Lady Maryland: Lady Maryland: Trip #4 (Day Two)

"It was cool seeing all the fuzzy little new birds learning to fly and the sheer amount of birds was astounding!" - Matt

Today, after a great breakfast and a good half hour spent cleaning the boat, a task we must do twice a day to keep the boat in good shape, we got to disembark the Lady Maryland and spend some time exploring Appledore Island, one of the larger islands of the Isles of Shoals. Though the islands were once a fishing village, they are now used primarily for research on marine life and birds, specifically the gulls that inhabit the island during their migrations north and south.

After getting a tour of the labs and seeing all sorts of animal skeletons and interesting live specimens, we walked around the island and eventually sat down for awhile on the rocky shore, where we got a lesson on different types of birds from one of the crew members. The lesson was made even more vivid by the countless birds that surrounded us, continually screeching as they tried to protect the fluffy, dark colored gulls that we learned are the babies. We then continued around the island, checking out the beautiful views of the water from the higher points as we hiked and poking around the tide pools on the shore, where we found endless snail shells and skipped a few rocks. Finally, it was time to head back to the ship and get sailing again.

Back on the Lady Maryland, we ate a good lunch and then worked together to haul up the anchor, a job that took a good half hour and a whole lot of man power – we’ll all be in shape when we get back! Then once again we set the sails – a job that is starting to feel familiar – and set off towards Provincetown, MA on Cape Cod, this time with the wind in our sails.

Once we were sailing, the cadets broke up into two groups, one to keep watch on deck - a job that includes steering at the helm, serving as lookout on the bow, checking the boat for any potential problems, and various other, smaller tasks – and one to start learning about whales and estuaries from the awesome educators on the crew. Everyone agrees that it is great to be out on the water again, and it’s great to feel like we know enough to be helpful on the ship. Before we know it, we’ll be able to sail the Lady Maryland without much assistance at all!

Another wave of sea-sickness accompanied the choppier water of the late-afternoon, but we now have a whole day out at sea under our belt, and we’re excited to do more sailing and exploring tomorrow after a good night’s sleep -- this time below deck, as the crew will be sailing through the night so that we can be in Provincetown by tomorrow!