Rick Royce and the Mountain of Terror
by Rick Royce as told to Rick Neilson ’70
As seen in Webb News 2020 edition
Richard A. (Rick) Royce has a Ph.D. in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering from the University of Michigan and serves as Professor of Naval Architecture at Webb Institute, having been hired in 2001. In addition to his classroom duties, he has performed many different services, including Director of Research; Director of the Robinson Model Basin; leading the Webb “big boat” sailing efforts, including the Newport, R.I. to Bermuda race; and Principal Investigator for the Office of Naval Research (ONR) Navatek Consortium. Under Roger Compton’s leadership, Rick was a major author of the proposal to ONR that secured $2 million in grants for upgrades to the model basin, marine engineering laboratory, and the purchase of a research quality flow channel, in addition to funding research. Rick did a great job managing the resulting funds. In the time I’ve known Rick I have always thought of him as extremely capable and a reasonably sane man. Then I learned that in January of 2020, he planned on climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. Sometimes one has to re-think his opinion of another’s mental stability.
Spending a lot of time in a building the students often refer to as Hogwarts can do strange things to people. Perhaps that is what caused the aberration in the good professor’s mind though he claims this was a long time coming. The real impetus for this adventure came from Rick’s sister, Karen. They have always been close, and Karen wanted to do something special for their upcoming birthdays. So in the summer of 2019 they considered several options, but none seemed quite right. Karen was a geology major and had helped run field camps, as well as having spent extensive time on the Appalachian Trail. She had friends who had taken some African safaris, and she was the one who suggested climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. Rick had done some mountain climbing as far back as college. In the late 1990s he had climbed Mount St. Helens, carrying his skis up and skiing down. Rick’s ex-college roommate worked for Christensen Shipyard in Vancouver, Washington, and when Rick visited him, they would go climbing, including Mt. Adams and Mt. Hood. So Karen’s suggestion didn’t sound crazy. There are a number of companies that arrange a Kilimanjaro climb and after some research, they decided on a company called “Climb Kili.”
Rick knew he had to prepare. He started doing cardio on elliptical trainers in August then threw in some hiking locally, including walking the dog with a full backpack each morning. During Thanksgiving week he went to England, Wales, and Ireland. He did a lot of walking that week and climbed Mt. Knocknarea near Sligo, Ireland, which is only 1,000 feet tall but is steep.
Climb Kili provided an agenda for an eight-day trip that required their arrival on January 10, as well as some instructions. Because the park system limits the weight for porters, each hiker is allowed his or her own personal gear plus a maximum of 15 kg of “extra gear,” which an assigned porter carries. Costs cover transfers to and from Kilimanjaro International Airport, which is located between the cities of Moshi (population approximately 200,000) and Arusha (400,000). Karen and Rick flew from JFK airport and splurged on upgrades to business class, figuring it would be their last chance to be pampered for a while. Upon arrival they were taken to a hotel which was good quality though surrounded by a wall and razor wire.
The group consisted of six climbers, three men and three women. Karen lives in Dublin, Ohio. Besides Rick, the other climbers were from Los Angeles; San Francisco; Edmonton, Alberta; and north of London, England. There were three guides, a cook, a waiter, a dishwasher, a toilet attendant, and 13 porters. Each climber had one porter to carry personal gear such as sleeping pad, sleeping bag, and extra clothes. The remaining porters carried food, tents, and campsite gear.
The actual climb started on January 11 at an altitude of 5,000 feet, where the temperature was between 85 and 90 degrees F. Rick says that as opposed to the mountain climbing one might envision, most of this trek was a slight rise with only a few steep portions. They started at the end of the rainy season although the first day was fine weather. The second day they hiked in the rain. They experienced no other real rain but often climbed in a mist. Each morning they were awakened by the waiter, Balthasar, and his “smooth jazz voice” at 6:30. Then they would pack up their extra gear for porters to carry and prepare their day backpack with two to three liters of water, rain clothes, snacks, trekking poles, hat, gloves, and rain cover for packs. Breakfast would be served around 7:15 and was usually pineapple, porridge, eggs, toast, and diced sausage. While eating, they would have their pulse and oxygen content measured. As long as their O2 level was above 75% they were good to go. If not, there was always the option of staying behind with a guide and catching up later in the day, or having a guide lead the person down the mountain. Guides and porters were always saying “Pole Pole” (poley poley) which means “go slowly.” This allowed porters to pass the climbers on the trail so they could get set up at the next camp, and for those not used to the altitude, the slow pace prevented burn out. The guides and porters were constantly mindful of the physical condition of the climbers and from that point of view they always felt safe. They would leave camp around 8:00. The length of climb varied by day. When they arrived at the next camp, they would have lunch, starting with soup, toast, pineapple, chicken or fish, and potatoes. Then they would unpack their gear and get their tent, air mattress, and sleeping bag situated. Rick would usually walk around quite a bit to make sure he could sleep through the night. Dinner was at 6:30 and consisted of soup, rice, or pasta with stir-fried veggies for topping, potatoes, and fritter type deserts. Rick thought the food was surprisingly good. Hunger may have seasoned it.
Bathroom facilities were less than lavish. The middle-to-high-end tour companies have a toilet attendant. This person carries a portable toilet and tent for the climbers to use. When breaking camp the attendant empties the contents into the bare-bones toilets provided on the mountain. “Bare-bones” means “bare-bones” – think of an outhouse but with no bench seat, just a hole in the floor and the aroma reminiscent of the senior classroom after a ship design all-nighter.
There was one dangerous portion of the climb – a stretch at the Great Baranco Wall. It is an 800-foot rise on a switchback trail with a 60-foot drop-off on one side. Handholds were definitely needed there. Rick did see one person evacuated from the mountain. He was brought down on a gurney of sorts that had only one wheel in its center. It looked extremely uncomfortable but it was the only way available to get someone to one of the mountain’s helipads.
Some highlights of the climb included seeing buffalo tracks at 13,000 feet where there are salt deposits for the buffalo to lick. They stopped at the Moira camp at about 13,300 feet that night although the guides wanted them to go higher where they could get cell phone service. On day seven they started at 16,000 feet around midnight. Rick never considered quitting but the penultimate stretch of the climb to Stella Point at 18,875 feet was quite steep and he felt a bit light-headed. Guides carry oxygen for those climbers who need it, but once they take it, they are required to go back down. After a brief rest, Rick felt fine and the remainder of the trek to the summit at 19, 341 feet involved only a slight rise. They arrived at 6:05 am. It was -10 degrees F. They only stayed 30 minutes at the summit because the sun was coming up and there was a real concern about snow blindness. On the route they took, an average of 70% of the climbers achieve the summit. Not all of the climbers in Rick’s group were able to make it, but all had an experience to remember.
The trip down was a bit anti-climactic. They went by a different route, having climbed the northwest side of the mountain and descending the southwest side. It was certainly quicker than going up, but it was tougher than Rick thought it might be because the descent required the use of different muscles. They left the mountain at 5,000 feet and spent the night in the hotel. Having anticipated the need for a bit of R&R, Karen and Rick flew to Zanzibar for a stay at the Diamonds Mapenzi Beach Resort. This required local currency, so Rick went to get some Tanzanian shillings. The machine he used had a menu asking how many he wanted and not being familiar with the exchange rate, he chose 30,000. Turns out that is equivalent to about $12 US. The exchange fee was $7 US. Next time Webb’s Director of Research will do more research ahead of time.
So what did Rick accomplish on this trip? First, he lost about 10 pounds despite the hi-carb diet. Secondly, he most probably is the first person to drink a Diet Coke at the summit (Rick refused to confirm or deny this with me), and finally, he is not only the first Webb prof to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, he is certainly the first person to unfurl a Webb banner on the summit. Congratulations are in order. I can’t wait to hear what he does next winter. If he invites me, I’m busy that day.
Photo Credit: Climb Kili
Alumni Spotlight: Arthur W. Schmidt ’48
Maintaining the Webb Legacy
This is not an achievement of mine, but just one case, out of 1,722 graduates so far, of achievement of William Webb. After graduating from Brooklyn Tech High School in 1942, I was drafted into the Navy, and spent a year at sea. I was a Quartermaster 2nd class on the Luzon ARG-2, a cargo ship converted into a repair ship in Baltimore. I helped put it in commission in 1943. Using the V-12 program, my captain then sent me back home, to attend college and become an officer. Mr. Webb provided a castle in the Bronx to play games and do homework in the towers. At the castle, I remember Admiral Rock the administrator, who was tall and thin with a thick head of white hair, and a loud whistle to warn the neighborhood kids “to get off my property.”
Read more…Webb Institute Featured in The Princeton Review’s “Best 386 Colleges” Guide for 2021
Webb Institute is one of the nation’s best institutions for undergraduates to earn their college degree, according to The Princeton Review. The education services company profiles and recommends Webb Institute in the 2021 edition of its annual college guide, The Best 386 Colleges (Penguin Random House, August 18, 2020, $24.99).
Only about 14% of America’s 2,800 four-year colleges are profiled in the book, which is one of The Princeton Review’s most popular publications. The company chooses the colleges for the book based on data it annually collects from administrators at hundreds of colleges about their institutions’ academic offerings. The Princeton Review also considers data it gathers from its surveys of college students who rate and report on various aspects of their campus and community experiences for this project.
“We salute Webb Institute for its outstanding academics and we are truly pleased to recommend it to prospective applicants searching for their personal ‘best-fit’ college,” said Robert Franek, The Princeton Review’s Editor-in-Chief and lead author of The Best 386 Colleges.
Read more…SD1 Projects: M/V Conchy Joe
About Junior Class Small Vessel Design Project (SD1):
As a part of Professor Bradley D.M. Golden’s ’99 Ship Design 1 (SD1) class, the juniors spent the first two-and-a-half months of the spring semester preparing their first complete concept designs.
Using the knowledge they’ve gained in their nearly three years studying at Webb and the experiences from their winter work periods to date, this was the students’ first opportunity to apply the naval architecture and marine engineering principles they’ve studied including stability, ship’s structures, main machinery systems, auxiliary systems, resistance and propulsion, and electrical engineering.
Working in small groups of three and four, the students selected one of the vessel types and took their first couple of spins around the design spiral to prepare vessel concept designs. To help make the project as realistic as possible, members of industry familiar with each of the vessel types helped prepare the statements of design requirements that each of the designs had to meet. To challenge the students even further, one or two “curveballs” were thrown into each design statement to make the students think long and hard about how they would achieve their objectives.
At the end of the spring semester, the students presented their final designs to their fellow students, faculty, and members of industry who served as part of an evaluation team. After three years at Webb, the Junior class can now say with confidence that they’re familiar with the design process and are well on their way to joining the fields of naval architecture and marine engineering.
Visit our Junior Class Small Vessel Design Project page to view all of this year’s projects.
Read more…Webb’s Plans for the Fall
The start of the Fall semester at Webb is rapidly approaching. After extensive deliberations and planning, I am pleased to announce that on-campus classes will begin Monday, August 24th. Students involved in leadership week will be welcome to campus on Tuesday, August 18th, Orientation Leaders on Wednesday, August 19th, and freshmen on Thursday, August 20th. All other students will be welcome to campus on Sunday, August 23rd. These arrival dates are contingent upon the ever-evolving guidance promulgated by public health agencies and the State of New York. Although the COVID-19 infection rate in NY State has been dramatically reduced over the last month, there remains uncertainty going forward. We will keep you updated as the situation evolves.
The overwhelming majority of students, faculty, and staff have expressed a desire to return to campus in the fall. Webb’s approach to education – which incorporates experiential learning through team projects, laboratory coursework, design projects, and thesis study — is best accomplished in the collaborative environment afforded by the Webb campus. Therefore, as we have done for the past 130 years, we are requiring that all students be resident on campus. Any students with enhanced vulnerability to COVID-19 can apply for on-campus accommodations consistent with their special circumstances. Alternatively, these students may apply for a gap year. Should higher risk students apply for a gap year, we will extend our full-tuition scholarship to the fifth year.
We are excited about this opportunity to bring our Webb students, faculty, and staff back together again, and to welcome the class of 2024 to the Webb campus. The health and safety of our students and employees will be our highest priority during these times. This will take a cooperative effort of all concerned. Each member of the Webb community – students, faculty, and staff – will be expected to sign a Responsible Care Commitment agreement of understanding, acknowledging the role that each of us plays in maintaining a healthy environment during these challenging times.
The process of developing a plan for campus operations, informed by NY State and CDC policies and guidance, is well underway. Our intention is to disseminate the draft plan to the Webb community soon. We will host informational seminars to describe the plan and provide you with the opportunity to ask questions and provide input to the plan. The plan will be subject to change as more knowledge about the spread, testing, and treatment of COVID-19 becomes available to us. Some of the key provisions of the plan are described below.
Fostering a Healthy and Safe Environment
A multi-faceted plan to mitigate the risk of infection on campus will be implemented, including daily symptom screening, social distancing, wearing of face coverings, frequent washing of hands, minimizing off-campus travel, restrictions on visitors, avoidance of large gatherings, and mandatory public health education. Public spaces throughout campus will be subject to frequent cleaning. To mitigate the risk of infections spreading on campus, provisions will be made for testing, contact tracing, and quarantining of students should the need arise.
Before arriving on campus, all students are expected to self-quarantine for a period of 14 days. Students living in or having recently visited COVID-19 hot-spots will be required to take a coronavirus test within three days of traveling to campus.
Each student will be provided with a packet of washable masks and a packet of disposable masks upon arriving at Webb, although all students and staff are encouraged to bring their own masks as well.
Our Academic Year
As usual, the fall semester will run into December. We are assessing different options regarding the Thanksgiving break. These include sending all students home prior to Thanksgiving and allowing students to take finals at home or shortening the Thanksgiving break to Thursday and Friday and encouraging students to stay on campus. In the latter case, the semester will end a few days earlier than currently scheduled.
Our preference is to maintain winter internships during the months of January and February. However, if we are unable to secure internships or have concerns about student safety during these winter months, the internship program will be postponed until the summer of 2021. In that case, the spring semester will likely begin a month earlier, at the beginning of February, allowing more time for the summer internships.
Our Academic Program
Classes will be held in the Couch Academic Center work studios, which have adequate room to allow for social distancing (at least six feet between students in all directions). Remote learning will be available for situations where students must remain in their dorm rooms due to illness or other concerns. Most lectures will be provided in-person by the professor, although professors with high-risk vulnerabilities will be encouraged to teach remotely.
Student Life
The conversion of the Stevenson Taylor Hall (STH) classrooms-to-dormitory project is behind schedule as NY State halted construction projects during the height of the pandemic. If the project is not completed by August 24th, students will be housed in our current dormitory spaces: STH, Motley Hall, and the Robinson Tank Building. Once the conversion is complete, students in the Robinson Tank Building will be transferred to the new dormitories in STH so that the rooms in Robinson are available for quarantine use. Until that time, the Luckenbach Graduate Center will be outfitted to serve as our quarantine facility.
Students and staff will be required to wear face coverings while in public spaces within buildings and elsewhere where social distancing cannot be assured. Face coverings are not required in dorm rooms when solely occupied by roommates, as NY State guidance treats roommates as a “family unit”. Face coverings will initially be required within the work studios but after the first two weeks on campus, it is expected that this requirement will be relaxed once a student is sitting at his or her socially-distanced desk.
All meals will be served by culinary staff in lieu of self-serve, buffet-style service. Seating will be arranged with a minimum of six feet spacing. Outdoor dining with proper social distancing will be encouraged.
All intercollegiate sports have been canceled for the fall semester. Non-contact intramural sports and other on-campus extra-curricular activities that allow for social distancing will be encouraged. We will be procuring additional on-campus workout equipment as the YMCA will not be available for student use during the fall semester.
We are in this together!
This year will be different. That is for sure. For the Webb community to flourish, each one of us will need to make some personal sacrifices. We should be prepared to be flexible and adaptive, as the world changes around us.
We have much to be proud of. The seventeen students and five staff members that remained on campus with me during the spring semester demonstrated a commitment and resolve that was quite special. Those who studied at home faced an even greater challenge – to focus on Webb’s challenging curriculum while being away from fellow students and confronted with various distractions. I am so pleased that in the spring semester, every Webb student passed every course. Congratulations!
Please join with me in making this semester a healthy and enjoyable one. Should you have questions or suggestions regarding our reopening plan, please do not hesitate to contact me.
President Keith Michel