Lady Maryland: Day Five

Friday morning, the captain had another surprise for the cadets: swimming off the boat! Lady Maryland anchored near the south coast of Massachusetts where the waters were calm… and the cadets and crew took a jump in. Surprisingly, the water was not that cold but very refreshing.

Everyone was trying to outdo each other in who could make the biggest splash while jumping in. It was also a rare opportunity for all to finally wash themselves – soaps, shampoos, and shower gels went in too. Instead of a shower, the cadets took a bath – in a very large bath tub.

Before lunch, Lady Maryland was docked in New Bedford, a small fishing town that used to be the whaling capital of the United States. The cadets had an important appointment – a 2PM tour of the whaling museum in town. After a light lunch and brief walk through the historic center of town, the cadets, accompanied by some of the crew, met up with Tom, our museum guide.

The Whaling Museum in New Bedford is a fascinating and very extensive museum of whale anatomy and physiology, as well as the history of whaling. The cadets got to view actual skeletons of various whale species, look at samples of whale oil, and even tour a half size replica of an actual whaling ship. The guide, Tom, was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic and he answered the many questions of the cadets. The two or so hours spent at the museum were not enough to take in all that it had to offer – definitely a great balance to come back in the future.

After dinner, the cadets were treated to some ice-cream in town and they also had once-during-the-trip opportunity to call home.