Feature Story
By: Chelsi Grace S. Mendoza
I can’t explain the excitement I felt when our dream of exploring the Philippine Rise is finally turning into reality. The Philippine Rise,formerly known as Benham Rise, has always been a mystery for scientists, not only to geologists. Exploring the open seas has never occurred to me. I’ve known the waves of the beach and I’ll get to know the swells of the sea.
We were warmly welcomed by the crew of BRP Gregorio Velasquez. The first order of business was to be familiar with the rules and regulations of the vessel. BRP Gregorio Velasquez took off smoothly as expected, and the vessel felt like home. However, upon reaching the passage between Sorsogon and Samar called Bernardino Strait, I began to feel the intense rocking motion of the vessel. Everything in the room was moving, giving an awful dizziness. I couldn’t help vomiting everything I ate. What was once home felt like hell in an instant. I thought, “I am not yet on the Pacific Ocean but I’m already questioning my capability to do the actual survey”. I never thought something could make me hate the sea. At that moment, I never thought of going back to that monstrous place.
In times like that, I don’t really have a choice. I must endure everything. Who else knows best but the officers and seamen of BRP Gregorio Velasquez? At first, I was reluctant to talk to them because I was shy, but with my condition I must set asidemy timidity. Thanks to my troublesome body I got to know the crew of the vessel. I was intimidated by them but sharing such sentiments made me realize they were warm, accommodating, friendly, and quirky people. Their advices were helpful; by the time we would conduct the actual survey, I was already adapted to the environment. My graveyard shift, from monitoring the seismic system to recording water depth every minute, became a light task thanks to my fun yet goal-oriented colleagues and Philippine Navy personnel.
Once again, I felt comfortable. On our break time, we would play darts. I would be very happy if I would hit the board. When the waves were relatively smooth, we would dance Zumba or Aerobics. It’s a rare experience to dance on the vicinity of the Benham Bank. It’s not even a technical accomplishment but I’m so proud of it. At night, we would sing our hearts out. If we felt bored, we would read books from their library or watch movies. There were ups and downs, literally and figuratively, in the expedition. But with the experience and learning that we had, there are a lot of reasons to look forward to the exploration next year.
Feeling happy and smart, the author Ms. Chelsi Grace Mendoza posed near the pinger of the seismic instrument during light moments on board the BRP Velasquez