My visit to the M/V OCEARCH
Donation protected
As some of you might already know, in addition to being an editor at the StarNews I am the Twitter voice of @MaryLeeShark , one of the great white sharks tagged by OCEARCH , a nonprofit organization dedicated to the scientific study of sharks.
While @MaryLeeShark has gained a substantial following on Twitter, 91,400 as of today, and has seen widespread exposure in local, national and international media - helping to promote the mission of OCEARCH - my involvement has always been on an unpaid basis. I would say volunteer, but I'm not an actual OCEARCH volunteer, though I do collaborate with OCEARCH by live tweeting during special events such as the "Shark Week" television programs on Discovery.
Through my affiliation with OCEARCH, I have the opportunity to spend three days aboard the M/V OCEARCH, the research ship OCEARCH uses to locate and tag sharks around the globe. Some of the top shark scientists in the world will be aboard as OCEARCH travels to Jacksonville, Fla., in search of more great white sharks to tag. These tags transmit signals and data via satellite to researchers who make the sharks' locations available to the public by means of the OCEARCH Global Shark Tracker app or the OCEARCH.org website. The data also helps researchers better understand the migration paths and other aspects of the lives of sharks long hidden from man.
Video of Mary Lee the Shark being tagged aboard the M/V OCEARCH in 2012.
My goal is to become more knowledgeable about OCEARCH and the sharks it tags by participating in what is known as ExpeditionJAX. @MaryLeeShark 's followers are a fun bunch, but most take their love of sharks seriously and frequently ask questions I'm not prepared to answer. And boy will I have some tales to tell when I get back to shore each evening.
While OCEARCH isn't charging me to come aboard and participate in its expedition, I will have to pay for four nights at a hotel, meals for five days (including bag lunches to take aboard the ship), motion sickness medication (so much for those bag lunches), lots of sunscreen and gas to put in my car for the drive from Wilmington, N.C., to Jacksonville and back.
I need to be in Jacksonville by March 27. That gives me 20 days to raise the $1,000 I need for the trip. I don't expect any one person to give a lot -- it's not like I'm raising money to send a kid to school or pay for an operation. But if a lot of people give a little, it shouldn't take long to reach my goal.
So, what do you get out of this besides my undying gratitude and admiration? I'll be writing a feature about my adventures for the StarNews and tweeting about what I see, hear and do as @MaryLeeShark . To seal the deal, Mary Lee promises to personally thank every donor in a personalized tweet, suitable for retweeting.
While @MaryLeeShark has gained a substantial following on Twitter, 91,400 as of today, and has seen widespread exposure in local, national and international media - helping to promote the mission of OCEARCH - my involvement has always been on an unpaid basis. I would say volunteer, but I'm not an actual OCEARCH volunteer, though I do collaborate with OCEARCH by live tweeting during special events such as the "Shark Week" television programs on Discovery.
Through my affiliation with OCEARCH, I have the opportunity to spend three days aboard the M/V OCEARCH, the research ship OCEARCH uses to locate and tag sharks around the globe. Some of the top shark scientists in the world will be aboard as OCEARCH travels to Jacksonville, Fla., in search of more great white sharks to tag. These tags transmit signals and data via satellite to researchers who make the sharks' locations available to the public by means of the OCEARCH Global Shark Tracker app or the OCEARCH.org website. The data also helps researchers better understand the migration paths and other aspects of the lives of sharks long hidden from man.
Video of Mary Lee the Shark being tagged aboard the M/V OCEARCH in 2012.
My goal is to become more knowledgeable about OCEARCH and the sharks it tags by participating in what is known as ExpeditionJAX. @MaryLeeShark 's followers are a fun bunch, but most take their love of sharks seriously and frequently ask questions I'm not prepared to answer. And boy will I have some tales to tell when I get back to shore each evening.
While OCEARCH isn't charging me to come aboard and participate in its expedition, I will have to pay for four nights at a hotel, meals for five days (including bag lunches to take aboard the ship), motion sickness medication (so much for those bag lunches), lots of sunscreen and gas to put in my car for the drive from Wilmington, N.C., to Jacksonville and back.
I need to be in Jacksonville by March 27. That gives me 20 days to raise the $1,000 I need for the trip. I don't expect any one person to give a lot -- it's not like I'm raising money to send a kid to school or pay for an operation. But if a lot of people give a little, it shouldn't take long to reach my goal.
So, what do you get out of this besides my undying gratitude and admiration? I'll be writing a feature about my adventures for the StarNews and tweeting about what I see, hear and do as @MaryLeeShark . To seal the deal, Mary Lee promises to personally thank every donor in a personalized tweet, suitable for retweeting.
Organizer
Jim Ware
Organizer
Wilmington, NC