PICTURES: what it's like to be on watch

Lady Maryland: Trip #3 (Day One and Two)

Welcome family and friends,

Yesterday afternoon the Lady Maryland set out from Bristol harbor for her third nine day voyage. Nine brave cadets boarded the ship with excitement and anticipation of a great adventure. Although the weather was cooperating with rain showers here and there, the high spirited crew made the cadets feel welcomed and energized.

Due to a late afternoon boarding, Lady Maryland made her way just three miles to a small bay near Prudence Island. The first day was filled with introductions, tours of the boat, as well as most importantly – information about safety.

After dinner, prepared by the boat's own cook, the cadets took some time to jot down their impressions expectations of the journey. Here is what they had to say:

“…wow, I’m finally going to get to go sailing again!!! I’m also very excited for such a cool/new experience. I cannot wait for the rest of the trip!” - Abigail

“I’m excited because I am getting to do different activities and experiencing new things. I expect to have a really good time and learn too.” – Betzbeth

“I’m kind of worried that I will fall off! And I learned this is going to be a lot harder than I thought…I would love to see a whale or a dolphin, though” – Cassidy

“Awesome!!! Love you mom and dad, JJ and Kathy” – Harrison

“Not what I was expecting. Roger Williams University is plush and comfy. I feel though that if we were to live only like that, it would be boring. This boat is really exciting!” – Holly

I’m excited and can’t wait to go further away and spot many whales, this boat is awesome!” – Iris

“I’m really excited about sailing and being part of the crew of the boat… I can’t wait to have an awesome learning experience!” – Jessica

‘Working on a boat will be hard work, but with a bit of team work, eight friends, and a good sense of humor, we can manage it.” – Storm

“I think this cruise is a fun and entertaining way to learn about biology” - Martin

That night, the cadets each stood watch at some point in time with the crew as Lady Maryland was anchored, taking bearing and recording the weather to make sure that the boat was not in danger and the rest could sleep soundly.

The next morning the cadets were off to an early start: wake up at 6:45AM! There was no time to waste… the deck needed to be washed, the dishes after breakfast cleaned, and most exciting of them all… the sails to be set! After all, sailing is what Lady Maryland does best. It takes a lot of work to hoist all three sails but with teamwork, everything is possible.

The students were divided into two watch groups with the crew… while one watch is on (basically keeping the bat running – being on lookout, doing boat checks, steering, and navigating), the other is lead by the educators on board with educational activities.

Today, the captain decided it was a good time to do some trawl fishing and see what we catch. After one lucky cadet bestowed luck on the net by sniffing it, it was thrown overboard and after a while pulled back on deck. And indeed lucky we were – among the catch were various crabs, shrimp, algae, as well as a flounder over a foot long!

Over the course of the day, Lady Maryland made her way over some rough seas to Buzzards Bay to anchor in Cuttyhunk harbor for the night.

Lady Maryland: Final Days

Hello once again blog followers!

The cadets are sailing for the last time today. Tonight, the sails will be furled, and tomorrow morning, we will motor onward to our final destination, where we will catch a ride back to our starting point. Days 8 and 9 will go faster than we can imagine!

Last night, all 10 cadets earned the title of "Able-Bodied Seaman". They showcased their knowledge of the forem'st throat halyard, bowline knots, harpoon coils and more in a race between the port and starboard watches that ended in a very close tie! The crew was proud of their apprentices for their hard work and reliability this week.

As a final peek into the minds of our sleepy sailors, I'd like to share another story written during the night anchor watch from a few nights ago...

Thelonious and Malvectius were friends for years, but they didn't always see eye to eye. Malvectius was always making trouble, and therefore, everybody feared him. One day, Thelonious and Malvectius had gotten into a huge fight over how loud the base drum should be; Malvectius had not realized how loud the bass actually was. As a result, Malvectius hypnotized Gillespie to do something very bad...

With that Malvectius begun, he gathered line, tied off ends, and he was ready. Now with no effort at all a single tug would send all the fresh water tumbling into the great salty sea. Melanius seeing what Malvectius was doing, instantly thought of the possible consequences of losing every ounce of drinkable water aboard the boat, and knew he must do something to stop it...

He would have to punish Malvectius in a way that would make him learn a lesson. At first, Melanius tried tickling Malvectius to death. Then he tried to fart all over Malvectius to make it a punishment that he would remember and regret...after all, Melanius had the worst smelling farts around. Suddenly, Melanius knew what he would do to stop Malvectius......

He would make fart bags, full of gas (literally) and set a trap in order to get Melvectius back...in the face...

As Thelonious was making the fart bags, he realized two things: a.) farts are flammable and b.) it is extremely hard to put gas in a bag without beans! He got a new plan to control Malvectius. He would set his bags on fire under him, and would have to make Malvectius think that Thelonius was magical.

His plan wasn't as clever as he had hoped. Malvectius saw straight through the trick, but was clever enough to play along. As Thelonius's trick came to an end. Malvectius acted afraid, but only to play along. He still had a few tricks up his sleeve and he wasn't going to give in quite so easily.

Malvectius was sound asleep in his cabin when he first heard the noise. A faint wooshing that was getting louder and louder. When Malvectius rolled out of bed to see where the noise came from he saw Thelonius floating above the deck. "Oh no!" Malvectius shouted. "Floating fart bags of doom!" Stealthily Malvectius pulled out his paintball gun he was hiding and shot all the fart balloons! Malvectius knew of Thelonius' plan after spying on Thelonius farting into bags the night before.

In his excitement, Malvectius kept missing the fart bags and Thelonius caught him and tied him to the mast of Lady Maryland. Two years later...Malvectius promised to be good and never do that again. Thelonius decided to let him go, but Malvectius never left. He became best friends ith the band and travelled all over the world with them without once causing any trouble.

THE END.

Mystic Seaport

6 of our cadets were chosen to participate in a reenactment of life on a whaling ship.

Mike the Shantyman teaching us songs to sing as we haul away!

The group at Mystic Seaport.

Using the super high-tech microscope to view the plankton we caught on TV.

Our three fly exterminators getting even for the many bites acquired as they sleep.

Lady Maryland: Day Six

When we woke up Monday morning to a fog so thick that we could not see more than 10 feet around our pink and green schooner, we weren't sure if we'd ever make it to Mystic, CT. But fate knew of our plans, and the fog fully lifted at around midday, and we were able to dock alongside the quaint Mystic Seaport. Our pungy schooner, the last of its kind, looked at home with the other historical boats tethered to the pilings at the dock. The cadets heard and read about the history of whaling across the world, and specifically in New England. We even had a shantyman come aboard the Lady Maryland and teach us real sea shanties of different origins and uses! (SHAN-ty n. A song sung by sailors on a boat to keep time, and pass time, when hauling lines, raising/lowering sails, and hauling in the anchor).

The group had a great time going to each outdoor exhibit and searching for answers to questions on their scavenger hunt sheets. Did you know that British ships of the past had anchors weighing up to 7,000 pounds?! The cadets learned this and many other facts about ships and the everyday life of a sailor.

With only one more full day left, the cadets are both excited and sad to be coming to the end of their CTY experience. I think all would say that it has been an experience they will always remember!

A Special Message

Four posts in one day, you say? This must be something very important! Indeed it is, for as we were awaiting a dinner of pot roast only moments ago, our very own "Graham Cracker" and "DJ Sillyz" decided to share a little something special with the rest of the cadets and crew. I present it to you now in video form, though it's majesty is really something better seen in person. Perhaps you can request a live concert upon their return!

(Apologies for the sideways nature of the video)

Lady Maryland: Day Five

It is an absolutely gorgeous day aboard our beloved schooner. The sun is shining brightly, but a light breeze keeps the cadets from over-heating. This morning we were anchored at one of Captain Michael's favorite spots to dredge for oysters, and so we decided to hook up our own oyster dredge and see what we could find. We also threw in the trawl net for the second time this trip to observe the types of species present in this part of the ocean. Everyone was excited to see that we hauled up about 10 different species in our net! The cadets spent much of the morning making observations and identifying those species with the help of field guides.

The second half of the day was filled with learning the proper techniques for testing water quality. The cadets were looking like professional scientists as they used fancy equipment and their new knowledge to record data. They discovered that the quality of the water that the Lady Maryland was sailing through at that moment was mostly high, but there were a few outlying data points, possibly due to pollution by humans.

We will be anchoring again shortly, and all are looking forward to a good night's sleep after a long, hot day of discovery!