Rick Chandler

I went out with one of the Sea Education Association vessels when I was 16 years old. Over the course of two months, we sailed from San Juan, Puerto Rico, through the Panama Canal to the Galápagos and back on a 100-foot staysail schooner. Back then, we were one of the last vessels to go there before the Ecuadorian government restricted access to the islands. My instructors put us ashore to count green sea turtle eggs. There were maybe five or six of us, a barrel of water, some food, and a tarp to serve as a sun shade. We had no communication. They’d just drop us off, sail away and come back five days later to pick us up. It was so cool to be given that responsibility as a 16 year-old.

That’s when I fell in love with the ocean. I wanted to be near it for my whole career after that. I officially started at #WHOI in 1974, beginning in the summers while I was still in college. There have been no two days alike in my whole career here at Woods Hole. There’s always something exciting going on. If there isn’t somebody new coming down the hall, we’re dealing with scientists on an interesting project, or I’m talking to a Navy officer who’s giving us clearance to take the sub out.