Lady Maryland: Pastoral delights

Whale, whale, whale-over halfway through, and smiles as endless as the sea. Our end point in Gloucester, Massachusetts inches closer with each passing day, but the days are long. We spend every moment either sailing, eating or learning about whales and estuaries.

It's hard to believe we've been aboard the Lady Maryland for five days, but only because each day is so action packed. On Wednesday, or as we call it on board hump(back) day, we left Prudence Island to sail across Buzzards Bay and into Cuttyhunk. That distance was great, and much of the day was spent gaining a better understanding of all the ins and outs of sailing. Before nigh fell, we found ourselves in a remote cove on a border island along the Massachusetts coast. The wind was low, the stars were bright and the sounds of crashing waves carried across the bay throughout the night. By morning, we were enveloped in a fog, but used our nautical prowess to successfully navigate back to the sea. That is when we sailed to New Bedford.

The distance was not as great to New Bedford, so we spent the better part of the day trailing a net behind the boat to collect specimens for science. We caught a whole array of crabs, color changing squid, small fish and zooplankton. These animals, though small, play an integral part of the ocean's food web. No whales yet, but we're getting there.

Yesterday, nestled in a forgotten town on the southern side of Massachusetts, we explored the New Bedford Whaling museum. Not only did we see the cleaned carcasses of littered whales past, but we also learned how over fishing can decimate an entire ocean's worth of whales. The gift shop was top-notch, though. New Bedford now exists as only a shadow of its former self, but it's fishing fleets still gamble for prosperity in the North Atlantic. It was docked along side these colossal fishing ships that we spent the night before an early trip to Woods Hole. Woods Hole hedged its bets in something more profitable-real estate and science. Serving as the gateway to Martha's Vineyard, the bay is teeming with ferries headed to Martha's Vineyard across the way. Woods Hole is also home to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and aquarium-photos attached! Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution is pushing the boundaries of possibility and is credited for developing the technology that enabled the discovery of deep sea hydrothermic vents, the Titanic and mapped a fourth of the ocean floor (the rest is still yet to be mapped).

Lastly, we spent the afternoon at a local beach, playing in the surf and looking for any errant Kennedys. Some of us were particularly keen at emulating whale and dolphin behavior. A few students in particular made particularity convincing beached whales. Before bed, captain treated us to some ice cream from a locally sourced creamery, and as I write we are brushing our teeth preparing for sleep.

Adam out.