Day 5 and 6- Atlantic Highlands - Sandy Hook to the Delaware Bay

The Swim Call!


Justin and the Horseshoe Crab
Day 6
After a full night of sailing down the Jersey shore, we somehow ended up in the Delaware Bay area, Lewes, Delaware to be more specific. We started the day with breakfast as usual which was followed by an all hands(everyone) deck wash. On out way to Lewes, Delaware we saw four seperate pods of dolphins, which ended up following the Lady Maryland. Right after we saw the dolphins we saw a half -decomposed leather back sea turtle. A leather back can grow to be the same size as a volkswagon beetle. After we arrived in Lewes, we went to get ice cream and shopped at souvenir shops. After dinner we went swimming jumping off the bow which was pretty fun, and after we listened to dolphins a little bit. Tonight we will anchor the first out of the last four nights, and tomorrow we will continue down to Maryland ending up somewhere in the Chesapeake Bay if were lucky.
-Adam and Allison

Day 5- Atantic Highlands
Today was our 5th day on the Lady Maryland. We woke up too early as usual, and enjoyed pleasant morning debates while eating honey bunches of oats. After, we sailed past New York and got our pictures taken by the Statue of Liberty. For lunch, we got treated to Carly's famous chile, a food which was well worth its title. Later, we encounted a storm which sent us all down below for an afternoon of Pirate stories and stuffiness. When the skies cleared up we went back on deck and prepared to greet Haley at Atlantic Highlands. We had lasagne for dinner and began work on our diddy bags. Brownies were made as a special treat in the welcoming of our newest addition to out boat. After eating we mustered and did some sewing on our diddy bags. Now were settling done for bed, or in my case, preparing for night watch.
- Emily


Emily at the bell

Day 4- Long Island Sound, Greenport, NY

Allison on lookout!
Day 4 on the Lady Maryland! Today I woke up to the delicious smell off......cheese balls! Today was cheeseball Saturday! We docked in Greenport, NY. We met Captain Rich's friends with a warm friendly shot from a "blank cannon." After we docked we went to the Maritime museum which had lots of hands on exhibits! After that we had some ice cream! And even better, we got to take dock showers! (Getting shot down by someone with a hose) Shortly after we left the dock, we shot a friendly mini-cannon back. For dinner we had some delicious stir fry. OOps...time for my watch Goodbye,
-Justin
Today we also went trailing and caught 5 spider crabs. I even got to hold one! We also caught a hermit crab, some killifish, several shrimp, and some sea-weed. (I got pictures!) -Ryan McKeeby


ADAM at the helm!

Day 2 and 3- Provincetown to New Bedford

In the Lady Maryland at Provincetown

Day 2- Today we started out docked at Provincetown, MA on Cape Cod. We went on a whale-watching ship for a couple of hours. When we got back the ship set off towards the canal. Along the way , we trawl fished. Some of the animals we caught were squid, crabs, clams, snails, and sea squirts. After that we cut across the bay toward the canal. The day is ending now as we sail through Buzzards Bay in South Massachusetts.
- Robbie


Day 3- If you were to come on the Lady Maryland like me, you would be sure there would be no more surprises after day one. And, like me, you would be wrong! It's day three and we first experienced sleeping at anchor last night. Tonight we'll keep ON going until morning. All of this is new including night watch and boat checks. And after just a few hours aboard, I was missing the flush able toilets! Today we stopped at New Bedford and learned to row a whaling boat. It was not at all easy to do with the huge , heavy oars. Then we visited a whale museum and learned a lot of cool facts on whales and whalers such as what the parts of the caught whale were used for and that whalers were usually on a voyage from 3-4 years! Then we continued on our way. We also had our first taste of less then perfect weather today. We were able to swim in the morning but in the afternoon the weather changed to foggy and wet. We have to blow our horn every two minutes. Time for lights out so here's to more surprises and better weather tomorrow!
-Ashley


The Whale Watchers!

What an awesome day! My day started early, at 0100 to be more exact. Tonight was our first night "on the hook." So we woke up and checked 3 bearings to make sure our anchor was holding us down. Then back to sleep to be woken at 0645. After a great breakfast, SWIM CALL! We all got on our suits and PFD's and jumped right off the side! At first you can't feel your toes but this is the closest we get to taking a shower. After that we motored into New Bedford and anchored again and rode "swampy" onto the shore to meet Kevin and Cynthia to brought us our to whale row in very authentic boats. Then exhausted we walked over to the New Bedford Whaling museum. Since New Bedford had a very important port back when the people went whaling, there was TONS of information about the history of whaling, conditions on-board, and authentic or renovated boats. Leaving New Bedford, we motored into some thick fog, with the horns blowing every 2 minutes, it was not a pleasant experience. It is nearing bed time and were still underway! We're actually going to underway the entire night. No more dock watch or anchor watch, but actual night-time watch, just like the crew. I can't wait for tomorrow or even better, shore toilets!
- Matt

Trip 4- (Day One) Gloucester to Provincetown

Today was a very excellent first day aboard the Lady Maryland. We saw a Minke Whale up close and saw its beauty from about 30' away. The moonlight shining off the water is so pretty. We learned to man the boat, how to do routine boat checks, and how to clean up after meals. I can't wait to learn more and see more tomorrow!
-Ashley Palmer
Today was a great day!! We saw so many whales (Minkys and Humpback whales). We also learned alot about sailing and life on the boat. I'm having a great time!
-Ryan McKeeby

Day Five - Mystic Seaport to Buzzards Bay

After a long day at Mystic Seaport the day before, this morning was extremely tiring. The cadets woke up early at around 7AM and helped the crew to depart from the Mystic dock. About an hour later, the Lady Maryland was headed on a long journey full of many adventures, both good and not so good, but all were exciting.

Sails were soon raised for the first time since we started our trip. Many smiles were seen and laughs were shared during this time, however, the sea was very rough and many inexperienced cadets became seasick, some more than others.

When the sea finally calmed down some hours later, the scene was described by most as "breathtaking". Everyone felt so complete with the sound of crashing waves and the light mist sprayed on deck. While the sun was setting, everyone gathered around and talked about their day. Right before bed, Emma came to read us two stories about the sea.

Finally, on night watch, the first watch started to write a story, and the next watches continued it through the night. This story will be read aloud at muster tomorrow evening. If all goes well, we are expected to arrive in Provincetown sometime later tomorrow. Everyone is looking forward to docking and getting closer to finally seeing some whales!

Day Four - Duck Island Roads to Mystic Seaport

This morning the boat started going at about 6AM to make up for the previous day's lost time. There was a very thick fog, and we could not see for more than a few feet in front of us. We finally got out of the fot when we pulled into Mystic and docked around noon.

We then went to the museum area and watched "A Whale of a Tale," which was a tale of a girl who pretended to be a boy in order to go aboard a whaling ship. Yolanda (Audrey) and Lauren both got to participate in the play! After that, we split up into groups to find answers to a list of questions given to us about the seaport.

At 3:00, we all went to the planetarium to learn how sailors could navigate using the stars. We then visited a few of the gift shops. After that we went to the Charles W. Morgan whaling ship to learn about what sailors did during their time on dog watches. The were whittling, sewing, and playing music on banjos, violins, and ukeleles.

We returned to the boat for a dinner of pizza and pop. After dinner, we went to a grassy area to learn how to make ditty bags and spent about an hour working on our own. It was another busy day onboard the Lady Maryland!

Day Three - Oyster Bay to Duck Island Roads

Another average day started, but this time with rain... lots of rain. We woke up docked in Oyster Bay, NY, to the sight of a storm. The storm consisted of constant thunder, lightning, and rain. After eating and cleaning up breakfast, we left the Lady Maryland to go to a local Marine Center to learn about whaling. Luckily, after the one hour class, the rain and rough weather slowed down enough to get underway.

Throughout the day we learned about different marine mammals and how they live and adapt under the sea. We were also taught about the different types of knots, how to navigate, and how to steer at the helm. We finally found the spot where we were going to anchor. The night ended with ourusual nightly meeting, or our "muster". It was another satisfying end to another awesome day. Cetaceans rock!

-Antonio

Day Two - Hempstead Harbor to Oyster Bay

Another day passed on the Lady Maryland without seeing any whales, but then again, who would expect to see a whale near Oyster Bay, Long Island?

Our day started at 0645 with a great breakfast and then sailing for a few hours. We docked three times to add and remove various things from the boat (fuel, ice, etc.) and then docked a final time at Oyster Bay.

The real adventure began then. First we went into town and got ice cream at Carvel. Some of us got ice cream all over ourselves and our clothing and then, while trying to wash it off, spilled water everywhere, including the store's floor. We then went to the Waterfront Center to go kayaking for a while. Audrey lost one of her green shoes! Then we went to change to go swimming, but first we got a good look at a bunch of marine critters commonly found in Oyster Bay. Some included sea stars, horseshoe crabs, spider crabs, moonsnails, and a few whelks.

After changing into our swimsuits we went seining, which is dragging a large net through the water to catch organisms. We caught a few minnows and a jellyfish or two. Then we went back to the boat to do "boatly" chores and then a great dinner of chicken with herbs.

We then made flags for our selective watches. Some of us enjoyed the musical stylings of Emma and Jimmy on guitar. After a quick muster, during which we talked about what we enjoyed that day and what we would do tomorrow, we got ready for bed and made our way below deck. Soon enough, Emma came and told us a ballad she had once heard in Maine about a fisherman and his weir, scaring some of us when she slammed her hand against the cabinet for emphasis. The moral of the story: always grab diamonds when you see them and don't hit talking sea monsters on the head.

-Dominika

TRIP THREE Day One - Baltimore to New York City to Hempstead Harbor

Our first day of this whaling adventure was packed full of activities and relationship-building games. This morning we had an early wakeup and breakfast, followed by the toting of our packed-to-the-max duffles down to the van. We then embarked on our 4-hour car ride up to the New York City Harbor. The trip went by so quickly, and it was such a good way for us all to get clost to each other and start some strong friendships.

When we arrived at the dock there was a hotdog lunch waiting for us. It tasted so good after that drive! Then we learned all of the crew members' names by going around the circle and saying our name and a marine-type thing that started with the same letter; for example, mine was Starfish Savanna.

Soon after, we boarded the vessel. It took us all a little while to gain our sea legs but we adjusted. We spent a long while learning the ways of the Lady Maryland, and who knew a boat could seem so big! Next we were assigned our roles either on Port or Starboard watch. Then we went down and got our bunks all situated in shifts, according to our roles.

Next came charades. One word can describe this game... CRAZY! We played boys vs. girls and it was practically head-to-head the whole time. Many, many laughs were shared!

We were then given our nightwatch roles and attended the muster. Then we were off to bed... only to be woken up soon for our nighttime anchor watches... we learned all about boat checks and how to conduct them.

Our first day aboard the Lady Maryland was so full of adventure and learning that you could never believe that they fit it all into one day. This was, in my opinion, absolutely amazing!

-Savanna

Day 8- Last Day aboard the Lady Maryland, New York City

This is Joelle doing the last blog for the last full day aboard lady Maryland. This morning we woke up to a story that "someone was overboard" and we had to swim after it. It was actually our time to swim in the ocean. Jimmy made out breakfast muffins. We motored into NYC!! I steered under two bridges the Throgs Bridge and the Whitestone bridge. I told everyone about my landmarks on the chart. The chart was of Brooklyn and the city. We got a down pour of rain which hit us, most likely my neighborhood and Maren and Shay's too. After the rain the night was gorgeous. To tell my parents where we are, we are right by the Toys R US. Pretty cool, right? We are all excited to see our parents and to fill you guys in about the rest of our trip!!!!

Day 7 - Long Island Sound

We left Mystic early today and turned our heads and bow for New York City. We sailed most of the day with speeds of up to 8 knots. Unfortunatley, we eventually got caught in irons and our engine broke. Jimmy fixed the engine and made peanut butter cookies and ginger snaps. We learned all the rules of the road today and worked on out " Past and Future Whales Project. All in all it was a great day of sailing. To finish the night we were read a story called " The thing in the hole"
- Alex

Tommorow is NEW YORK CITY and everyone is excited especially Joelle!







Touch Tank in Block Island


DAY 6 - Beach in Block Island

Day 5- Block Island to Fisher's Island Sound




Today was Trisha's birthday!! We started out from Block Island with a professional snagger, it was so impressive the crew of a three sail schooner (The Mystic) was impressed. We sailed so hard that even though the Mystic let out all its sails and motor we caught up to it and passed it! We were forced to tack and tack endlessly so that we hardly seemed to move. Finally we caught the wind and reached up to 9 knots an hour. It was awesome! The weather was a beautiful. We made it into Connecticut and anchored in Fisher's Island Sound. They the ar night was finished perfectly by the arrival of two swams and signet.

Favorite parts of the day were:
Alex- manning the helm at 9 knots
Mike- standing out on the bow spirit
Rory- jumping at the bow
Sean- eating burritos
Zach- seeing the swans
Trisha- working the helm
Shay- swabbing the deck
Maren- navigation
Joelle- dinner
Lisa- learning more about whaling

-Alex, Sean, and Mike

Day 6- Mystic Seaport



We started the day by motoring through two awesome bridges. One of them opened by swinging sideways the other by levering up. We docked in Mystic and set out in groups to complete a scavenger hunt. We went into old shops and stores and the Joseph Conrad. We starred in the tale of a whaler, which was an interactive play about revenge seeking girl who becomes a whaler. All of us were dressed as Pirates because today was Rory's birthday!! We also went to the planetarium and learned about the constellations and aster isms. At the end of the day we joined dog watch on the last wooden whaling vessel in the world today. We also got to start out diddy bags. As the sunset we called home and played a game of capture the flag. It was an incredible day full of entertaining and educational experiences.

- Starboard Watch

Day 5- Block Island to Fisher's Island

Day 4 - Block Island, RI

Today was a very eventful day. We woke up to cheeseball Saturday which is a CTY crew event. We opened the 25 ounce tub at 7am and the tub was empty at about 9:30am. Another fun CTY crew event was stelth. The close pin was secretly put onto someone and once they found it they would secretly put it on someone else. Joelle had stealth at the end of the day and did the worm on the boat to entertain everyone.
After sailing through the night we arrived at Block Island, RI. We got picked up and brought to the dock and walked a half hour to a gorgeous beach. The water was cold but lots of fun. We watched our 3 beach balls blow away by the current. Two minutes after they entered the water. After four days on the boat we all took a "shower," We shampooed and conditioned out hair and washed it out in the water. You should have been there to see the looks of the people around us staring as we applied shampoo in our head. After the beach we got a ride back to out boat. Dinner was waiting for us and we ate as a full group for the first time in the past two days. After dinner a crew member saw a harbor porpouise and some of the kids saw it too. We were then told to meet in the galley.(our sleeping area/ kitchen) To have an important talk about taking care of the head. (toilet) But when the head door was open out cheif mate Emma came out with Shay's birthday cake. Later we found out there were not any harbor porpouises and we were all fooled. During muster/mustard (group meeting) after Joelle's stealth performance, the crew displayed the stuff that was out of place. Most of it belong to Joelle with Rory in second. For every piece found the person had to entertain the group to retrieve their belongings. Once everyone claimed their stuff we went over highlights of the day. The day officially ended with a poem by Walt Whitman read by Haley. Thank you Jimmy for the food!!! (smiley) We are all looking forward to the next two days for the next two birthdays. I've been requested to make a quotes of the day section so here it is:
" I called that" Rory " "Well I picked up the phone so that is ok" Joelle

" Happy Birthday to you, you live in the boat, you smell like the head, and you look like a goat" - Mike

" Trisha kicked the bucket" - Zach

- Joelle and Zach

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHAY!!!!!

Day 3- Provincetown through Cape Cod Canal




Today we went whale watching on the Dolphin VIII. We saw about 7-10 humpbacks. We got to witness some of the specific behaviors that we learned about in class. For example, we saw bubble netting, subsurface feeding, breaching, and spouting. When we got off the boat, we all had dock rock. Dock rock is when everything around seems to be swaying after staying on a boat for a long time and then going on land. During out lesson we tested the water quality of the sea water around us. We tested for dissolved oxygen, pH, and salinity as we headed toward the Cape Cod Canal. Then a sudden thunderstorm hit. At that point we learned how quickly the weather can change. When we were sailing down the canal, we saw a group of kids riding their bikes along the water. One of them called out to us and said, "Greetings Pirates!" I was unaware that sailing in the Lady Maryland made us Pirates. The day ended watching the sunset as we prepared to sail into the night.We were all given the option to do night watch to see what it is like to sail at night.

-Trish and Rory

Trip 2- DAY 1 and 2 Gloucester to Provincetown


Today we started out leaving Gloucester harbor. Everyone was excited to leave the harbor, even though we did not know quite what we were doing. We started very smooth; the water was calm. As the trip went on the water got choppy. Maren and Trish got sea sick, but they were troopers. Shay loved bow watch, where she became completely soaked. Sean is feeling much better after resting on the bus. Sean, Mike, and Zach loved steering the boat. Alex had fun dangling over the water on the bow spirit. Joelle single-handely saved us all from the kraken as we sailed into the sunset. Just kidding she got a little sea sick. We ended the day wonderfully with amazing forth of July fireworks. Rory led us in many interpretive dances.



Day two started out choppy and stormy, but by lunch it was much better. We ate delicious chili. (courtesy of Jimmy). We went into P-town and climbed to the top of the Pilgrim memorial. Then we had ice cream and fries in celebration of making it to the top. We also learned about whale entanglement. The pirate museum was our last stop before going back to sea. The water was calm and everyone had a great night.

-Maren and Shay

Day Six - New Bedford to Provincetown

When we woke up at a dock in New Bedford we were looking at a busy morning. After cleaning dishes and the boat we headed to the Whaling Museum. Since we reached the museum early we had pretty much all the exhibits to ourselves.

We split into pairs and went to all types of different exhibits. One showed the full skeleton of a Sperm Whale, and one showed clips of old whaling trips. After an hour of exploring the museum we watched a short movie of how whaling changed New Bedford completely.

After leaving the Whaling Museum we headed to the Moby Dick Church, learning many facts about whaling. After a short stop in, we headed back to the boat to leave the dock.

By midday we reached the Cape Cod Canal. After passing many boats we reached the end. While one watch drove, checked on and navigated the boat, the other group worked on its whale project. The project, requiring one group to create a whale of the future and the other to create a whale of the past, required lots of research that lasted most of the day.

As we headed to Provincetown we searched for whales. Sadly, we didn't spot any and we reached the port at sunset. As we docked we learned our dock watch times and relaxed at the end of another full day.

-Asher

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