If you were to walk along the path at Waterfront Park on an August morning in Burlington, VT, you would no doubt see a flurry of early-rising exercisers, visitors enjoying coffee and crepes, and bike/scooter/rollerblade commuters on their way to work. But you might overlook the quiet bustle of activity on a gleaming white ship tucked into the harbor behind the ECHO Leahy Center: The R/V Marcelle Melosira, ̽̽’s hybrid-electric catamaran which is over 64 feet long and nearly 20 feet wide.
In any given week, the Marcelle Melosira is deployed by ̽̽ faculty, students, and staff to facilitate research, assess flood impacts, teach K-12 students about water resources, tour community partners around the lake, and more. Members of the community recently celebrated the vessel’s first anniversary at ̽̽. In year one it traveled over 2000 nautical miles using an energy-efficient hybrid engine.
The Marcelle Melosira boasts state-of-the-art research equipment, a wet lab, and a teaching space. It can run on electric batteries for up to three hours, which reduces greenhouse gas emissions and allows researchers to survey and sample quietly – an important factor when gauging the population density of underwater species. It is highly accessible and ADA-compliant. And, it has a growing number of tools that make capturing fish and plankton, collecting sediment, analyzing gaseous compounds, and mapping underwater species possible.
So, what does it take to operate a boat of this scale, with this busy a schedule? At ̽̽ it is a small, but mighty team: A skilled Captain and a dedicated Deckhand.
The Captain
Taylor Resnick came to ̽̽ as a Research Vessel Specialist in June 2022, bringing an extensive background in boat operations. Hailing from a harbor town on Long Island, Taylor’s pull to work on the water was innate. He accumulated an impressive list of certifications from the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Maritime Institute, the U.S. Maritime Resource Center, and more. Throughout his career, Taylor worked on a wide range of vessels including offshore tugboats, crew boats, barges, and ferries. His work took him from New York to California, Maine, and finally Vermont.
“When I first came to ̽̽, our fleet of boats looked a little different, we were preparing to retire the old Melosira Research Vessel and welcome our new vessel to Vermont,” explained Taylor. “I worked alongside the former Captain, Kirstin Collins. I learned a lot from her while we coordinated all the necessary components of the vessel transition.”
In July 2023, Taylor became Interim Captain at ̽̽. His first order of business was to ensure the safe arrival of the new research vessel to Lake Champlain. Since then, he has been the steward of the Marcelle Melosira – overseeing all its maintenance, day-to-day activities, and captaining each excursion. In March 2024 Taylor was officially appointed to the Captain role, he has been at the helm of the research vessel since its first voyage.
“Every day on the research vessel is different,” explained Taylor. “There is a big diversity of people, projects, and destinations for each excursion. Each project presents its own set of challenges and everyone works together with safety in mind to accomplish the day’s goal. We do our best to offer peak experiences each time we welcome people on board.”
The vessel’s first year at ̽̽ has been a huge success, however, it is not always smooth sailing. With new technology and equipment, there are often hiccups.
"There’s usually something to troubleshoot,” said Taylor. “For example, we lost our air conditioning during one of Burlington’s recent heat waves, and the batteries on the boat need to be kept cool, so that was an important fix that had to be made quickly. Between trips, there is always maintenance work to do."
Taylor is also in charge of accommodating new equipment on the vessel. The loading dock at the Rubenstein Ecosystem Science Laboratory (fondly referred to as the “Rube Lab”), where the boat is located, is often piled with boxes and newly assembled gear – like the rosette sampler that recently arrived, which is capable of sampling deep water.
“We’re in the height of our busy season and there is so much to do to keep the boat running safely and smoothly,” said Taylor. “Thankfully, we have a great team that makes it happen and has fun doing it.”
The Deckhand
One of the essential members of this team is Bo Barile, a junior in the Rubenstein School, pursuing a B.S. in Wildlife and Fisheries Biology and a minor in Geospatial Technologies. Bo joined the Marcelle Melosira team through the , which matches students with paid, full-time, summer work opportunities in environmental fields.
Bo, like Taylor, grew up in a coastal community and loved being on the water from an early age. Bo’s passion led her to seek out on-the-water fieldwork and fisheries research. "I think fisheries work is incredible. Fish are smart and interesting, and I want to spend my life around them, and on boats," said Bo.
A nontraditional undergraduate student, Bo is 33 years old and transferred to ̽̽ in 2023 after completing an associate of science degree in Earth Science at Portland Community College in Oregon. The move east was prompted by a desire to be closer to her partner’s family, and it came with a perfect opportunity for Bo to continue her undergraduate studies.
Bo quite literally dove into life in Burlington. In July 2023 they achieved a long-term goal of becoming Scuba Certified at the Waterfront Diving Center.
“People joke that if you can dive in Lake Champlain, you can dive almost anywhere in the world due to the low visibility and cold water of Champlain” Bo quipped. “I love diving here: There are interesting shipwrecks and a lot of cool freshwater fish species like trout, freshwater drum, freshwater eels, lamprey, and lake sturgeon.”
Bo is also a fan of working above water. "I wake up every day and I am stoked for this opportunity. I love it. I know that this is the kind of work I want to do for the rest of my life," said Bo of their internship experience. "Working with Taylor has been great, we jive well, and he has got that boat down. I’m lucky to learn from him, he’s a fantastic captain."
Long Summer Days
In the summer, demands on the Marcelle Melosira and its crew are high. Bo’s day-to-day work includes cleaning the workspaces, checking the lines, and ensuring everything is in order onboard.
Taylor deals with the vessel’s schedule and manages the people coming on the boat. Attentiveness and safety are crucial, especially with frequent distractions like other boaters, jet skiers, and kids on board.
Some days begin at 7:00 AM, while others start late to accommodate night research or evening events. When it comes time to set off from the dock, Bo and Taylor work together to handle the boat lines and exit the slip safely. While on the water, they balance navigating the lake with operating research equipment and fostering a safe learning environment. Upon their return, the boat gets plugged in at the dock to recharge the 160kwh lithium-ion batteries.
One of the most impactful aspects of operating the vessel lies in facilitating research by faculty and graduate students.
“We have a great group of students and faculty at the Rube Lab all with highly diverse backgrounds and areas of study,” said Taylor. “Each research project needs something different when it comes to using the vessel, we work with them to make it possible.”
The researchers at ̽̽ have continually expressed gratitude for having such a valuable resource at their fingertips.
"Even on hot, long days, people are enthusiastic about their work,” said Bo. “They will come back sunburnt and exhausted, but they’re still thrilled that they got to spend the day on the boat collecting fish, zooplankton or water samples. It's fascinating to see all these different types of research happening."
Inspiring Career Opportunities
From Taylor’s advancement into the Captain role to the faculty mentors working with graduate and undergraduate students, there is no shortage of career inspiration found on the Marcelle Melosira. For Bo, it all comes back to maritime work and fish biology.
"My goal after completing my degree is to apply for the NOAA Corps,” said Bo. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Commissioned Officer Corps is one of eight federal uniformed services of the United States and is operated under the Department of Commerce.
“The Corps involves ships, hydrology, and trawling (among many other things),” said Bo. “My time on the Marcelle Melosira made me realize how much I enjoy working on boats and being involved in fisheries. I’m excited to work on larger research vessels, possibly in Oregon and Rhode Island, in the future."
For Rubenstein School students interested in following in Bo’s footsteps, they offer these words of advice: “You don’t have to have boat knowledge to take on this internship. Consider your transferable skills from other fields, like working with machinery or in challenging conditions. Being excited about the work, being mindful of safety, and having a background in working with your hands are all helpful. And it’s probably best to know ahead of time if you tend to get seasick."
When Bo’s internship ends in late August, Eleanor ‘Eddy’ Duva, will rejoin the R/V Marcelle Melosira team as a Research Vessel Specialist. Eddy previously worked as a temporary deckhand and fisheries technician on the vessel. In June 2024 she was selected for an . The internship is hosted by the Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University. Eddy is currently in Iceland wrapping up her internship on board the R/V Marcus Langseth.
Lake Champlain Sea Grant is hosting a public boat trip on the R/V Marcelle Melosira on Tuesday August 27, 2024, departing from Plattsburgh, NY. Learn more about this and other events.
