7-27-08
This post was written by Sasha and Caroline:
Monday, July 28, 2008
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Whales CTY Summer Session 3 Day 6
7-26-08
This post was written by Reva:
Today we trawled (a method of fishing in which a net is dragged behind the boat) twice. We put the trawl net down first in Buzzard's Bay, then in Cape Cod Bay.
The first trawl had lots of algae the second one had lots of animals and other sea life. Between the two trawls we caught many kinds of crabs and snails, several sand-dollars, a few small fish, and even some tiny shrimp. We even caught a large flounder, but unfortunately it died. Nevertheless, we all got to examine and identify the creatures with field guides. We also got a very informative lesson about the sea life.
Oh yeah, we had a really funny initiation as well because we crossed through the Cape Cod Canal. First the crew came out in Canal Sheriff costumes with water guns and made us put on huge orange life vests. Then we each had to accept funny charges for doing random stuff, and ate creamed lentils and mac n' cheese from the first night (as "punishment" for our "crimes"). It was really funny. Later we learned how to tie knots and went swimming.
Another thing today was that we played "stealth." For this game there was a clothespin that we all tried to stick to someone's clothes without them noticing, and whoever had the clothespin at the end of the day had to do something funny.
This post was written by Reva:
Today we trawled (a method of fishing in which a net is dragged behind the boat) twice. We put the trawl net down first in Buzzard's Bay, then in Cape Cod Bay.
The first trawl had lots of algae the second one had lots of animals and other sea life. Between the two trawls we caught many kinds of crabs and snails, several sand-dollars, a few small fish, and even some tiny shrimp. We even caught a large flounder, but unfortunately it died. Nevertheless, we all got to examine and identify the creatures with field guides. We also got a very informative lesson about the sea life.
Oh yeah, we had a really funny initiation as well because we crossed through the Cape Cod Canal. First the crew came out in Canal Sheriff costumes with water guns and made us put on huge orange life vests. Then we each had to accept funny charges for doing random stuff, and ate creamed lentils and mac n' cheese from the first night (as "punishment" for our "crimes"). It was really funny. Later we learned how to tie knots and went swimming.
Another thing today was that we played "stealth." For this game there was a clothespin that we all tried to stick to someone's clothes without them noticing, and whoever had the clothespin at the end of the day had to do something funny.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Whales CTY Summer Session 3 Day 5
Entry for 7-25-08
This post was written by Sarah:
After night watches filled with interesting creatures (we discovered that apparently the comb jellies we ate three days ago glow in the dark), we detached from our "friend" the Unicorn (who's crew happened to put flour and tapioca tablets in our rescue boat and change our name to LaZy Maryland with some crafty play dough skills in the middle of the night, all in good fun of course).
The waters were misleadingly calm as we traveled down the Mystic River, until, to put it gently, all heck broke loose with our entering the open Atlantic. Although the skies were sunny and clear, our poor Lady Maryland was nearly turned upside down with each roll of the giant waves, as were many of our stomachs. Lunch for most of us consisted of only a few saltines, which a few us then fed to the fishies. This didn't last too long, however, as we steered and anchored in Point Judith Harbor's calmer waters at mid-day.
After a moment to relax our stomachs, we had one of the best experiences of the trip so far; swimming! We all scrambled below deck (boys and girls in shifts of course) to change into swim suits and life jackets, the newest CTY fashion trend. We (fairly) eagerly slid into the icy cold salty water, then climbed back on board for perhaps the best saltwater and dish soap shower ever. With a little more swimming, we settled down for a bit. Although the plan was to set sail again at midnight, a spectacular sunset urged our Captain to start out a little early. Now, as we sit "down below," waiting for our first sailing night shifts, we're all hoping that the bucket by the ladder will be left empty through the night. Unfortunately, given the already pronounced rocking, I rather doubt it.
This post was written by Sarah:
After night watches filled with interesting creatures (we discovered that apparently the comb jellies we ate three days ago glow in the dark), we detached from our "friend" the Unicorn (who's crew happened to put flour and tapioca tablets in our rescue boat and change our name to LaZy Maryland with some crafty play dough skills in the middle of the night, all in good fun of course).
The waters were misleadingly calm as we traveled down the Mystic River, until, to put it gently, all heck broke loose with our entering the open Atlantic. Although the skies were sunny and clear, our poor Lady Maryland was nearly turned upside down with each roll of the giant waves, as were many of our stomachs. Lunch for most of us consisted of only a few saltines, which a few us then fed to the fishies. This didn't last too long, however, as we steered and anchored in Point Judith Harbor's calmer waters at mid-day. 
After a moment to relax our stomachs, we had one of the best experiences of the trip so far; swimming! We all scrambled below deck (boys and girls in shifts of course) to change into swim suits and life jackets, the newest CTY fashion trend. We (fairly) eagerly slid into the icy cold salty water, then climbed back on board for perhaps the best saltwater and dish soap shower ever. With a little more swimming, we settled down for a bit. Although the plan was to set sail again at midnight, a spectacular sunset urged our Captain to start out a little early. Now, as we sit "down below," waiting for our first sailing night shifts, we're all hoping that the bucket by the ladder will be left empty through the night. Unfortunately, given the already pronounced rocking, I rather doubt it.
Whales CTY Summer Session 3 Day 4
Entry for 7-24-08
Happy Birthday to Hannah!
This post was written by James and Emmanuel:
Mystic Seaport
We began the day early in order to make it through the turntable bridge in the Mystic river, which only opens every hour. When we arrived at the town of Mystic we docked at the expansive seaport museum along with the Unicorn (a slightly larger vessel that focuses on sails training and women's empowerment) against us. After docking, we performed our daily cleaning duties and then began to explore the museum (which is really more like a little seaside village).
Some of the things we saw included a demonstration on cargo handling aboard the last remaining wooden whaling ship in existence (the Charles W. Morgan), a planetarium show about celestial navigation, and a live explanation about how exactly a whale hunt went. Also, we had been given a scavenger hunt and in order to find the answers we had to go to all the exhibits and learn about them, or you could do it the easier way and just ask someone who worked there (which was cheating, but we did it anyways). I supposed we learned something either way. After we had filled in all the answers we headed over to the gift shop where we stuffed ourselves with fudge (which was very good).
One of my favorite exhibits was the Charles W. Morgan . There were many events on the ship, my favorite was the "dog watch", which was what the sailors called the free time they had while on board. During "dog watch" they would usually sing shanties, play instruments, and do crafts.
After the museum closed we walked back to the Lady Maryland and ate dinner. After dinner the Unicorn's crew challenged us to a sea shanty sing off, during which each crew got the opportunity to sing four sea shanty's to each other.
After that epic battle, they introduced us to the sport of "lime jousting."A fame where you have to balance a lime on a spoon and with another spoon try to knock the other person's lime off. All in all it was an exciting day throughout which we learned many new and, in the case of lime jousting, useful things.
Happy Birthday to Hannah!
This post was written by James and Emmanuel:
Mystic Seaport
We began the day early in order to make it through the turntable bridge in the Mystic river, which only opens every hour. When we arrived at the town of Mystic we docked at the expansive seaport museum along with the Unicorn (a slightly larger vessel that focuses on sails training and women's empowerment) against us. After docking, we performed our daily cleaning duties and then began to explore the museum (which is really more like a little seaside village).
Some of the things we saw included a demonstration on cargo handling aboard the last remaining wooden whaling ship in existence (the Charles W. Morgan), a planetarium show about celestial navigation, and a live explanation about how exactly a whale hunt went. Also, we had been given a scavenger hunt and in order to find the answers we had to go to all the exhibits and learn about them, or you could do it the easier way and just ask someone who worked there (which was cheating, but we did it anyways). I supposed we learned something either way. After we had filled in all the answers we headed over to the gift shop where we stuffed ourselves with fudge (which was very good).
One of my favorite exhibits was the Charles W. Morgan . There were many events on the ship, my favorite was the "dog watch", which was what the sailors called the free time they had while on board. During "dog watch" they would usually sing shanties, play instruments, and do crafts.
After the museum closed we walked back to the Lady Maryland and ate dinner. After dinner the Unicorn's crew challenged us to a sea shanty sing off, during which each crew got the opportunity to sing four sea shanty's to each other.
After that epic battle, they introduced us to the sport of "lime jousting."A fame where you have to balance a lime on a spoon and with another spoon try to knock the other person's lime off. All in all it was an exciting day throughout which we learned many new and, in the case of lime jousting, useful things. 
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Whales CTY Summer Session 3 Day 3
This post was written by Hannah:
We started our third day early. At almost 6:00 we could hear the crew shuffling around deck, raising anchor and getting us underway because we had 50 miles to travel in a single day. The water was extremely choppy, and lucky me, I got bow watch (meaning I had to stand at the front of the boat and keep and eye out for boat traffic, crab pods, or other obstacles). Every time the boat hit a wave (which was a lot considering the sea conditions) I was splashed with a huge spray of salty water. By the end of it there wasn't an inch of me that wasn't soaking wet. I was sooo cold, but it was actually really fun! I don't think I have ever been so wet. After my bow watch (and a good dry-off) I went to Navigation. I learned so much in so little time. I still can't believe I understood what the crew member instructing me was saying (it was all about lines of latitude/longitude, and the relationship between distance, rate, and time)! I am so excited to see what I learn in the days ahead.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Whales CTY Summer Session 3 Day 2
This post was written by Alyssa:
Our first morning on the high seas. We started today at 6:30 with our very first swim call. After a refreshing and invigorating dip, we all dried off and had a very excellent breakfast. This was all an especially good morning after pushing through our mid night anchor watches (we are all required to get up in the middle of the night for an hour to keep watch over the boat, we do things like check our bearings to make sure we are not drifting, monitor weather, and generally make sure everyone else is safe). We also began trawling today and caught several different kinds of sea creatures in our net.
We caught several kinds of crabs, multiple sea stars, and many many comb jellyfish (we estimate about 450 in total) from the Long Island Sound. Several of us even ate comb jellies...alive! We split into our watches and began our new jobs of navigating, steering, and keeping watch off the bow. After several hard hours we relaxed with a nice muster (a nightly meeting of all on deck), but then the waters became rough and we had to go down below and bond as a group until lights out.
P.S. OMG! We caught a sea star named Jimmy and Johnny Depp hasn't shown up yet.
Our first morning on the high seas. We started today at 6:30 with our very first swim call. After a refreshing and invigorating dip, we all dried off and had a very excellent breakfast. This was all an especially good morning after pushing through our mid night anchor watches (we are all required to get up in the middle of the night for an hour to keep watch over the boat, we do things like check our bearings to make sure we are not drifting, monitor weather, and generally make sure everyone else is safe). We also began trawling today and caught several different kinds of sea creatures in our net.
We caught several kinds of crabs, multiple sea stars, and many many comb jellyfish (we estimate about 450 in total) from the Long Island Sound. Several of us even ate comb jellies...alive! We split into our watches and began our new jobs of navigating, steering, and keeping watch off the bow. After several hard hours we relaxed with a nice muster (a nightly meeting of all on deck), but then the waters became rough and we had to go down below and bond as a group until lights out.
P.S. OMG! We caught a sea star named Jimmy and Johnny Depp hasn't shown up yet.
Whales CTY Summer Session 3 Day 1
This entry marks the first day on the Lady Maryland for the CTY summer whale students of session three. Each member will have at least one opportunity to report the days events by writing the blog.
This very first entry is written by KC:
Our first day began bright and early at 6:30 when we started to get ready for the long drive from Baltimore to Oyster Bay, NY. After an insanely long six hours of bonding time in a van, we finally arrived at Oyster Bay. After a brief introduction to our boat, The Lady Maryland, and a delicious lunch, we immediately started our first activity; kayaking. Shortly after our long paddling workout, we got acquainted with the crew who all seem really cool. We were fed dinner and told about the basic safety precautions on the boat. We also were split into two groups and assigned watches (Port and Starboard), so that we can take turns watching the boat and making routine checks. As the day came to an end we all gathered in a muster, or a meeting, and we were given our night watch time. It was a VERY eventful first day, and a great start to what promises to be a wonderful trip.
This very first entry is written by KC:
Our first day began bright and early at 6:30 when we started to get ready for the long drive from Baltimore to Oyster Bay, NY. After an insanely long six hours of bonding time in a van, we finally arrived at Oyster Bay. After a brief introduction to our boat, The Lady Maryland, and a delicious lunch, we immediately started our first activity; kayaking. Shortly after our long paddling workout, we got acquainted with the crew who all seem really cool. We were fed dinner and told about the basic safety precautions on the boat. We also were split into two groups and assigned watches (Port and Starboard), so that we can take turns watching the boat and making routine checks. As the day came to an end we all gathered in a muster, or a meeting, and we were given our night watch time. It was a VERY eventful first day, and a great start to what promises to be a wonderful trip.
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