CTY Whales 4: Salem

Today, the Lady Maryland's crew's day began docked in Salem Harbor in Salem MA. This morning we got to explore Salem's oldest cemetery, the second oldest cemetery in the country! After that we were able to tour a ship called Friendship of Salem, a replica of a merchant ship from the early 1800's!

We spent the afternoon sailing from Salem Harbor to an anchorage near Plymouth, where the pilgrims first settled when coming to the new world! During the sail, the cadets were able to take command of the Lady Maryland. We got to steer her, plot our course and stand lookout! We had very pretty weather, it was great for sailing! One of our cadets', A's favorite part of the day was learning new things about the ship and steering the Lady Maryland herself!

Our cadets in front of the Friendship of Salem!

Standing near the helm of the Friendship of Salem with Scientist Tiger!

CTY Whales 3 Provincetown

Yesterday we visited another Cape Cod destination called Provincetown-- also known as PTown. It was the city where the settlers originally landed, but only for a short time. During our visit we attentended a fascinating lecture on Whale Entanglement and climbed the 225 ft Pilgrim Monument. Whew came back to the Lady Maryland for or a delicious pizza meal, and ended our day with a surprise adventure to delicious ice cream!

Today we set sail for Glouster MA and on our way spotted two whales! We learned a lot about navigation today and had a surprise man overboard safety drill. The students are finalizing their main projects and will present them tonight after Schooner Olympics!

We love learning !

Coiling a Balentine 

Some serious sailors!

 We love ice cream!

Whale entanglement lecture

CTY Whales 3 Woods Hole and Sea

Yesterday the crew explored the wonderful town of Woods Hole located on Cape Cod. There were so many interesting points in this town! First we heard an insightful lecture by Nick, who is both a scientist and a sailor. He told us he details of the problems involved with plastic in the ocean. The cadets got an insider tour of the Woods Hole Oceaographic Institute. We learned about the REMUS device which scans he bottom of he ocean floor collecting valuable data. Cadets also got to see the ALVIN, which was te original device to discover the Titanic!

After learning lots about Marine life, we went to the local aquarium where we saw many interesting fish, and even a seal feeding. The students enjoyed an exciting Scavenger Hunt throughout the town toward the end of the afternoon. 

Today we spent a full day at sea where our knowledge of sailing, navigation, lines, and everything that goes with it was solidified in our brains! Now the crew is more comfortable on boat language and the necessity of each line and knot. Today the cadets also became plotting experts as they yet used heir longitudinal and latitudinal skills! Here are some recent picks:

The ALVIN which discovered Titanic

REMUS

Aquarium time!

Scavenger Hunt

Talking with scientists !!!

Washing dishes is one of our favorite tasks 

Now is knot the time:)

Setting the Awning,

CTY Whale Session 3 New Bedford

This morning after a delicious pancake breakfast we set off for New Bedford. After learning about water quality and whale life this morning the students headed ashore for the first time in four days to visit the New Bedford Whale Museum. The cadets learned a lot about harpooning and how it affected both the culture and he environment of the 1800s. Also, today Johnny led the cadets in a lesson on mechanics.

We are excited about the museum!!!!

Johnny teaching

CTY Whales 3 Fun at Sea

Well it's been another wonderful day here at sea as we sailed in to the Bay near Haverford. The cadets gained more knowledge and hands on experience on how the sail boat works. Many of them are excelling at tying knots, finding lines, and steering the helm. Today we through out the troll net again and caught two flatfish. We learned about many different estuaries and water related ecosystems and also took a sample of live plankton which we later viewed under a microscope. Today's was full of learning!

I asked each student to come up with one unique word to describe their journey so far, and this is how they replied:

Surprising

Fun

New

Tired

Wonderful

Terrifying 

Immaculate

Charging

Rewarding

Fruitful 

Here's some eventful photos!

Steering the helm

Our delicious food!

Setting the troll net

Milkshake break!

CTY Whales 3 New Adventures!

Ahoy from the Lady Maryland! 

Session 3 of Whale Boats has finished their first 24 hours at sea! All ten sea cadets have been working hard on ship learning how to coil, navigate, tie knots and get this vessel in "ship shape." Today after breakfast the crew let out the troll net to find the critters of the deep. Below are the students with fish, crabs, crustaceans, and sea sponges. They learned how to identify different species using field books. Right now we are currently anchored Cuttyhunk harbor off of Massachusetts. 

While some experienced the woes of sea sickness, most were okay by around 3pm and were excited to have a delicious fruit smoothie provided by the awesome chef before plunging into the sea for a little splash and suds. Right now, the cadets are making flags which will hang during their anchor watches to represent the uniqueness of team port and starboard! Here are some cool picks of higher day:

Picking things up from the troll net

Sea sponges!

Critters

 Going for a swim

CTY Whales 2, 2015 - Scavenger Hunt

Hello! It's our second-to-last day here on Lady Maryland. We are all sad to leave but have been doing a  lot of fun things these last few days. Yesterday we got to explore Woods Hole, Massachusetts. It's a small community of scientists, mainly oceanographers, in a lovely area of Cape Cod. Just before we took a tour of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, we competed against each other in a photo scavenger hunt around town! Among the items to capture were a ship with 7 masts, a Research vessel, and a human pyramid. Here are just a few of the favorites from the "Starboard Watch" team (Soraya, Gus, Maxine, Casey, and Anoushka).

"Find a flying dessert"

"Find a human-sized lobster"

"Find a squid"

"Find a human pyramid"

"Find a group of scientists discussing their science"

"Find the underside of a drawbridge without going under it"

CTY Whales 2, 2015 - Day 4

Today we docked in New Bedford, Massachusetts! We impressively sailed off the ship's anchor this morning, then made our way to the destination. We kept busy working on a collaborative newspaper project, then walked to the local whaling museum in the afternoon. Here are some pictures from our visit!

CTY Whales 2, 2015 - Pictures from Days 1-3

Anoushka, Casey, and Julia raising the sails

Kate, Soraya, and Gus raising the sails

"Spoon" and her calf, spotted on our whale watch! 

Claudio, Maxine, Casey, Adriel, and Gus on the whale watch

Soraya and Erik on the whale watch

Claudio steering the Lady Maryland

Adriel, Julia, and Kate charting the ship's location on Cape Cod

Julia working on a whale population size exercise

Claudio and Erik calculating humpback whale population size