Friday, June 29, 2012

The City that Never Sleeps

Salutations to our fellow travelers-in-spirit!  We have had a busy couple of days here on the Lady Maryland, but have finally found time to work on a blog entry to keep you filled in and sailing right along with us!  Yesterday we sailed toward New York, and trolled for fish off the coast of New Jersey.  What a catch we had!  Captain Michael was so excited about the array of marine life we caught, that he insisted on fishing later in the day as well.  Between the two trolls the students caught a number of squid, spider crabs, flounder, skates, and a variety of fish.  It was very exciting for everyone on board!  The kids then spent some time identifying them before releasing their catches back into the ocean.  Shortly after we sailed into New York Harbor, and anchored near the Statue of Liberty for the night.  There are no words to describe the feeling of sailing into New York other than, “wickedly epic.”  The students were thrilled to be there, and to be anchored in such a historic spot.  All of the students chose to spend their night sleeping on deck, enjoying the sounds of the city that never sleeps.  They were all startled awake around 5 am by a huge thunderstorm!  They hustled below to their little bunks and continued our rest. 
                                                               
Early this morning we set off through the streets of New York to catch a ferry to Governor’s Island, where an abandoned Coast Guard establishment is being converted to a national park.  Here we visited the New York Harbor School, which is a school dedicated to marine science and study.  Here our students toured the wet lab and got a peak at the oyster reefs that this school is trying to reintroduce into the harbor.  The students also toured Castle William and the fort on Governor’s Island.  It was a very busy day!  Our weary travelers got back to the boat, had some well deserved down time, and a hearty meal.  We are all excited for our next adventure, and look forward to sharing it with you!
Spider Crab...the size of the bucket!
Learning navigation with Carol Lynn

Learning how to steer the Lady Maryland

Getting ready to fish!

Making pizza dough for dinner - they will be chefs yet!

Squid!

Identifying the catch




Distant New York skyline


New York Harbor School

The stern of the Lady Maryland anchored for the night

Castle William, Governor's Island, NY




Oysters!

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

To the Atlantic!

Greetings from the Atlantic Ocean!  We have made it through the C & D canal, down the Delaware Bay, and have come out into the great blue!  Because of our location, this blog will have to be short – signal is a little bit shaky.  However, I wanted to let all of the inquiring minds out there read the highlights of the day (as picked out by our eager students). 
  1. Cape May, NJ!  We sailed into Cape May and docked for the day.  Being on dry land was not as we expected…it seemed that the land was moving! The students dubbed it, “Land Sickness.”
  2. Baby Animals!  On our guided whale watch today we saw baby dolphins and baby osprey.  They were such a hit!
  3. The students giggled and laughed as they took Titanic pose pictures on the bow of the American Star, the whale watching vessel. 
  4. We used normal flushing heads (toilets).  This was the cause of great joy.
  5. The students learned the sea mammal classifications
  6. Last but not least the wonderful Captain Michael took the crew and the cadets out for some much deserved ice cream at a small out of the way restaurant in Cape May.  The cool treat was refreshing after a long day of being on the water.

Cape May was very welcoming to us, and even sent a photographer out to get a picture of the boat and her crew to put in their paper.  Cape May wants to raise awareness of the awesome programs that tall ships have.  This is indeed an awesome experience, and as always, we look forward to what the wide open waters of the Atlantic will bring! 
Getting ready to set sail!

Cape May, NJ - Thanks for a great time!


Jersey Beach

Whale watching on the American Star

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Don't Rock the Boat!

Today has been another crazy and new adventure!  Our students experienced a small taste of night watch, as they each stood one hour on anchor watch at some time throughout the night with one of our crew members.  The water was rather rough today, but the students were troopers, and kept on with their watches and their learning despite the rocking boat.  As a treat, we saw dolphins as we pulled into anchor this evening, which reduced one of our students to excited squealing.  Another of the students smiled wide and said, “Deathly screams equals dolphins.” 

It has been a very adventurous day, and it is so encouraging to see these students working diligently to be a part of the crew.  It is also amazing to see the way they are bonding together, and forming a crew of their own. 

One of these student/crew members wrote their own little blog for today, to give you all a view of the day from their perspective. 

“Day of a CTY Shipmate – We woke up at 6:30 am!  A little too early for our teen minds.  Had a delicious breakfast of bacon, eggs, potatoes, and yogurt courtesy of Michael (the cook, not the captain).  Eight am to noon was port watch which consisted of boat check, keeping watch, and learning estuaries and their elements.  Lunch was 11:30 am to noon.  Two people got a touch of motion sickness!  We sailed through the Delaware Bay all day, rocking the boat!”

We are looking forward to another great day tomorrow!!  Who know what adventure we will have!


Team building!

Fort McHenry

Fort/Bird Sanctuary (Baltimore)

Coiling down


   

Monday, June 25, 2012

Day One


Greetings from breezy bay!  Our little group of adventurers have had quite the full day already, and it is not even dinner yet!  The trip started of with the students getting their first taste of seamanship by pulling fenders over and bringing in the dock lines.  They then helped the pro crew raise sail, and in return the pro crew taught them how to coil down the deck.  “Coiling down the deck” means that all the lines that were used in the process of a maneuver are coiled in their respective manner, whether it be a ballentine, a working coil, a harpoon coil, etc. etc. 

The day then launched into various safety orientations, and a basic explanation of how ship life works.  Some of the students were surprised at how large the ship was, and others were surprised at how “cozy” the living conditions are.  Lunch was also a surprise, and the students were given sandwiches as big as their heads!  Michael, the ship’s cook, is certainly going to treat us very well.  Other surprises included the greenish water of the bay, the weight of the rigging, and the complexity of the heads (the ship’s bathrooms). 

The voyage thus far have brought many smiles and many interesting sites.  We passed Fort McHenry on the way out of Baltimore, and saw the “Star Spangled Buoy” which marked where Francis Scott Key wrote the Star Spangled Banner from aboard a British ship.  The students enjoyed name games, including a human knot, to get to know each other better, and to get to know the crew. 

We are all incredibly excited to see what tomorrow brings!  The watch rotation has started, and the students have been split into starboard and port watches, based on where their bunks are located.  Right now the port watch is busily learning about seamanship and how the Lady Maryland sails.  Later the starboard watch will do the same thing, and work on sailing the Lady Maryland into the sunset (all under the watchful eye of Captain Michael) and into another day!

Summer 2012 is here!!!


  This morning around 10am 10 fearless students and 10 brave crew got underway for their trip up the coast.  Good weather is forested for the next several days so Captain Michael is hoping to make good time heading north.  Hopefully the students will have a post up for you in the next few days.