Whales trip 2 Day 7+8 - The end is near :(

Ahoy!

Day 7 ended with some project work and an amazing dinner! After a long day of fishing, sailing, and learning, every one was tired, but excited to finish the trip on a positive note! Day 7 was fun, but little did we know, day 8 would have a lot in store for us.
Day 8 started with a bang! Everyone was up bright and early as usual, but today was special because we learned about estuaries and wrapped up our entire trip! We also gave back to the ship and cleaned Lady Maryland to thank her for all she’s done for us (including safe voyages, sailing and keeping us safe through the nights). After that we had the schooner olympics! We raced with practicing knot tying, coiling lines, and finding different lines on the boat. We celebrated with team conga lines around the boat. Next, we had dinner, and while we don’t want to rub it it, the cornbread muffins were amazing! With full stomachs and ready minds, it was time to show off and present the projects we had been putting our hard work into. Everyone had amazing presentations, and we all learned so much.
The days have been filled with riddles, jokes and many quick games to pass the time. Today is the last day, and it is a bittersweet feeling. We have had a ton of fun and learned a lot, and we are excited to go home with many new experiences under our belts and fond memories. For the final night, the students were trusted to do night watch shifts in their own groups, and we all worked to keep the boat and crew safe!

(Side note) Some of you may be wondering how the food keeps getting better, or how the food on a sailboat could even be that good. The secret, is that we have an amazing chef who comes up with creative meals everyday. It’s always a race for seconds. Sadly we only have one meal left, but at least it’s breakfast. See you all soon and here’s some more pictures ! Enjoy :)

Riddle of the day : I have a B in my hand what is in my eye? If you figure it out congrats! Check in with someone from the trip to confirm the answer. :)

Whales Trip 2 Day 5+6+7

Ahoy!

Ahhh we’re more than halfway there and the trip is better than ever! We had an eventful last couple of days. Between the long sailing trips and the high waves, we managed to make time to get ice cream. While we were docked, we also stopped at the largest Whaling Museum in the United States.
Day 5 started with a lovely breakfast as always and then we were off to the races! With a long day of sailing ahead of us we had to make haste and start moving right away. While underway we got a chance to look for plankton again, and luckily we managed to pick up some friends. We caught an isopod and its friend in our test tube as well as some zooplankton! There was also krill swimming around in our sample. We received a lesson on plankton, we learned about climate change and whales, we practiced whale behavior, and at the end of the night we got to test the buoyancy of our foil boats that we made. The most weights a boat held was 2, but we’ll redo our boats and we’ll be back and better than ever.
Day 6 was really fun. We entered into port backwards, and then we got ice cream!!!! They had so many different flavors, sherbet ice cream and frozen yogurt. We then went to the whaling museum and were able to learn all about the history of whaling and entanglement. While touring, we had the chance to smell whale oil which was in high demand during the peak of whaling. There was a lot of artwork, scrimshaw and a half size replica of a whaling ship! Overall, the day was really fun, and the food was the icing on the cake! As we sailed towards our next destination, the waves grew in size, and the boat was rocking away! Everyone had a really good nights sleep, so the waves may have helped.
Day 7 is off with a bang, and we are sailing in some good wind and large waves! We were able to fish and we caught a spider crab and some hermit crabs! Today we are finishing projects, doing more estuary activities, learning about ocean acidification, and wrapping up our whales topic! We cannot believe the trip is almost over! Below are some pictures from the last few days :)
Until next time,
Team Lady Maryland

                           

Whales Trip 2 Days 3+4

Ahoy Mateys! Welcome back to the blog :). The last 2 days have been just as amazing as the first, but also unique in their own ways. The food just keeps getting better as we trymore dishes! The Chef has so many unique meals and each one tastes great.
On Friday July 6th, everyone climbed to the top of the Plymouth Tower (the Pilgrim Monument) in Provincetown Massachusetts. The tower has 1,131 steps, which means it’s reeallllyyy high up, but when we got to the top the wind and the view were worth it. We also got to work on our projects in the Provincetown Library which has a half model schooner on display inside. We studied our desired topics and did research in preparation for our big presentation at the end. The day was really exciting because we also got to dissect squids and learn all about their anatomy. We also made friends with a starfish who joined us for a lesson. That was really cool because everyone got to hold the starfish and learn about how they function and survive.

Day 4 was a long day of sailing but it was also a great day for learning. There were many tasks that needed to be done and our help with the sails, lookout, and steering the helm was crucial to our successful journey through the Cape Cod Canal. On our journey we also went fishing, and we managed to catch a Lady crab and a flounder! Today we also tested the water to see its concentration levels for certain elements like oxygen and phosphorus. Everyday is a new learning experience and that’s what’s making this trip so wonderful. Day 4 came to a beautiful end with a lovely and vibrant sunset,as well as some fire works,as everyone got ready for bed and drifted asleep.


Until next time - Thanks for reading
Sincerely,
Team Lady Maryland

Trip 2 Day 1+2

Ahoy!

This might sound shocking at first, and it might not be what you all wanted to read on the first blog post, but don’t be too alarmed. If you must know, we had a man overboard on the first day!! Whhaaaalllee, a drill that is :). But before we get there, I’ll tell you all about day one from the beginning.
After spending a nice night watching a movie and eating pizza and popcorn in Massachusetts with the lovely kids from Whales trip 1. Students of Whales trip 2 woke up early and ate a hearty breakfast before hitting the road. Due to a marathon running in the path of the harbor, our group received a mini police escort as well as crossed through a marathon.
Our first adventure upon arrival would be whale watching! On our trip outside of Plymouth, we got to see two humpback whales, a minke, and a finback whale. Then, after our amazing success with whale watching, we boarded the lovely Lady Maryland. Once we got to know each other and the boat, we left Plymouth and anchored for the night nearby. At dusk, we watched some lovely fireworks for the fourth of July. Everyone was pretty tired from all the traveling and helping with getting the boat set up to move and to anchor, so we were ready to hit the hay!
But wait, where are my manners I forgot all about the man overboard! Upon entering the boat and getting settled we learned about locations on the ship, looking at charts (maps about the water ), and most importanly rules which have to be followed, especially on a boat. Shortly after being assigned our bed numbers and our numbers for what to do during a fire, a man overboard, and an abandon ship call, we had a man overboard drill and everyone sprung into action! ( No one was hurt in the testing of this drill). The night proceeded smoothly with everyone doing anchor watch when it was there turn.

Day 2!!!! We now have had breakfast, lunch, and dinner on the ship and the food is beyond amazing! We have an amazing chef who works really hard to make sure everyone has enough to eat, and man are we going to gain some pounds throughout this trip. Even if you’re full the food just calls you back for seconds.
Today we had a swim call and got to go swimming. After that we set sail toward Provincetown, Massachusetts, and we got to pass the famous cap town house which is featured on the cape cod bags of chips. On our way, we saw a minke whale off the port side of the ship! We also started our intro to our main topics and our projects.
One we arrived, we were able to dock and head to our entanglement talk at the Center for Coastal Studies. We learned how entanglement affects and hurts a lot of animals, specifically whales. This was sad to think about, but important to understand in order to learn how to help these animals and possibly prevent them from being hurt in the future.
To sum up, some important things we’ve learned are: When in doubt always ask, always wear lots of sunscreen and reapply about every 80 minutes, always drink lots of water and stay hydrated, follow the rules so everything stays in order and everyone is safe, be careful and be safe, have fun, and be quiet like a ninja when its night time! Until next time! But while you wait enjoy these pictures we took :)))

The Lady Maryland Crew