Day 3 - Trip Four

Today has been a calmer, though more rainy day. Since yesterday was a bumpy trip along the Still Water Bank towards Province Town, the students were glad to be docked today. Last night we had anchored out in the harbor. This morning after breakfast, the students pulled up the anchor and helped secure Lady Maryland to the dock. Once the boat was settled the students spent some time out of the rain in the main cabin learning about ocean currents. At this time of year, in specific places along the northern east coast, the currents pull in nutrients from the sea floor which feed plankton and fish which then in turn feeds the whales before they head south for the winter.Students also had time to pick their topics for the Lady Maryland newspapers. The paper is an ongoing project which allows students to focus the trip on something they are particularly interested in. Topics range from whales in captivity, to ship knots and their uses, to documenting their own adventures on board. For the rest of the trip students will be using all their learning experiences to build their articles.

After lunch the students bundled up in their rain gear and headed to the Pilgrim Monument.  The monument is so tall that you can see Boston from the top. Given the weather, we were unable to see Lady Maryland at her dock but the students enjoyed the bragging rights of saying they climbed all those winding stairs. They also explored the Province Town museum and gathered information for their articles. After a quick snack and some silly games they learned about whale untangling at the Province Town Center for Coastal Studies. Students were intrigued by a fairly new system of cutting the lines tangled around whiles by using a cross bow and a special arrow with many small blades usually used to hunt turkeys. This new method is faster and less stressful for all involved. The normal method involves grappling onto the tangled lines and using saws at the ends of long poles to cut the lines.

Do to the rain there was not much time to explore Province Town. After the talk we headed back to the boat. We were very excited that Chef Micheal had prepared taco salad for dinner. Now that dinner clean up and chores are over the students are watching a movie on sailing in the North Atlantic. We have been told tomorrow will be a warmer and drier day.