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I got my small boats certification today! I can drive the 16ft Boston whalers! That's just a name, they're not really for catching whales. You need a bigger boat for that.
We got to look at all the pieces of a disassembled engine and figure out how they went together. Now I know how an internal combustion engine works! That was almost my favorite part. But the driving-the-boat part was pretty awesome too. I got to drive around in the bay then back to the harbor and we got to practice parallel parking at the fuel dock. I bumped it a little on my second go because I approached it a little too fast but overall I did really well! :D
Well, except the part where I was driving in the harbor and the teacher unexpectedly threw one of the flotation devices overboard and said "someone fell in! What are you going to do?" I drove around towards it and he was like "put it in neutral, put it in neutral!" ...I didn't actually run over it but I drove right past. So then I circled around and came up to it slower and came to a stop by it and we got it. So he said the person survived. That's good.
And now I can drive the boats! I just have to reserve the boat and turn in a float plan! Ooooh, the power! Well, I can't exactly go joyriding in them. You get to use them for free two or three times and then the coordinator will start bugging you about funding. But it's cool, they work with you based on how much funding you're able to get and it's partly subsidized by the lab.
I can also be the driver for other people's projects if they need one - then I don't have to worry about paying for it. They need boat drivers for shorebird surveys coming up soon! I'm in!
We got to look at all the pieces of a disassembled engine and figure out how they went together. Now I know how an internal combustion engine works! That was almost my favorite part. But the driving-the-boat part was pretty awesome too. I got to drive around in the bay then back to the harbor and we got to practice parallel parking at the fuel dock. I bumped it a little on my second go because I approached it a little too fast but overall I did really well! :D
Well, except the part where I was driving in the harbor and the teacher unexpectedly threw one of the flotation devices overboard and said "someone fell in! What are you going to do?" I drove around towards it and he was like "put it in neutral, put it in neutral!" ...I didn't actually run over it but I drove right past. So then I circled around and came up to it slower and came to a stop by it and we got it. So he said the person survived. That's good.
And now I can drive the boats! I just have to reserve the boat and turn in a float plan! Ooooh, the power! Well, I can't exactly go joyriding in them. You get to use them for free two or three times and then the coordinator will start bugging you about funding. But it's cool, they work with you based on how much funding you're able to get and it's partly subsidized by the lab.
I can also be the driver for other people's projects if they need one - then I don't have to worry about paying for it. They need boat drivers for shorebird surveys coming up soon! I'm in!
