Lady Maryland: The Final Act

Greetings and salutations from beautiful New England…once again! It is a bitter-sweet last day on Lady Maryland, and our students are heading into their final hours aboard the pink and green schooner. Yesterday was a fairly relaxing day. The students enjoyed runs in the Swamp Fox to go ashore at Point Judith, RI, to enjoy a pleasant afternoon of whale watching aboard the Lady Frances. Unfortunately, there were no whales to be seen. There was a very relaxing ride to be had though, and the students got to experience open ocean that the Lady Maryland should not go into. Back on board the students had a lesson about how whales feed and the efficiency of their feeding, before getting ready for bed.

Today, our students woke up early, and helped the crew scrub down the boat to get her ready for the next group. Afterwards, the students competed in the Schooner Olympics! (emphasis to show extent of awesomeness…) The Olympics consisted of five separate events: pin-rail chase, knot tying, compass and points relay, standing orders race, and setting the jib. By far the most exciting event was the setting of the jib (the forward most sail on Lady M). The crew pulled out the fire hoses and buckets of water to spray at the students as they set the jib to simulate squall conditions. The students laughed and squealed and worked as a team to get the jib up and to strike it. Both starboard and port watch did a fantastic job, and it was great to see them have such fun on their last day. After the Olympics, the kids all jumped into the salt water for their final salt water bath. Which brings us to now. Now, the students are changing and drying off, getting ready for their final dinner aboard Lady Maryland. The students are ready to see home again, having been away for three long weeks, but they will take the lessons learned on the Lady Maryland with them; lessons of teamwork, respect, and working hard in their academics and with their hands. What more could this program ask for?