Safety Snapshots

This quilt features a selection of safety features on board the scientific drilling vessel JOIDES Resolution. Presented as a series of instant Polaroid snapshots, the images reflect personal safety gear that is worn (immersion suits, hard hats, safety glasses, life vests) to objects for use on the water (life ring, life boat) to on-board features (water-tight doors, ship hospital). All that sail on the JR must go through safety training and drills. These regular safety drills serve as a reminder of the importance and practice of safety on board while out to sea.

Quilt measures 38 inches wide by 28 inches tall and was completed September 22, 2023.

Hanging quilt showing six images representing safety on a ship

Quilt showing a selection of safety measures in place on JOIDES Resolution

Six images scrolling through showing safety features on a ship at sea

While serving as an Onboard Outreach Officer for Expedition 390, one of my responsibilities was to conduct ship-to-shore connections with school groups, museums, community groups and more. Across the 50 Zoom sessions I led, the most frequent question I was asked as I walked around the ship with my iPad was, “is it safe to be at sea?” I knew I wanted to do a quilt to address this topic, as safety is a top priority across all of our daily functions on JOIDES Resolution.

See the full quilt description below for an explanation of each image and what it represents.

Two images representing ship safety on a hanging quilt

Close-up of the first two "Polaroid" images

Another view of the Safety Snapshot quilt

Full quilt description (click to read)

While serving as an Onboard Outreach Officer for Expedition 390, one of my responsibilities was to conduct ship-to-shore connections with school groups, museums, community groups and more. Across the 50 Zoom sessions I led, the most frequent question I was asked as I walked around the ship with my iPad was, “is it safe to be at sea?” I knew I wanted to do a quilt to address this topic, as safety is a top priority across all of our daily functions on JOIDES Resolution.

With the theme of photos from an instant Polaroid camera, I decided to highlight six of the many, many areas of safety that exist on the ship. The individual photos used on the quilt are presented in the animated GIF.

In the top row, the first photo is of the immersion suits (also called a survival suit, or gumby suit) that would protect us from hypothermia in case we need to abandon ship. Each of us are assigned an immersion suit and must practice putting the suit on – you can see the training/practice session in this image. The next image is of a life ring, many of which are distributed around the ship. The row continues with an image of a water-tight door which is found at all exits from the inside laboratories and facilities to the outside decks.

In the bottom row, I highlight the inside of the medical hospital where one would find the medical doctor providing 24-hour medical care. The next photo is of one of the four life boats with food, water, and the capacity to carry 70 people in each to safety. The final photo is from one of the many safety drills, where every scientist and crew member, upon hearing the announcement from the Bridge, must grab their hard hat, safety glasses, and life vest and report to their life boat.

But there are so many additional features on JOIDES Resolution that are in place for our safety! From eye wash stations in the laboratories to requiring steel-toed boots and ear plugs to be worn in certain areas of the ship, safety is on the minds of each person every day.

Quilt Details

The photos were printed on fabric through Spoonflower.com. The wave fabric between the photos and the binding fabric were purchased at Homesewn in Media, PA. The white border of each photo is a 3 Cats Shweshwe fabric manufactured by Da Gama Textiles in South Africa. For Expedition 390, JOIDES Resolution departed from and returned to port in Cape Town, South Africa. The long-arm sewing was completed by Old Country Store Fabrics in Intercourse, PA.

Quilt measures 28 inches tall by 38 inches wide and was completed on September 22, 2023.

Photo credits: Top left: cropped image, taken by Sandra Herrmann, IODP JRSO [Photo ID: 033_exp390_282.jpg]; Bottom left: photo taken by Outreach Officer Jennifer Field during EXP 395; Bottom right: Sandra Herrmann, IODP JRSO [Photo ID: 082_ exp390_551.jpg]; Top center, Top right, Bottom center: photos taken by L. Guertin during EXP 390.