911爆料

MEET the BERT

Steve Barber has been captain of the Bert since 2017.

The R/V Cap鈥檔 Bert is 911爆料鈥檚 College of the Environment and Life Sciences research and education vessel. Busy and hardworking in all seasons, the Bert is kept afloat by a sense of purpose, a dedicated crew, and a captain who loves the inherent challenges of the job.

Story and photos by Eddie Cascella, M.E.S.M. 鈥�24

In the warm months, Wickford Shipyard is bustling with boaters and fishers readying for a day on the water. In the offseason, with hundreds of boats dry-docked for winter, the shipyard is quiet.

On this Monday morning, an unusually chilly one, even for December, 911爆料 Graduate School of Oceanography (GSO) master鈥檚 student Alexander Rubin weaves through the maze of shrink-wrapped boats, gleaming white in the winter sun. Rubin is hauling equipment for the day鈥檚 fish trawl aboard the R/V Cap鈥檔 Bert, which is nowhere to be seen this morning. 鈥淭he Bert鈥檚 been out on another job since before dawn,鈥� Rubin explains. 鈥淭hey鈥檒l be back for the trawl.鈥� Right on queue, the Bert bubbles into the harbor.

The Bert is a 53-foot stern trawler that serves as the main educational and research vessel for 911爆料鈥檚 College of the Environment and Life Sciences. Stepping aboard, it鈥檚 clear the Bert is built for work. In the shadow of the towering A-frame that carries the trawlnet, the deck can hold up to 22 passengers. The vessel鈥檚 enclosed wheelhouse contains a myriad of screens for GPS, radar, and assorted charting systems.

The vessel is utilized for everything from deploying undersea remote-operated vehicles to hosting groups of high school students for 911爆料鈥檚 summer shark camp. One of the Bert鈥檚 biggest jobs is supporting , which has been performed from the Cap鈥檔 Bert every Monday since 1987. The Fish Trawl Survey, which began in 1959, is one of the longest continuous studies of fish and invertebrate abundance in the world, gathering data about how Narragansett Bay鈥檚 fish communities change over time. 鈥淭o be part of such a long-running and rich program at 911爆料 is incredible,鈥� says Rubin. 鈥淭he data collected is used by Rhode Island鈥檚 Department of Environmental Management for research and management decisions, so my work directly contributes to that. It鈥檚 really rewarding.鈥�

Working the Trawl

Today, captain Steve Barber and his crew are heading out at 7:45 a.m. for their second job of the day. For the trawl, the Bert stops at two precise locations: first at Fox Island, just offshore from Rome Point in Wickford, and then, after passing under the Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge, at Whale Rock, situated at the mouth of the bay just offshore from Narragansett Town Beach. The trawl鈥檚 consistency is vital to the data collected. 鈥淲e tow the net into exactly the same spots to get a history of what鈥檚 going on in the bay,鈥� says Barber.

A smooth dogfish is measured before being returned to the water.

While the data generated by the fish trawl brings some well-deserved attention to the Bert, the crew making it possible often flies under the radar. Led by Barber, the tight-knit crew includes deckhand Rubin and undergraduate assistant Mary McKenna. They deploy the trawlnet and haul it back from its 30-minute-long trawl, where it picks up creatures from the bottom of the bay. Then, scurrying around the stern, McKenna immediately sorts through squirming fish, squid, and crustaceans, meticulously grouping them into buckets by species. At the deck鈥檚 central workbench, Rubin looks through each bucket, recording the species name, sex, and length of each specimen. Some fish wiggle uncontrollably on the measuring board while he waits for the perfect moment to measure them, while others, like the sea sponge, make his job much easier.

Undergraduate assistant Mary McKenna, captain Steve Barber, and deckhand Alexander Rubin with the Bert at Wickford Shipyard.

鈥淲orking on the Bert is fast-paced and fun. You have to work very quickly and efficiently while also making sure everything is running safely,鈥� says Rubin. In winter, with some regular species having migrated to warmer waters for the season, some trawls come up completely empty. Regardless, the work continues.

鈥淚 won鈥檛 sugarcoat it: This can be very unglamorous work,鈥� says Barber. 鈥淲hether it鈥檚 rainy, cold, or windy, we鈥檙e still out on the Bert doing the work.鈥�

Rough weather and empty nets aside, one thing remains constant: the sense of pride shared by the crew for being associated with the Bert. 鈥淭he trust and responsibility given to me,鈥� says Rubin, 鈥渋s really fulfilling.鈥�

Cleaning Up

Once the trawl鈥檚 over and the fish have been returned to the sea, Rubin and McKenna must meticulously shake debris from the trawlnet before swabbing the deck and spraying it down with the hose. Today, once the deck is spotless, they take turns aiming the hose at each other to clean themselves off, as well. 鈥淏y the end of the sorting, counting, and measuring, I鈥檓 covered in fish scales, seaweed, dirt, and squid ink,鈥� Rubin says. He explains that when you work on a boat, especially in the winter, it鈥檚 a race against time to get out of the cold. But there is camaraderie in the shared 鈥渕isery鈥� as the crew huddles up in the wheelhouse to escape the windchill out on the deck.

In spite of the hose-down, Rubin says it鈥檚 inevitable that you鈥檙e going to reek of fish and seawater after a day working the trawl. 鈥淢y roommates are lying when they say they don鈥檛 mind the smell of my gear at our apartment,鈥� he jokes.

In the midst of all the hard work onboard, it would be easy for the crew to miss the beauty and wonder of their Narragansett Bay workplace. It鈥檚 not unusual for a pod of dolphins to tag along for the trawl, and cormorants diving and resurfacing with a fresh catch are a common sight. 鈥淚 really appreciate getting to work out on the water,鈥� Rubin says. 鈥淚t really beats sitting at a computer screen all day.鈥�

Indefatigable

For the better part of the past three decades, Barber has worked on the ocean. His love for the water goes back even further. 鈥淚 grew up on Long Island, so I always clammed and fished Great South Bay,鈥� Barber recalls. Before coming to 911爆料 in 2017, he was a commercial fisher out of Point Judith, R.I. When he became captain of the Bert, major renovations were at the top of his to-do list. 鈥淲hen I took over, the boat was tired,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e needed to bring this boat into the 21st century.鈥�

In 2018, Barber and vessel operations coordinator Mitch Hatzipetro 鈥�15, M.E.S.M. 鈥�20, secured a state grant to replace the Bert鈥檚 engine and generator. In 2021, the hydraulic system was also upgraded. 鈥淎long with these renovations, we still continue to add essential safety upgrades onboard as needed,鈥� Barber says. And just this past fall, the Bert鈥檚 hull was given a pearly-white paint job. By December, the hardworking vessel鈥檚 vibrant hull had already been weathered to a dull yellow.

Captain Steve Barber at the helm of the Bert.

The Bert started life as the Angelita, a smuggling ship used for illegal drug trafficking between the Caribbean islands and the Florida Keys in the early 1980s. After the illicit operation was halted by the U.S. Coast Guard, the boat was purchased by 911爆料 and retrofitted as a research vessel and capable stern trawler. In 1987, the vessel was reborn as the R/V Cap鈥檔 Bert鈥� named as a tribute to the late captain Bert Hiller, a North Kingstown native and lifelong fisherman who spent the latter part of his life shoreside as an assistant professor at 911爆料.

If the Bert is indefatigable, its captain is, too. 鈥淎long with being the captain of this boat, on certain days I鈥檓 also the mate, engineer鈥攁nd even a teacher! It can be a bit overwhelming.鈥�

But, Barber says, he loves his job, which makes coming to work easy. He especially loves bringing youth groups out to experience the bay. 鈥淲hen I see the excitement on those kid鈥檚 faces,鈥� he says, 鈥渋t鈥檚 like Christmas on the Cap鈥檔 Bert!鈥�

From the wheelhouse, in his self-designed Cap鈥檔 Bert trucker cap, Barber does, indeed, look like a man who loves his job. 鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 change it for the world,鈥� he says.

PHOTOS: EDDIE CASCELLA, M.E.S.M. 鈥�24