves crashing on the hull, I can’t help but get a little emotional thinking about the last week and a half. Watching the students go from being quiet and timid, to these confident, salty sailors, ready to tackle the next portion of their career makes my heart swell. Sure, they probably hated me a little bit on the first few days as they battled sea sickness, and navigated home sickness (and a few hands at Uno…) but I can see the confidence brimming from them. Listening to their final SciComm presentations, I am so absolutely proud of every single of the students onboard. They have taken the task of communicating their experience to heights I never imagined. They have connected with the crew and staff in ways I could only dream.
Over 80% of our STEMSEAS group is Latin(o/a/e), which is reflective of the Nautilus crew. Seeing the joy and pride in celebrating our heritage, and doing such excellent work is moving. Hearing my native language spoken so comfortably and freely onboard, sharing of experiences, dreams, and research, gives me hope that we can reach across the broad divide of cultures, finding a common goal of ocean exploration and conservation.
We also celebrated that 90% of folks onboard are women identifying! Offshore women are taking over!
All the women researchers onboard the Nautilus during NA160. From Left to Right: Marisol Flores, Jeanette Pirlo, Alondra Infante (front), Danika Villanueva (back), Johana Dominguez, Nayeli Ramos, Lynette Davis, Dania Frazier, Isabella Monaco, Anna Sagatov, Marley Parker (front), Larkin Bohn (back), Gabriela Espino, and Emily Jones. Photo Credit: Swazi Grunell
Anyway, I do want to give a little preview of the projects in the works because they are E.X.C.E.L.L.E.N.T.
- Documentary focusing on Nautilus crew. This film will focus on the folks that keep the ship moving, often time relegated to the sidelines when we discuss the research onboard, Swazi and Mari will bring light to the crew’s motivations and experience onboard.
- Using deep sea mapping sonar to make music. I don’t know how Mari will accomplish this, but how cool is it to take a 3D map of marine bathymetry and turning it into music?!
- Add on pack to the Ecologies game. Jesus is interested in beefing up the ecology portion of Stan State’s BIOL1150 lab by creating a game to illustrate the importance of healthy ecosystems. He is developing an add on package on different marine biomes in the North-Eastern Pacific, designing and drawing the cards. He hopes to deploy during the Fall semester.
- Infographic on technology used onboard the Nautilus. Dani F. is creating an accessible infographic on the different geologic tech and research done onboard, with hopes to inspire more students to study the geosciences.
- Infographic on marine science opportunities for students. Nayeli is creating an infographic of research and internship opportunities for students, building a live document that can be updated with new opportunities in the marine sciences, while branching out to other non-health related bio and geo careers.
- Children’s book on the Nautilus. Johana is developing a beautiful hand-drawn children’s book, alá I Spy, of her experience onboard. The hope is to publish in various languages, making the book accessible to the families of the crew, and the communities that the Nautilus conducts explorations.
- Nautilus goes Lego! Jesse will recreate experiences onboard using Legos via TikTok. The students all had fun coming up with scenarios to recreate, ranging from the struggles of showering onboard a moving vessel to ROV dives.
- Nautilus magazine. Dani V. is creating a magazine of her experience. She’s including crew interviews, showcasing scicomm projects of fellow STEMSEAS students, and even a weather report! This will also be translated and made publicly available.
How cool are these projects?! I cannot wait to see the final products!
After lunch, we spent some time on the social deck. The rain had abated and we were about 50 miles from shore. We could see signs of the coastline as there were bits of kelp floating in the water. We even saw a Northern Sea Otter, and a Mola Mola! One last birthday surprise during dinner for TJ, with delicious cake, and screening Pirates of the Caribbean in the Lounge.
Overall, today was a perfect last full day at sea. I can’t wait to see what tomorrow has in store. We are to pick up the Sidney Harbor Pilot at 9a and slowly cross the Salish Sea to the Sidney Harbor. By 2p we should be docked. However, we will spend one last night on the Nautilus before we explore Sidney and head home.
June 3, 2024
The pilot from Sidney Harbor is onboard and we are slowly making our way through the Salish Sea into Canada. It’s a sunny morning, but it’s super windy up on the Monkey Deck. The San Juan Islands are lush and green, and as we sail slowly by, I am reminded that the last time I saw land, 10 days ago, the trees were VERY different. In Hawaii, most of the vegetation is composed of angiosperms, flowering plants, but up in Canada, 2,673 miles north, the majority of the trees are gymnnosperms, or conifers like pine trees. The closer we get to the dock, the colder it gets. The clouds descend and it starts to rain. The cold chases me down to the galley for some tea and I enjoy the remaining part of our sail from the Social Deck. Once at port, we watch the crew tie-up the ship, and haul the gangway into place by crane. We’ve arrived to Sidney a day ahead of schedule, the gangway is in place, but we are not yet able to leave the ship as the Port Authority checks the ship’s safety paperwork and our passports. We pass the time talking, playing card games, packing, and cleaning up. Tomorrow morning we need to be out of our rooms by 8a, and will disembark by 9-10a, to head into town to our hotel. However, tonight, after dinner, we will head into town to explore and relax. I know everyone is looking forward to stretching their legs.
6p: Heading into town
People are starting to head into town to explore. Our students leave in groups, while a few of us mentors head out with some of the ship’s crew. I call a cab as it’s chilly and drizzly, but no car is available for the next hour. If I remember correctly, downtown Sidney is like a half-hour walk from the dock. We head out for the short walk…..turns out it’s actually 5 miles from the dock to downtown….an hour and a half and several blisters later, we stumble into The Surly Mermaid, giggling and in need of water. We are definitely calling a cab for the return trip!
11:30p
It’s my last night onboard. Larkin and I spend the next hour packing in as much roommate conversation as possible. I did not know what to expect with my roommate when I first boarded, but now I cannot imagine not chatting the night away, sharing our dreams, fears, and giggling over our life’s adventures. Sharing tight quarters with strangers can go one of two ways, you can absolutely get in each other’s way, or you can become family. I am so grateful that we became the latter. I should go to sleep as tomorrow morning will get here sooner than I’d like.
June 4, 2024
Mornings are the worst, but this one is even tougher. Everyone is busy cleaning their cabins, moving luggage out, and saying their good byes. So many pictures are being taken! We take one final (or several!) group picture together and gather our things. It’s tough saying good-bye to the Nautilus this year, but I hope it’s a “See you later.”
One final group picture on deck during Expedition NA160. Photo Credit: ML Parker
5P – Final Dinner
After some deliberation, we settled on a wonderful Italian restaurant, 900 Bistro, and spend a few hours enjoying our meal, reminiscing on our time on board, and joking around. By 7p, Emily is the first to say good bye as she heads back home on a red-eye. Emily was our OET Education and Outreach communicator, but she became a central part of the STEMSEAS group. Her vibrant, caring, and sensitive nature taught us each so many things. Emily taught me how easy it is to center and elevate the voices of those who have been systematically excluded, especially people from indigenous groups. I will take this lesson with me and use it to help others in my community. And I look forward to seeing Emily in California when she visits family over the holidays!
By 8:30p, the students start heading back. Many have 4a shuttle rides to the airport. The tearful good byes continue. Each student has impacted me in so many positive ways. I have been so impressed and proud of how much they have grown in the past 10 days. They have such bright futures, and I cannot wait to see where they go from here!
As Alondra, Larkin, Oriel, and myself walk back to the hotel, I’m surprised to realize it’s 9p. The sun is still shining, as we are so far north, that the sun doesn’t set until about 10p. Saying good bye to Larkin and Alondra, my two co-educators on this trip, was the hardest part of trip. Without their support and mentorship our students would not have grown and learned all that they did. I take many lessons from these two strong women. From Larkin, I learned to be unapologetically myself, to lean into my nerdy and goofy side. From Alondra, I learned to be Latina out loud, to let the world know that we are here, we are fierce, and we are pushing boundaries. Leading this group of mainly Latine students, I was reminded of how important it is to diversify careers in STEM, especially academia. Alondra reminded me of how important it is to remain true to nuestra cultura.
It’s 11p and it’s the first time I have been alone since May 24th. It’s a weird sensation, but perhaps that’s just the land sickness (yea that’s a thing). Tomorrow, everyone flys out and we return to our normal lives, forever changed.
June 5, 2024, 11p – Turlock, CA
Everyone is officially home and back with their loved ones. We have all checked in through our group chat. My duty is done, but my heart is still at sea. Thank you STEMSEAS for bringing us together and thank you to OET and everyone on Nautilus for having us on board. Thank you NSF and Oceans Network Canada for funding the trip. ‘Til next year!
STEMSEAS Nautilus group, NA160. Photo Credit: ML Parker
