CTY Whales Days 1 & 2!

Greetings from the Lady Maryland! CTY Session 2, Trip 3 is underway and all's well on board. Tonight, we are safely anchored in New Bedford Harbor after a day of sailing. We experienced some rain today, but everyone made the best of it, worked hard, and had fun. A couple of the students have written up some posts for you, so I'll turn it over to them.
-Jordan

"Today, I began to learn phrases commonly used to distinguish different parts of the boat. Port as left, starboard as right, bow as front, and stern as back. Last night, I learned to check bearings of a using a specially-designed compass. During the boat check, I learned how to check the battery of the boat and determine if the voltage was how it should be, which is 12.2 volts or higher-- if not, let the captain know! Today, during the rain, we began to talk about whales. We found out that killer whales are actually the largest species of dolphin. That's how my day went, and I hope there's more to learn in days to come."

-Written by Eric F.

"This morning I awoke to rain pouring on my head (many of us were sleeping out on deck for the pleasant breeze and ample headroom). It wasn't just a little drip-drop but a horizontal downpour that was penetrating my sleeping bag. I ran down below where everyone else had gone to resume sleeping as it was only 2 AM.
I woke up again in the morning to see that the rain had momentarily stopped. It gave us time to get dressed and have a delicious breakfast prepared by our wonderful cook, Dylan. After we ate, the work started. There is hardly a spare moment on a sailboat like this: we raise the sails and the anchor, chart the course (which often changes due to the weather and other factors), and much more.
It began to rain a bit harder, and got foggy as well. Everyone was suited up in their rain gear and good to go. Of course, it was then that I found that I didn't have my rain pants. But the crew was prepared with a great yellow jumpsuit (which was also inflatable)! When I finally got back on deck, the rain had decided to slow. Then I learned how to navigate, tie some knots, and trawl (use a long net cast over the side of the boat to collect marine life). I had a great whaling lesson as well-- in the rain, of course! I am looking forward to tomorrow, when we'll visit the whaling museum in New Bedford for a walk on dry land. Well, I've got to go, it's time for our nightly muster meeting."

-Written by Izzie