Fishing, Sailing, and Singing

What a busy two days the CTY students have had on the Lady Maryland!  Yesterday we spent the day at Mystic Seaport, CT, where the students explored the museum and other attractions. The students were able to enjoy an extra special presentation by a chantey man named Don.  Don sang a number of chanteys and played multiple instruments for the group while the group was aboard the Charles W. Morgan, the last surviving American wooden whaling ship.  It was an exhilarating experience, and one that the students and staff will not soon forget.  After the chantey presentation, the students went on a scavenger hunt around Mystic Seaport, searching for answers to questions about whaling and sailing.  Around 2:00 pm the Lady Maryland departed from Mystic and headed to her anchorage for the night.  The students were able to enjoy a swim call and a hearty meal, before heading into a lesson about the importance of weather to sailing. 

Today, July 9^th, the Lady Maryland sailed throughout the day, hoping to reach her destination by dinner time.  The morning hours held a number of fishing trawls, which yielded great results!  The students caught very large whelks, a variety of fish and crabs, and tons of seaweed!  It was a rewarding morning for our students.  The afternoon hours consisted of a four hour watch for port watch students while the starboard watch worked on their final newspaper project and tested the water quality of our position.  The watches switched activities until dinner, and the students had some well deserved relaxation as they enjoyed their vittles.   We anchored before dinner was served, and on our way in, the Lady Maryland passed the Pride of Baltimore II, another Baltimore tall ship.  The Pride fired one of her guns for the kids, which caused quite the stir of excitement.  After dinner the students completed their daily ship chores and dinner clean up, before heading into the main hold to examine plankton under the microscope. 

It has been an adventure filled number of days for our students, and tomorrow only promises more excitement!  The educators and crew aboard the Lady Maryland have worked extra hard on an extra special trip planned for tomorrow, and can’t wait to make it happen!  Until then, it is almost bed time – but not until our students have viewed their plankton TV!

Squid dissection with Captain Michael

More squid dissection...immediately after which the Captain treated the students to ice cream!

A replica of the Morgan

The actual Morgan at Mystic Seaport.  She is under reconstruction for the next year, and hopes to do a tour starting next summer.  That's right, she will sail again!

Don, the chantey man. 

Entranced by the chanteys

The whole gang

The bunks aboard the Morgan - and we thought we were cramped on Lady Maryland!

Below decks on the Morgan

The furnace that held the tri-pots on the Morgan

The tri-pots were used to heat blubber to get whale oil. 

Mystic Seaport

Mystic Seaport

The Joseph Conrad at Mystic Seaport

Inside a cooperage

We caught a sea star!

And we caught a sea urchin!

...and we caught some very large whelks!

Working on identification of the catch.

The Pride of Baltimore II

Also the Pride of Baltimore II - post cannon fire. 

It's a Tall Ship Life for Us

What an exciting day for the CTY students aboard the Lady Maryland!  We woke up at our anchorage in Niantic Bay this morning surrounded by tall ships that were all gathering for a parade of sail.  Two of which were the Cisne Branco, a tall ship of the Brazilian Navy from Rio de Janerio, and the Eagle, a US Coast Guard training vessel. The Amistad, nicknamed the Freedom Schooner, was also sailing the waters.  That vessel is particular is packed full of history, and is part of the American story.  As we sailed toward our destination for the day, the parade of sail happened behind us, and the students on look out were thrilled to have a job that involved watching the ships.

The students had their first opportunity to use scientific testing equipment today.  While one watch was doing “boaty bits,” the other watch was testing the water quality of the Long Island Sound.  There were some surprising results!  Later the students will compare their results from two different locations and discuss what might cause any differences.    The watches then swapped jobs after lunch.  The students who were taking care of the boat learned how to navigate using bearings and compasses, and how to use a nautical chart.  They also “learned the ropes,” by learning what the different lines on the Lady Maryland are, and what they do. 

The students are a bit tired, but over all happy and healthy, and ready for another adventure!  As this blog is being written they are on deck doing a squid dissection with Captain Michael.  There are so many interesting things to do aboard the Lady Maryland and only so many hours in a day!  What better way to prepare for bed than by doing a dissection?  No matter how strange it may sound, our students love it!  And we all must wonder…what will tomorrow bring?

Learning the ropes with deckhand Nate

Haul that line!

Testing water turbidity

Water quality testing

Learning to coil and hang

The Amistad

Starboard watch sitting and learning while port watch works the boat

The Cisne Branco

The Eagle

The Eagle again

Sailing On!

Welcome to session two and day three aboard the Lady Maryland!  The word for today is sail!  We set off early this morning around 8 am and have been moving ever since.  This of course means that the students have been getting some quality time learning how the Lady Maryland works.  They have also been learning about marine wildlife, thanks to our very successful trawl and dredge this morning around 9 am.  The dredge pulled up a variety of neat animals, including clam, oyster, blue crab, and other crabs.  The trawl net yielded two huge horseshoe crabs, a number of large flounder, a sea robin, some shrimp, and even a sheep’s head!  The students were so excited about their catch, and even more excited to find out what it was they had caught.  Our educators set them to work identifying the various critters, and it was rewarding to see the students so curious about the world around them. 

The students have also been very curious about the world of sailing, which is an appetite the crew is always eager to appease!  Today was the first long watch, where the starboard watch stood for 4 hours as the port watch worked away with the educators.  Our students learned how to box a compass, how to steer the boat, how to be successful on bow watch, and how to complete a successful boat check – all by themselves!  The crew was very impressed by the student’s diligence today, and the swiftness with which they moved. 

The students are excited for the next leg of our journey, though some of the planned events are a complete surprise.  But surprises are always part of the fun, and there is always something to be excited about when you are on board the Lady Maryland!