Day 2 at Sea 8-noon watch report

Update from Head Educator:
All are well. A great day and colgate student leaders are wonderful.
spent morning watching humpbacks doing full breaches and rest of day
surrounded by minke whales.

Position: 42,34.18N , 70,26.73W
winds 1-2 from E

Currently sailing north, we will spend the night practicing sailing
skills before a potential excursion ashore at Great Misery Island
tomorrow morning for no more than 1/2 day.

Update from Students on 8-noon watch on August 12:
Early this morning, we were lucky enough to have the eight to noon
watch. After a quick breakfast, we mustered on the deck and relieved A
watch. The two of us were actually below deck to clean when we heard
people on deck call out, "Whales!" So, of course,
we dropped everything to come watch. Anyone who wasn't still asleep
found themselves standing at the port (Left) side staring in awe at the
two or three humpback whales. Not only did we see a few fins and tails
flipping, but we also got to see them jump ver
tically out of the water and crash back down. Much to our surprise, and
entertainment, the whales stayed nearby for the rest of the morning,
occasionally spouting near the boat and "waving" to us.
When we first arrived on watch, we noticed another boat sailing
in the distance. Our second surprise came when it moved closer and we
discovered it was another schooner almost identical to ours. The Harvey
Gamage is another learning vessel like the Spirit
of South Carolina. We spent a good amount of time maneuvering the waters
until we were sailing alongside each other. At this point, the Harvey
Gamage played the Darth Vader theme song and even shot a cannon into the
water! Needless to say, we found this e
ncounter to be quite amusing!
Throughout the day we've been learning tons about the boat and
how it works. All three shifts worked together to "Tack" and "Jibe."
We've all learned the different parts of the sails, as well as the "Wind
Clock" or the different terms used to describe whic
h direction the wind is coming from. Different shifts are currently
learning how to tie a variety of knots (many of which are used to secure
sails and lines on the schooner). The weather has been holding up (no
rain or fog :) and it has been an amazing, ev
entful day.

Maggie Dunne
Lindsay Schneider