Hi! The weather is much better today, the waves are not as rough but the sky is still completely cloudy. We have stopped moving since we have reached our next drilling location. The JR has many crew members on board and each has certain responsibilities. Today I am going to tell you about our first mate, Jerry Embry.

Jerry Embry is the Chief Mate on Expedition 329 of the JOIDES Resolution. He grew up in St. Louis, Missouri and joined the Navy at 17 years of age. During his four-year tour of duty, he gained a lot of experience in deck work (various jobs on the outside of a ship). He went to school in New Orleans and got his Mate’s license.

As Chief Mate, he is responsible for quite a few people. He supervises the crane operators, those that maintain the ship’s exterior, and the loading and unloading of all the ship’s supplies. Also, under him are the second mate, who takes care of the navigation (plots the ship’s course on the maps), and the third mate, who is the safety officer (makes sure all of the safety equipment is working).

Jerry has been out at sea since 1965 and during that time, he has worked on a variety of ships and even worked on board the JR when it was an oil exploration vessel. Yes, the JR was originally used to drill for oil. During his time off, he goes back home, which is Costa Rica. He has a 66-acre farm, which was once a cattle ranch, but now provides food and shelter to many wild animals. Jerry has planted thousands of trees, the fruit trees being a favorite of the monkeys and birds.