Seattle, Washington | 47.6062° N, 122.3321° W | Sept. 18, 2020
Day One: Welcome to Quarantine
Early morning sunlight slices through a thin gap in the hotel room curtains. As I open my eyes, I think for a minute about where I am, and how I got here. Yesterday I woke up in my bed in Carrboro. Then I went to the airport for the first time in eight months. Two flights and nine hours later, I arrived at a Residence Inn just a few miles from SeaTac airport.
And this is where I will spend the next two weeks.
I slowly roll out of bed, open up my laptop, and click on an email titled “Welcome to Quarantine”.
It is very significant that each of you have arrived here and committed to following quarantine protocols for the next two weeks, so that we can go explore the ocean together. Ocean exploration is a positive and uplifting endeavor — and to be able to share it with the world amidst everything is special. I am looking forward to the discoveries we'll make and the lives we'll impact.
Silly self-portrait on day one of quarantine.
Nicole Raineault is the Chief Scientist & VP of Exploration & Science Operations at the Ocean Exploration Trust. She is also the expedition leader for the next three science cruises aboard the E/V Nautilus. While I have not sailed with Nicole before, I am impressed by her leadership — her email to our team makes me smile. I read through her message twice, then click the link to our daily health check form.
Are you experiencing any of the following symptoms? The list includes a dozen different potential symptoms: shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, cough, congestion or sore throat, or loss of sense of taste or smell. I click the “no” box for each symptom, select “no” for the two additional questions, and click “submit”.
I will repeat this process every morning for the next 14 days.
Day Five: Video Training
I sit down in front of my laptop, sip my coffee, and say good morning to the two faces that have just popped up on my screen. On the left side is Ed, my boss at OET, and on the right is Al, the other video engineer. It has been exactly one year since I worked on the Nautilus, but during that time the entire video system has been replaced. To get us up to speed, Ed shares spreadsheets, photos, and diagrams detailing the intricacies of the new system. I note dozens of acronyms: A/D (analog to digital), E/O (electric to optical), N/C (no connection), KVM (computer monitor to video), and TSG (test signal generator) — just to name a few.
The three of us meet over video chat for about 90 minutes every morning. We discuss cameras, inputs, outputs, routers, control panels, cables, signal paths and the new intercom configuration. My brain feels fuzzy as I attempt to memorize as much as possible, and make sense of this technological labyrinthine from afar. I recall how daunting it felt to familiarize myself with the system when I first boarded the Nautilus. But I did it, and I can do it again.
Day Seven: COVID Testing
Standing in front of the bathroom mirror with my laptop perched on the toilet, I press play on a video. I watch as a woman demonstrates exactly how I should stick this swab up my nose. I rewind it and watch again, just to be sure. It would be very poor form to spend all this time in quarantine only to find out my COVID test is not viable. Don’t mess this up.
Exactly 48 hours later, I receive an email: Your COVID-19 test is complete. I click the link in the email.
Your results indicate that you are NOT infected with the virus responsible for COVID-19.
I sigh with relief, and return to my book.
Day Eight: Books
I’ve always said that if I had more hours in the day, I would spend them reading. Now that I have extra time to fill, that is exactly what I’m doing. I have been here for just over a week and already devoured four books. I purchased a Kindle right before this trip, but the thought of giving more money to Amazon makes me cringe.
I vow to start rationing my reading time. More movies!
Day Ten: Team Meeting
“Welcome and thank you all for making time to be in this meeting. This is probably the only time we’ll all get a chance to see each others faces.”
Our Google meeting has too many people to fit on the screen. Each person gives a quick introduction, stating their name and their role in the expedition. I immediately start trying to memorize names and faces, especially of the people who will be on my watch team.
I scroll through our planning document. The introductory paragraph sums up our objectives and activities well:
…utilizing the capabilities of ROV Hercules to explore, investigate and sample biological communities in and around deep canyon features of the Pacific Northwest coast, including deep-sea coral, sponge and fish communities as well as biological communities associated with some of the 2000+ methane seep and hydrate locations that have been identified in this region over the past decade.
Day Eleven: Letters
I drop the postcards into the dark blue mailbox and close it. The physical act of mailing handwritten words is so satisfying.
Day 13: Packing
The days go slow, but the weeks go fast.
When forced into a modern (and very comfortable) isolation experiment and left to my own devices, I do alright. As I repack my duffle bag and finish off the food in the fridge, I reflect on the past two weeks. It wasn’t nearly as bad as I expected. I never felt lonely and I only felt a few small twinges of boredom and restlessness.
Every day included at least one long walk, some yoga, 2-3 home-cooked meals, and much more sleep than I usually get. I read eight books, wrote 22 letters, and talked on the phone with two dozen friends and family members.
All in all, I think I took pretty good care of myself. I feel rested and ready for what’s next.
Day 14: Go Time
I wake up exactly one minute before the alarm on my cell phone starts to buzz. It is 5:00am and my body feels remarkably energized. Today is the day! To the ship! Out into the ocean!!!
An hour later I stand in the lobby of the hotel with my future shipmates. This is the first time our group is together, and everyone looks very serious in their required face masks. We load our bags into the back of the van and squeeze into the seats.
With the quarantine period complete, it’s time to go to work.