SEA Remembers John Herndon Thomson, 1925 – 2022
John Herndon Thomson (July 2, 1925 to Dec 14, 2022) joined Sea Education Association in 1976 (W-30), first as a mate and later as engineer, on R/V Westward, a community he never truly left. Even after he joined WHOI for work in the Buoy Lab, he managed to carve out time to join one cruise a year, generally to warm climates in the midst of winter. Friends from SEA persisted throughout the rest of his life, co-conspirators to making music, machinery and mischief.
With Carl Chase, a supreme musician, JT participated in a steel drum band, was party to trips especially to find and listen to steel drums, and even worked on building some pans to enlarge the band. Jon Becker, JT, and Gary Manter were all a part of the Hydro Heros, Sid Miller’s effort to refit a small hydropower plant in North Carolina at the time power companies were required to purchase green power at market rates. Even after he left Woods Hole, he worked to stay in touch with friends there.
If you used a sextant on Westward, it was one that JT refitted, and you lifted it from a varnished mahogany box he’d built for it, fitted out with green felt and brass corners. If you worked in the engine room on Westward, you put tools away in drawers he built, lined in green felt, frequently with specialized notches to keep things from shifting while underway. JT’s affection for sail was balanced with his knowledge of engines to make it possible to attempt to accomplish most of Westward’s mission under sail, with minimum engine use (and also minimum engine noise). This energy and affection for a historical mode of transportation, backed up by modern machinery, is still clear in the current engineering staff at SEA.
Contact: Douglas Karlson, Director of Communications | 508-444-1918 | dkarlson@sea.edu | www.sea.edu
Share This Story
Recent News
SEA Welcomes Proctor Academy’s Ocean Classroom
In the fall of 1994, former faculty member David Pilla launched a trimester at sea program at Proctor called Ocean Classroom. [...]
SEA alumna, Rikki Held, Shares Experience as Lead Plaintiff in Held vs Montana
Today, SEA (Sea Education Association) Class S-311, Oceans & Climate, welcomed Rikki Held, SEA alumna, via Zoom to share more about [...]
Sea Education Association and The School for Field Studies Form Strategic Partnership
Sea Education Association and The School for Field Studies Form Strategic Partnership to Advance Environmental Education and Research on Land and at Sea [...]
SEA Research Featured on NBC News with Lester Holt
Masses of seaweed multiplying at record-breaking levels and heading for Florida’s beaches Giant masses of seaweed are multiplying at [...]
Proctor Academy Announces New Ocean Classroom Partner in SEA
Since 1994, Proctor students have studied at sea as a part of Proctor’s Ocean Classroom program. Throughout those nearly three decades, [...]
Open ship events planned for Charleston, SC and New York, NY
Come tour SEA's flagship, the SSV Corwith Cramer! SEA is hosting open ship events for alumni, friends and family in Charleston, [...]