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From the moment that your private boat and driver meet you at the dock, you realize that your Fantastic Voyage is underway. Upon arrival at the Funship, you are met by the crew that welcomes you aboard and assists with your bags (along with any groceries or other supplies that the crewboat brought) onto the ship. After you deposit your bags in your modest stateroom, complete with bunkbeds, wardrobe, table, and twenty five square feet to spread out, a brief tour of the vessel is given. Down the short hallway you will find the community restroom (aka the Head). The dining room (Galley) and other staterooms are also located on the Main Deck. Below are more crew quarters and the engine room along with the rest of the mechanical heart of the ship. Above is the Observation Bridge, complete with state of the art (1990) technology (ok, it’s a GPS and radar) and comfortable seating for extended periods of watching all the wonders of the open water (that Mobile Bay has to offer). Meals are served around the clock (when the clocks hits 5, 11, and comes around to hit 5 again), but not to worry because exercise equipment is on board. When you are not sleeping, eating, working out, standing in line for the Head, or observing the scenery, you can enjoy the aft Sun Deck where the off-duty crew often gather for relaxation in the sun.

Ok, so it’s not a Carnival Cruise to the Islands, but it is so much more enjoyable than an office job, plus you did say that you were looking for “Field Work”, didn’t you? Well, my friends, this is field work at its best. There are no cubicles onboard the ship, no corporate dress code, except for steel toed boots and hard hat. The Environment doesnt come to you, you’ve got to get out in it. And whether you are fishing the guts of a dead pelican out of the lander box or washing the mud off your boots, you’ve found The Environment and you are up to your elbows in it. The crew is there to do their job of moving cubic tons of muck from the shipping channel and you are there to do your job of monitoring for endangered species on board. They are rather supportive of our presence on board because of it being a necessary evil, in their eyes. If you work together and give each other a little space and respect, everyone can do their jobs. They can ensure that commerce continues to travel the waterways and we can help ensure that marine endangered species are protected.

It takes a few days to get used to life aboard, especially if you are working the midnight to noon shift. There’s the community restroom to deal with, its noisy and the engines only shut off when you are at the fuel docks or on anchorage in crazy weather. The ship is alive and is always moving. Once you get used to the gentle sway of the ship and the rumble of the engines, there is quite a lot to enjoy while on board. When the weather is nice, you can stand outside of the Bridge and watch the water. If you are a River Rat like myself, that is enough to make you never want to work at a desk. While transiting between the dig site and the dump site, you can watch the dolphins bow ride on the passing ships in the channel and the seagulls and pelicans as they play on the currents of air formed by the ship as it cuts through the water. I mentioned going to the fuel dock previously, and on this job that’s about once every two weeks. Most times you will be able to get off the ship for a few hours while refueling and scheduled maintenance is performed to run into town and pick up any supplies that you may need. The crew will often add a few items to your list if you are going ashore, and in exchange for picking up the miscellaneous tube of toothpaste or bottle of salad dressing, you will quickly gain acceptance from the crew. They are a pretty good group of guys, they’d almost have to be to work for nearly a month at a time right on top of each other without killing each other.

It’s like no other job around. It has it’s ups and downs, but like I said before, it beats a desk job anyday.

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