Welcome! Lady Maryland's final CTY voyage of the summer is officially underway! We're excited for a great nine days, and so happy that you're interested in what we're up to out here at sea and at the different ports we'll stop at along the way! We'll do our best to document our adventures!
On Wednesday morning, as the rest of the CTY students headed off to their morning classes, our eight Whales and Estuaries students hopped into a van and headed north to Portsmouth, NH to board, at long last, the Lady Maryland. We boarded the ship around lunchtime and spent a leisurely afternoon in the sun, bobbing on the quick-running water of Portsmouth Harbor until the current had calmed enough for us to set sail. While we waited, we spent some time getting to know the energetic, eight-person Living Classrooms crew and the ship – a 104 foot pungy schooner modeled after work boats that would have sailed these same waters in the 1800s – as well as reviewing important safety information. Despite a little sea-sickness, the group took easily to life on a ship, and once underway we all began the long process of learning to sail – hoisting sails (which are much heavier than they look!), coiling ropes, and slowly acquiring the skills and vocabulary necessary for sailing.
Our first stop was the Isles of Shoals, a cluster of nine islands that breach the border between New Hampshire and Maine. Though the wind wouldn’t carry us all the way to the shore, we motored into the area around sunset, found a buoy to tie up to (though we eventually had to drop the anchor), and enjoyed a nice meal on deck before bed. Most of the kids opted to sleep under the stars on the deck, and everyone fell asleep quickly, especially with anchor watches to wake up for during the night and an early wake-up in the morning.
The last duty of the day was anchor watch, during which members of the crew and our awesome cadets took shifts through the night to ensure that the ship didn’t drift too much. During anchor watch, each group took bearings to record how the ship had changed positions in the water, and also recorded changing weather patterns. After our hour shift, we were all happy to crawl back into our sleeping bags for a few more hours of good sleep. What an exciting and educational first day!
At Isles of Shoals, the Spirit of South Carolina, a fellow schooner, passes us on their way back out to sea, and we shoot our cannons as a friendly "hello"!
At sunset, the cadets review the standing rules of the ship before turning in after a long day.
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