NOAA Teacher at Sea
Sabrina Whitaker
Aboard NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson
August 18 – 31, 2026
Mission: Hydrographic Survey, Leg 3
Geographic Area of Cruise: The Great Lakes
Date: August 26, 2026
Weather Data from the Bridge
Latitude: 43’’53’34.7740° N
Longitude: 76”30”07.8526° W
Winds: 5 knots
Temperature: 70 F
Science and Technology Log
Today, I had the incredible experience of going out on one of the survey launches with Hydrographic Survey Tech Haley Kenyon and Ensign James Hutzenbiler to run side-scan sonar. We rely on these smaller boats particularly when the water becomes too shallow for NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson to maneuver safely or when we are working in areas where the depths are completely unknown.
Once underway, Ensign Hutzenbiler and Haley navigated our assigned lines with incredible efficiency.
When we ran into an issue with our POS (Position and Orientation System) data, Haley had Ensign Hutzenbiler hold position while she stepped out to secure an antenna connection with electrical tape.
When the glitch popped up again later, a full system reboot got us back online for the rest of the day. The ingenuity, calm troubleshooting, and seamless teamwork on that small launch were inspiring—and together, they logged over 70 nautical miles of high-quality bathymetric data.
Personal Log
Before we even stepped foot on the launch, we went through a comprehensive risk assessment using a GAR (Green-Amber-Red) model.
The colors represent our overall risk score:
- Green (0–23): Low risk; proceed with standard precautions.
- Amber (24–44): Moderate risk; requires consultation with the Executive Officer (XO) and crew to implement specific risk mitigations.
- Red (45-60): High risk; the launch does not deploy unless risks can be successfully mitigated to lower the score.
The GAR sheet is led by the coxswain—the officer in charge of the vessel—but it is a collaborative discussion. Once our mission for the day is outlined, the entire crew reviews every safety factor together.
For my trip, the lake was calm and the mission was straightforward. I bumped our “Mission Complexity” score up slightly because it was my first time on the launch, meaning the team had to account for extra safety oversight for a newcomer. When weather conditions worsen—like on a day another crew faced choppy waters—the risk may elevate to Amber. If the risk does rise to Amber, they thoroughly map out contingency plans—including designated safe-harbor ports along their route if conditions deteriorate. Thanks to that preparation, everyone is able to execute their missions and return safely. What impressed me most about the GAR process is its culture of open safety. If anyone—regardless of rank, role, or whether they are actually going on the boat—feels a risk factor is underestimated, they have the authority to raise the score. Crucially, a score can never be voted down by someone else; it can only be raised. Knowing that safety is actively evaluated from every angle made me feel completely confident heading out on the water.
That culture of psychological safety, open communication, and continuous learning is something I am eager to bring back to my physics classroom. My students spend a lot of time collaborating in lab teams, and I want to find a way to create an environment where every student feels just as empowered to speak up—whether it’s pointing out a safety oversight or double-checking a peer’s lab setup or providing feedback on solving a problem. I already model this by encouraging students to call out my own errors, but seeing how seamlessly the crew on Thomas Jefferson prioritizes collective growth has me reflecting on how I can cultivate that same deep trust in my classroom right from the start of the school year.
Did You Know?
Port is the left side of a ship or boat while starboard is the right side when facing the front (bow) of the ship as shown in the image below:
The port side of the boat is named so because that is the side of the boat that was traditionally tied up to the dock or port, opposite to the steering or steer board, “starboard.” https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/port-starboard.html.
One of the crewmembers told me that to remember port and starboard to always remember that port has four letters in it and so does left, so they are on the same side of the boat.