High in the Rigging

Just got back from our rigging climb on the Joseph Conrad.  We got a chance to climb up to the second yard (40 feet off the deck).  We were able to get all the way out to close to the end of the yard, so essentially over the water.  One of the coolest experiences ever! We also get a chance to climb the rigging of the Corwith Cramer when we're offshore!  It should be really awesome!  


My room is currently in the midst of a pile of stuff that is being packed for our trip.  We leave tomorrow morning at 8:45 to drive up to Woods Hole, MA.  Side note: they are watching the hurricanes and we will not be sailing into any of them.


Anyway, here's a brief idea of what I'll be doing over the next ten days.  Of course, due to weather, this may change, but I guess you'll just have to find that out when I get back :) 


Day 1: Drive to Woods Hole. Introduction. Sail and anchor. Orientation/introduction to the ship and crew continue in the afternoon and evening.


Day 2: More orientation and safety drills.  Sail south from Cape Cod into deeper waters.  Classes held. Our first night at sea.


Day 3: Continue sailing south for our first science sampling station off the continental shelf.  The first science station is planned for mid-morning, in water overlying the continental shelf. Classes held.


Day 4: The second science station is planned for first light this morning, in water overlying the continental slope and possibly a deep submarine canyon.  This will likely be our furthest extent offshore, and, weather permitting, may find us as much as 150 miles offshore.  Then, we head northeast towards Georges Bank.  Classes held.


Day 5: Arrive on Georges Bank, one of the most productive fishery areas in the world and a region rich in maritime history and marine policy.  The third science station will also be sampled in the morning on the Bank, then the ship will turn northwest toward the coast.  Classes held.


Day 6: The ship will head west toward the coast.  After a brief anchorage, we'll continue, perhaps over Stellwagen Bank, then northeast into deeper waters of the Gulf of Maine.  Classes held.


Day 7: Head generally into the Gulf of Maine.  Perhaps we'll trend somewhere eastward and approach or cross into Canadian waters.  The next few days will be spend making our way north.  Classes held.


Day 8: Continue sailing in the Gulf of Maine, generally working northward and then westward.  Classes held.


Day 9: Sailing in the coastal waters of Maine.  Science poster session will be held in the morning either at anchor or hove-to.  Classes held.


Day 10: Continue sailing the coastal waters of Maine.  Field Day.  The night will probably be spent at anchor in the lee of one of the hundreds of islands in central coastal Maine.


Day 11: Make port in Rockland mid-morning and disembark.  Bus back to Mystic, returning by the evening.


It should be a really interesting trip.  Not sure how much sleep will be had what with being split into watches, but it should be a grand time.  A good learning experience for sure! :)  Okay. Back to reading Dana and our Offshore Reader.  Peace!

Ah, Mystic. At Last

Wow. This semester is going to be so hardcore and so awesome.  I can't wait for it to really get going.  I've been in Mystic for about 2 days now and the amount of stuff we've crammed into the last two days is really incredible.  There are 19 other students here from 13 different schools (Williams, Trinity, Lafayette, Wellesley, Colgate, Dartmouth, Wheaton, SUNY Stonybrook, UVM, Sarah Lawrence, Moravian, Smith and Colby).  So far it seems like an amazing group of people.

I live in a house right across from the entrance to the Seaport called Albion House.  It's wicked sweet.  It has a porch and a backyard.  My roommate and I have a view overlooking the road and the Seaport.  I'm hoping to get pictures uploaded soon.  I have two other girls in the house with me and both are wicked cool :) 

So far we've had half of our classes meet for an hour each.  Literature this morning for an hour and then Marine Ecology for an hour this afternoon.  I have History and Policy tomorrow morning, so we'll see how those go, but the professors seem really chill.  We also did a tour of the Seaport today incorporating the history of the program as well as the Seaport itself.  We finished up at the Charles W. Morgan, the last existing wooden whaling ship in the world that is right here at Mystic Seaport (and is being restored). I love that I can use this museum as part of my classroom.  I also have free access to the Mystic Aquarium which I am WICKED stoked for :) Can't wait to explore that.  

Everything here so far is totally awesome and I can't wait to get more into the semester.  We leave for our first field seminar on the 31st and will be offshore for 10 days on the Corwith Cramer starting in Woods Hole, MA and sailing to Rockland, ME.  We'll get to steer the ship, help rig it, split up into watches to make sure the ship is being sailed at all times, fun stuff like that.  We also get to practice things like navigation and I might get a chance to learn the lunar distance method of navigation that Nathaniel Bowditch came up with as a way to figure out your longitude without needing to rely on a chronometer.  One of my favorite books, Carry On, Mr. Bowditch, has a whole section talking about his new way to work lunars and I might get to learn it too!! :)  There are so many opportunities here I just can't wait to explore them all!!!

Anyway, that's all for now.  I should really go read some of Dana's Two Years Before the Mast before I sleep tonight. Peace!