I’ve been working on boats at WHOI for about 20 years. Pretty much the life of this boat. I’m one of the original crew that signed on when it was first fired up in 2014.
I grew up on Lake Michigan. Where I live now, I can see the lake from my house—and I have always worked on the water, in one form or another. I was a commercial diver for 20 years. I did bridges, dams, powerhouses, the Gulf of Mexico pipeline, salvage, all that kind of stuff. But I was always around boats and barges. I’d been working for a dredging contractor on the Great Lakes, for one of these guys that love to yell at you for no reason at all. After I was with him about six years, I got yelled at one too many times. I just happened to have a card from the old marine personnel guy at WHOI, so I called him and came to work here. I wish I would have called him earlier. The quality of life here is so much better.
They built this welding room, you know, so we could build stuff while at sea. Not too many boats have a shop like this. Armstrong is a little more laid back than a lot of commercial ships. You know, the scientists are always excited. They've been planning these trips for years and years, and they finally get out here. They're usually pretty smart people, most of them, and they're just fun to be around. You know, they're hyped up and they're really glad to be here. So I like what I do here. I like the interaction with the cargo, as we say jokingly.
We did a cruise on the R/V Knorr back in the Knorr days. I was bosun and it was big stormy weather. The Knorr rode a lot different than the Armstrong. It had a different hull shape and we were running steady. Fifty-foot seas, occasional seventies, would come rolling through. It was quite a ride. It was just exciting, you know?
I try to do at least nine months at sea per year. Last year, I did nine months straight. This year like I'm doing four right now—and then when I come back, I'll do five. When I’m not on the ship, I work on my house or fix up my old trucks. But a lot of times I don't do anything when I go home, you know? It's nice to just sit around, drink coffee, go to the lake.