Trip 3, First Post!

Ahoy!

Here we are on day 3, and writing our first post. We have had an exciting time thus far aboard the Lady Maryland. When we arrived on the first evening to board the Lady Maryland, there was a mix of emotions in the air—some more excited to go on the endearing journey ahead than others, but all of them packed and ready to go for the adventure. We had an opportunity to discuss our personal goals for the trip and the overall sentiment included to learn the ways of a sailor, surviving life on the ship, and of course—sighting a whale!

We all went to bed as soon as evening rolled by, as we were to embrace night-watch duties on our very first night on the boat. We each took a little over hour-long shifts, all the way until 5am, to perform boat checks, review night orders, and ensure the boat was safely anchored and maintained throughout the night. We are to go through this routine on a nightly basis.

We have been quick learners as we have gotten accustomed to the way of life on the boat, including new lingo spoken on the vessel. “Hands to receive!” one hears as the crew are constantly passing things from above and under the deck of the boat. “Water!” everyone hears as we enthusiastically dump dirty water after washing dishes between every delicious meal on the boat. “Heave…ho!” the crew yells as we tug on the lines to set the sail as the ship goes underway. 

On our first full day, yesterday, the ship anchored on Narraganset Beach and took Swamp Fox, a small motorboat, to land. We took nets, went knee deep into the water, and fished for aquatic creatures in the local estuary. We were able to identify and discuss the local wildlife we caught and continued the conversation at a nearby nature center. 

Today the we were finally aboard the ship for a consecutive 24 hours. A few of us fell victim to the choppiness of the waves, experiencing seasickness for the first time. We discussed whales and wildlife, learned how to un-anchor the boat, and continued to learn how to navigate as well as steer through the ocean. As a crew, we used the Lady Maryland’s fishing net and caught some marine wildlife. We identified the creatures as a flounder and a spider crab. After examining them, we released them back into the water. It’s been a wholesome day, and one can see that everyone has truly gotten along and have been transitioning better to life at sea.

Until Next Time!

Lady Maryland Crew! (We are all crew now!)