Today we had field day. Field day is the when we take the ship apart and clean it in depth. It was really fun for me, but other students did not have as much fun as I did. I think I am beginning to love chores. We got an extra hour of sleep which was really nice and then we started on the chores. As a special incentive, we were able to listen to music while we cleaned (we can’t listen to music normally on the ship). Every watch had a designated area. I got to sweep and clean walls. It was really fun. I had fun sweeping. It took us three hours to complete everything. The ship did look a lot different after all the cleaning was done. I was really proud of my work and my effort for the good of the ship.

After that, we got the afternoon to relax so I decided to go to the beach. I also wanted a shower after all that hard work. The beach we hiked to was located near a resort. The resort turned out to be a total nightmare for me. The resort caters to European and American guests. Because of my skin color and the fact that I speak Spanish, I was considered Dominican and therefore I was not allowed to be in the resort. Blanca and I were told to leave the resort while the other girls from the program were able to wonder around because of their skin color. Here I was in the Dominican Republic being mistaken for a native and getting kicked out of a resort because they thought I was a native. The beach was segregated into “guest area” and “locals’ area” and I was asked to go to the smaller locals’ area. Another interesting fact was that I noticed that the manager was lighter than the other workers.  

This experience made me super mad because that’s the kind of treatment the natives of the country get. Just for a simple color and status people classify other people. However, this experience showed me a facet of the local culture and that’s what I was looking for, not for a Caribbean fantasy. This experience helped me to realize that racism is still a strong factor we have to overcome worldwide.

Journal Entry by Ke’xia on March 21 

Two vans transported us from Luperon to La Isabella.  It was a 45 minute drive through narrow roads where horses were used for transportation and herds of cow walked in the middle of the roads. Soon enough we reached our destination into a historical town named La Isabella. La Isabella is known for having the ruins of Christopher Columbus’s first permanent settlement and church. The overall feeling of stepping into the church and witnessing the ruins was absolutely breathe-taking. To see the church very well preserved and to look at the foundation of his house was, to me, like the gentleness and awareness you would have for a China-Glass tea set.

When we returned from La Isabella, we got ready to set sail for South Caicos Island.  It was a short sail, and the wind was with us so we expected our passage to be a short one.

Journal Entry by Nettie Kelly on March 22 

We were underway when the clock struck midnight, beginning March 22.  We are underway sailing from Luperon, DR to South Caicos Island.  We arrived very early this morning and then we did what the crew calls “sailing in a box”.  The Captain, a prudent mariner, does not like to go to a new anchorage in the dark, thus we sail in a box that he marks on the chart to kill time until sunrise.  It’s a pretty mellow time to be on watch, lots of learning going on, and it’s a great opportunity for the watch on duty to practice sail handling as we tacked around the box.

Early the next morning, we had strong winds as we headed into the anchorage at South Caicos.  This is a really shallow area with stunning coral reefs.  All hands were on deck to maneuver the ship into the bay.  The Captain asked me to climb aloft and keep a sharp lookout for coral heads as he made his way shallower and shallower toward the anchorage.  I climbed up and sat on the spreaders, peering over the water, looking for coral heads.  Although the search for corals held my attention, from below, I could hear the shouts of students and crew as they worked on deck.  I couldn’t help but peak below and watch the coordinated movement of the Tall Ship Semester for Girls.  There was Rocio, calling the striking of the fores’l; Blanca and Roxy out on the headrig furling the jib; Ke’xia and Katie hauling the anchor burton, readying the anchor; Wren and Erin were hauling the quarterlifts to the mark; Ibukun and Janet were checking that downhauls and halyards would run free; Luci and Jessica easing the halyards to strike the mainsail and Elicha and Gaby working with Ms. Daly to pull out a shot and a half of anchor chain.  Just a couple weeks ago, these same students had stared at the crew with bewilderment as the same commands that they were now shouting had been shouted at them.  Since our first days in San Juan, we have traveled over 1000 nautical miles and we have come so far in so many other ways!

At anchor near South Caicos, the students had a checklist of sailing information and skills as well as academic assignments that had to get checked off before they could get off the boat and venture into South Caicos.  Many of them spent most of the day working on these assignments and only a couple had clearance to leave the ship by the evening.  In the meantime, I had gone ashore to scout our plans for our visit on South Caicos.  Unfortunately, I learned that the schools were on break for Holy Week and many of the students were off the island on a school sponsored trip to look at the University in Jamaica.  We did learn from Aussie, the proprietor of a local store and Deacon of the Baptist Church, that there was a youth conference on the island with over 90 teenagers attending from all over the Turks and Caicos Islands.  We planned to join part of the conference the next day in place of a school visit. 

South Caicos is a small island with a small population of people.  Many of the homes we passed were small and closed up.  Aussie said that many people that have homes here have to leave the island to find work.  Their homes sit boarded up for their return.  The community is so small though, that everyone knows whose home is whose and if there is a need, they can open the houses.  Some of the students at the Youth Conference were staying in people’s homes.  There is very little tourism – Gizelle, the manager of the only hotel on the island, said that if she had 10% occupancy in her 26 room hotel, that was above average booking!  We also were introduced to the School for Field Studies which has a campus here.  Thanks to Dave Wilson and his staff and students for their warm welcome, use of their facilities and introduction to the island.

We had a quiet night on the boat – the highlight of which was an introduction to sea shanties from Mr. Mosley – as well as continued check-offs on academic assignments.  And anchor watch!

Journal Entry by Blanca Garcia on March 23 

Today was the second day in South Caicos, but the first day that people where allowed to go to the Island. In the morning everybody was rushing to get all there sailing test passed so they can go ashore. Only about 7 of us went in land in the morning, the rest of us stayed on the ship and had a study hall onboard the ship. I only had the study hall for 30 mins after everyone else was onshore but the next boat run was not until 2:30 so I had to keep myself busy by doing extra work or learning new things about the ship. Most of the time I was helping out my shipmate get some of there item checked off so I wouldn’t be the only one going ashore. I helped Rocio with learning something’s about the ship that we needed to know. After a while when we had really nothing to do we started to catch up on our personal reading. In the middle of our reading we took a half hour lunch break and started to get ready to go to land.  When we arrived onshore we started walking to the church were we where going to meet up with other young people of the Islands. As we were walking there was no one on the streets and it was like a ghost town. We went to the church and sat in on a debate competition about sex and AIDS in the Islands. We sat in on about three of them because we really didn’t catch on to a lot of the points they were stating because of the accent that they have. Afterwards Roxy, Erin, Rocio, and I were on a mission to find a working payphone so we could call home. We didn’t find one, so we made friends with some guys of the church and they took us to a restaurant were we could get some food because we were hungry. Eating and interviewing the guys at the same time took up a lot of time. Around 5 o’clock we had to head back to the dock, but before that we met up with the rest of the group that was onshore before us. Meeting the rest of the girls at a historical park named the boiling pit. It is this hole that leads to the ocean and sharks and fishes come up into the pit and they jump around making the pit look like its boiling. We had dinner back on the ship and had dinner. After dinner the girls initiated a crew muster with all the crew because they felt they needed to bring up some issues they were having with the crew and life on the boat. In my opinion the discussion didn’t go so well because there was only a couple of people speaking for the whole group and I think it got a little bit out of hand. In the end, I guess most people felt better and we all realized that we had to keep working at learning everything we need to know about the boat.

After the crew muster I decided to sleep on deck because it was a pretty night out and so I fell asleep staring at the stars.

Journal Entry by Hasta Luego and Ibukun on March 24 

On day nineteen we are anchored outside of South Caicos Island. The water is so beautiful -- crystal clear blue and green. We are anchored in sixteen feet of water and we can see the bottom. On this day we went to the Turks and Caicos Department of Coastal Studies. There we learned about the local fisheries from Kathy Lockheart and her boss, Wesley. After we learned about bone fish, lobsters and conch, Kathy told us about studies she is doing, one of which showed that the people in South Caicos ate 20 pounds of conch a year. This was important because the Department wants to know how much conch was in the area and how much was being taken out by commercial and recreational fishing.

Kathy connected us with Norman Saunders, who owns Caicos Fisheries, a conch and lobster processing plant. This was our next stop. We quickly walked to the Caicos Fishery Plant and on the way there a wild dog came up to me and started barking at me. I freaked and Marcos, our English and History teacher, calmed me down and got rid of the dog. At the plant we learned how the local fishermen catch their lobsters and conch and how it is process for consumption in the US. There was beautiful big conch shells scattered all around so after Franklin gave a short explanation of plant operations, everyone went to the shore to grab conch shells. All the conch shells were dirty, so we cleaned them when we got back on board the ship.

In the late afternoon we went snorkeling in groups of three to see first hand the marine animals that were in the fishery. For most of the girls, including me, it was our first time snorkeling. The water was so clear and the fish and the coral were amazing. The fish were all different types of colors and some blended in with the water. It was so cool to be able to reach your hand out and touch the fishes. The corals were all different types. Some were soft like mushroom clouds and the hard ones were like the ones I am used to seeing on my TV from my video game Crash 3. In the game there is a water level with coral. You have to get boxes from inside the coral and the only way you can break the box is to spin at the coral. It was cool to see that same coral up close and personal instead of from a video game. I learned from being on this trip the more stuff you see up close, like the coral, makes you cherish it more, because it’s not inside the TV, but in you grasp and part of your reality. This is why I am going to cherish this day forever.

Journal Entry by Janet Leung on March 25 

Today was an interesting day. There were a lot of changes made and a lot of interesting things said by our teachers and by the mates of our watches. We received sailing grades from the crew and had progress report meetings with the instructors. Personally, I felt the meetings went well and I was surprised by that. My first meeting was with my watch leader Mr. Moseley. I expected it to go sour because he’s a hard person to impress and I think he judges pretty hard since he’s the first mate on the boat. However, I was told I was doing well and that I had improved a lot since I’ve been on the Spirit of Massachusetts. I was really surprised that he thought that and that he noticed I was trying. I’m really glad the first meeting went so well. After that, I had time to think about all the comments made and to prepare for the next meeting with my teachers.

As I was talking with Nettie, Marcos and Brett, they made me realize a lot about myself. After seeing my academic grades, I was satisfied with myself for keeping up with my work. Before the meeting, I felt like I was holding onto my whole damn life by a just a string, trying to stay mentally and physically stable. After the meeting, I realized I had done so much work with my watch while managing to stay on top of my school work. I also realized that I had faced a lot of my fears, like checking the bilges. (The bilges are the holding tanks for water the boat takes on. They are under the floor and I have to poke my head in the dark with the flash light to see how high the levels are.) I finally know that I have done a lot of work and faced my biggest fear (the dark). After all the meetings were over, the big finale came when the watches were changed. A lot of the other students didn’t like the idea of changing watches but there was nothing we could do about it – it was going to happen whether we liked it or not. When I found out who my new watch mates would be, I was glad I to be working with them because I think they will work hard and support each other. I was also disappointed that I wasn’t with the same watch leader, Mr. Moseley, because now I know he noticed all the good things I have done and also the things I still need to work on. Over all, things went well, better then I had expected.

Journal Entry by Jessica Ramos on March 26 

We are underway today for Fernandina Beach.  For better or for worse, we’ve recently changed watches. There are so many mixed feelings about it, (at least for me personally), that it’s almost inexplicable.

On the good side, there’s the opportunity to work with new people and/or new mates and crew creating the chance to see things through new glasses. However, for a least a few people I can think of, this has become an impairing obstacle. I guess you could say the new glasses just don’t fit everyone’s prescription. But my say so in this matter is you need to keep looking anyways because even if you’re completely blind, you’re still bound to see something. But you’ll never see a thing if you don’t open your eyes, wallowing on the thought that you can’t.

Another issue is sticking together. I’m proud to say A watch (Ke’xia, Blanca, Luci, Gaby and Ibukun) have made a noble and just decision: in order to go on shore in Fernandina Beach, FL, each individual on the watch must complete all their academic and sailing work. They decided that they would go on shore only if ALL of them were checked off, and all of them could go. And, so, they are all working together to teach each other and fulfill that promise to each other. Neither of the other watches, however, have made any such efforts. The good thing is there are some people in all of the watches who have sacrificed their time to help others, but it is not always a mutual helping situation.  In other words, I seldom see the favor returned. Those who got help, haven’t stepped up and really made the effort to help others learn.  So where’s the justice? 

I do have to say this general problem isn’t anything new. We are all individuals learning to live as a group. It’s not as bad as it was before, but we’ve still got a long way to go, and a lot of room for improvement. I’ve got high expectations for us all, and high beliefs that we can all grow into people that are more aware of each other. People just need to take the situation for what its worth, do what they know is right, and I think justice will be within the satisfaction. 

Journal Entry by Katei on March 27(Easter Sunday)

Happy Easter ! Today was another long day at sea. After Easter breakfast we had a M.O.B (man over board) drill followed by a swim call. Last time we had a swim call in open water that was in 1 mile deep waters. Today it wasn’t 1 mile deep or 2 miles deep, today we were swimming in over 3 miles deep water. The feeling was intense , not only because we were 3 miles above the bottom or the  fact that the current was pretty strong but maybe its because the Captain and Mr. Mosley launched me off the boat into the water.. After the well needed wash, the girls and me had to go down below  while the crew set up for an Easter egg hunt. When we came up on deck, we had to find a plastic egg. There was one plastic egg for everyone and inside each one was a note.  My note said that Caitlin (deckhand) will tie a “Turkshead” around my wrist or ankle. I was really happy about that because I have been trying to tie one for some time now. Kexia’s note said she gets to design Ted’s (deckhand) facial hair for a week. (The result was disgusting).  Other girls got things like someone else to do there dishes for a week or they getting to sleep in during watch etc.  I would consider the notes as little Easter presents from the crew for our hard work. Then my watch sat down for lunch on deck and watched dolphins off the port beam. (off the center of the left hand side of the boat) Before that I was feeling a little home sick .but the people around me and sights I was seeing made me feel a little more at home. This voyage back to the states has been going slow but we’re all really excited to step off the boat in Florida.

Journal Entry by Wren Robb on March 28

Today was the beginning of some stormy weather. The winds picked up which meant we had to reef the main sail. The mains’l is the biggest sail and therefore when there is too much sail we have to effectively take some of it down which is called reefing. Mr. Mosley yelled down below to where the other girls and I were getting out of our bunks or finishing up breakfast, “All hands up on deck, let’s go!” We all rushed up on deck to see a new scene. Over night, since my watch at 12am we had entered higher winds and 8 to 10 foot waves which rose high looking like they could crash over the whole deck. We all jumped to work tying the sail down with reef knots. Once that was all done we were quickly told we had to “furl the jib topsail” The jib topsail is out on the head rig on the front of the boat. My watch officer Ms. Daly along with Katie and Caitlin quickly got harnesses on, clipped in and climbed out to fold up the sail. My feet were shaking as waves crashed and I held onto the sail. After getting the sail stowed, I was glad to climb back to safety and yell back to the captain “Back on deck.”  

In this crazy weather, we continue to sail towards the destination of Fernandina Beach.  During class, in order to avoid being soaked while reading aloud A Tempest, we had English class below decks for the first time. We were scattered around the main saloon table, on the settees.  I heard Luci say “wait somebody take a picture of me! I’m having class in bed.” She was wedged into her bunk enjoying class from that perspective.  As we read and acted out scenes about fairies and men marooned on an island and discussed power and colonialism the boat began to rock harder.  After class, many of us that were not on watch stayed in our bunks.  We were on a starboard tack, and in these high winds, this means that the boat leans over with the port rail closer to the water.  If your bunk is on the port side, you would be comfortably cocooned against the hull.  But if you bunk is on the starboard side, each roll of the boat makes you feel like you are going to be flipped out into the main saloon.  It makes for interesting sleeping!

Journal Entry by Roxy Gemignani on March 29

Today was exhilarating, beautiful, nauseating, frightening and something that none of us had ever experienced before.  We sailed through the most weather that we have had on this whole trip.  Ten foot waves were hitting the sides of our boat and towering above us.  As they came towards us the horizon would disappear behind them.  Right when you thought a wave was going to crash on top of you all of a sudden Spirit would rise above it at the last second.  It was like being on a never ending roller coaster that went as far as you could see.  All around us were these waves that looked like they wanted to eat us up. 

The night before had been a pretty hectic one for me and all I was trying to do was sleep!  Things were falling off shelves in the galley, the benches flipped over and I was flipping over as well.  It took a while before I figured out a strategy of how to lie in my bunk without falling out and then finally falling asleep. It may be hard to understand, but I had to sleep curled up but crosswise in my bunk, press my feet against the railing of my bunk and wedge myself between the wall (also known as ceiling planks) and my pillow.  It was an interesting night!

The next morning, I was on watch at 7:45am.  Apparently I am great at steering the boat so I was immediately put on helm.  This was the most awesome hour of my whole experience sailing on this trip.  It was so great to be able to steer our little Spirit through these monster waves.  The best moment was one of those when you thought a wave was going to crash on you and this time it really did. I got smacked by a wave so hard I was drenched in sea water -- and had a giant grin on my face the entire time.

Journal Entry by Luciana Carvalho on March 30

A few months ago, living on a boat sounded like such a strange idea but now I’m so used to it that it even surprises me at times. The routine that we were thrown into a few weeks ago is now just part of a regular day; the cleaning and hauling of lines is as normal as watching TV is at home. Waking up in the middle of the night has become part of my sleeping pattern (something that is not usually altered so easily!), and living with 12 other girls my age plus teachers and crew, is more enjoyable than I ever thought it could be. I love when I’m awake in the middle of the night, really tired and wanting to just crawl into my bunk and sleep, there is always someone there to make me laugh, to cheer me up, and to help me keep going. The natural beauty that we see around us everyday is something that I have been taking mental (as well as digital) pictures of every chance I get. The most beautiful sunrises and sunsets that I have witnessed in my life have been aboard the Spirit of Massachusetts. Seeing the Little and Big Dippers while shooting stars zoom by them is still magical night after night. I feel like all the hard work pays off everyday when I wake up, go on deck, and see the amazing blueness of the Atlantic or Caribbean Oceans with their dolphins and whales, jellyfish, clear waves, and sunsets that are never redundant in their beauty, and get prettier and prettier every day.

I’m so thankful that I am aboard this ship, even in the moments when I wish I was at home. I know that this is an experience that few people have the chance of going through in their life, and I believe that everyone who does it acquires something incredible from it. It doesn’t matter if it’s learning how to sail a ship, the hard working routines, the beauty all around you, the people you get to meet and experience these things with, or just that you’re doing something completely out of your ordinary – there is a lesson and a challenge for everyone aboard. Every one of the girls on this trip is having a different experience and is going to go home with a different perspective on this whole experience, and I believe that everyone is going to obtain staggering results from these 6 weeks at sea.

Journal Entry by Erin Carter on March 31 

We are going to reach Fernandina Beach tomorrow so today everyone is scrambling to get all of their work checked off. We have a massive list of navigation, sailing terms, journal entries, and oceanography work to get done before we’re allowed to leave the boat and go ashore. Some people are almost completed with all their work and others including me, are farther behind. I’m really stressed out because I’ve been having trouble understanding the navigation work like calculating when a sunset will take place and local apparent noon. I know that I won’t be able to leave the boat tomorrow and I’m feeling really upset about that because I’ve never been to Florida.

Everyone stayed up late at night trying to get all of their work checked off. C Watch had to stand the first night watch, but lightning and torrential rain caused the mates to send them down into the main salon where everyone else was working. We had fun peeking up through the hatch to see the lightning and if it was still raining hard. Rocio tried to catch the lightning on videotape and Gaby entertained us by giving a humorous example of how to walk across the floor when the boat is rocking back and forth really hard. I thought that I wouldn’t be able to fall asleep with everyone up talking and laughing right in front of my bunk. I was proved wrong and slept soundly through the lightning.

Journal Entry by Gaby Bazan on April 1

We are back in the States today. There was a lot of wind as we approached Florida, and the night before there was a squall with a lot of lightning. A squall is a short storm where there is a lot of wind and often lightening. We could see the squall coming toward us but the wind conditions changed pretty quickly.  It was overwhelming, I was hella scared because the lightning was really bright and the crew told us we can’t touch any metal because we could get electrocuted. When the squall hit, I wasn’t on watch but the boat heeled suddenly and I thought the boat was sinking. I peaked out to see what was going on and I saw lightening, rain and people on the deck trying to keep their balance.  The crew told everyone to go below which usually doesn’t happen so we knew it was serious. It was scary to think that maybe our lives were in danger. After it calmed down, the watch on duty returned to the deck and an hour later I had watch.  When I was at bow watch, it was amazing to see the lightning (now it was behind us).

We have this routine that we have a certain work to do to go to shore. This work includes learning sailing skills and terms as well as academic work. Our list to get off the boat here included things like explaining how to launch a life raft, how to tie a stopper knot and a rolling hitch and the commands for tacking the boat.  I had problems with memorizing how to figure out sunset, and with other things that were getting me frustrated, but I try to keep a positive mind set that I could do it. So I tried harder and I kept repeating in my head that I could do this and finally I got it and passed my test of how to figure out sunset so that was an accomplishment. Later on in the day, all of us went out to have a nice dinner. We all took showers and got dressed looking nice and had a good time.  It was a good start to coming back to the States.

Journal Entry by Erin Carter on April 2

I proved myself right when I assumed that I wouldn’t be able to get all of my work done in time to stroll around town. Along with three other inmates, I had to stay aboard Spirit and finish getting my work checked off. We all struggled along through doing calculations of when the sun would set and Nettie stayed on the boat to help us with that along with other navigation work. We ate some snacks, listened to music, and got to work. The kind of memorizing and calculations required for navigation don’t come easily to me so I felt really good when I finally conquered sunset. After getting the hardest thing out of the way, I studied the commands for tacking, setting a main topsail, and boat vocabulary. The only respite I had from studying was running along the dock to the marina’s bathroom. The wind was really strong and the ocean waves were splashing up on the dock. Running on the docks and dodging the waves felt exhilarating. Afterwards I felt rejuvenated and ready to get back to studying. We have to get tested by one of the mates before our work could get checked off. When I was ready to get my work checked off, the only mate aboard was our first mate who can be pretty intimidating. However, I finally worked up my courage and got tested and all of my work out of the way.  The dark mood I’ve been in for the past few days has finally lifted. At first I felt that in being kept on the boat for being slow at navigation was an unjust punishment, but now I feel a big weight has been lifted off my shoulders and good that I’ve triumphed over navigation.

Journal Entry by Luci, Katie, and Roxy on April 2

Today we had to stay in Fernandina beach because the winds were so strong that the boat wouldn’t be able to leave the dock. The girls who did have all of their work checked off got to go on shore, but this time we had an assignment to complete: each group had to plan a trip to Fernandina Beach, the reports had to include history, economy, political/natural resources, recreation, lodging, food, transportation, and a budget. It was a challenge to find good things to do but still stay inside the budget. All day girls were running around town finding out new things about the place, reading restaurant menus and talking to local people to find out what there was to do, and also get some extra information. Everyone had a blast doing the assignment and learned a ton about this tiny island with huge history. After dinner we had a presentation extravaganza/performances by pirates, while the instructors, some crew, and the girls who were on the boat all day judged. We were all extremely motivated to do well because of the prize – A FULL NIGHT OF SLEEP!!!!!!!!! So the winning team wouldn’t have to stand dock watch tonight, in the pouring rain, and freezing winds. Everybody did really well, all the presentations were super thorough and creative… but of course the unbeatable team C (Luci Roxy Katie and Wren) won! OH YEAH! We’re sleeping well tonight! We worked really hard to put a very creative presentation together, we took tons of pictures of all the places in town, Katie got dressed as a pirate, and we made a bunch of posters to show our activities. Overall it was a good, fun project, and we had a blast. Now we’re off to the ice cream shop and then our beds! (oops… bunks..sailor talk, we’ll never get it!)ARRRR! ;)

Journal Entry by Diane Sternberg on April 3

The sunset tonight was spectacular. A fiery red color lingered in the sky long after the sun dropped below the horizon. I was lucky enough to see a panoramic view from aloft as I loosed the main and fore topsails. The girls on C watch set them as we sailed away from Fernandina Beach, Florida. Despite the winds and tide attempting to pin us to the fuel dock at the marina, we were able to leave port thanks to impressive seamanship displayed by everyone on board.

The last leg of our journey has begun and I’m looking forward to this passage. It will present the girls with an opportunity to show us all the skills they have mastered so far. I am eager to see the group rise up to the challenge.

C Watch had the deck from 2000-0000 and all of us enjoyed observing a fantastic night sky full of stars. During idle time we sought out constellations and recalled myths we knew about the figures in the sky. Our top speed was 8.2 knots and the brisk wind which accompanied us gave a taste of what’s to come as we continue traveling further north.

Journal Entry by Janet Leung on April 4

There wasn’t much going on today. I had an easy day sleeping because both C and A had the longer watches today. B watch had most the day off besides waking up for class. Sometime during our class there were dolphins on starboard side (meaning right of the boat). Most of the time when there were dolphins I didn’t get to see them or didn’t bother to go up on deck to see them. But today I ran up to check them out and there they were giving us a show. I feel like they knew we were watching them because they hung around for a while. The dolphins were so beautiful. I was tempted to run and grab my camera but I was afraid if I ran to get my camera the dolphins would swim away. Finally I got the camera and took some poor pictures…I could never capture the beauty of the moment. Later on, we identified the dolphins with the captain and decided they were spotted dolphins and their length is around 6 feet.

It’s the last few days before the flight home. I don’t know if I should feel sad that I’m leaving or excited because I’m almost home. Eh…I’ll make the best of the last couple of days and try to have the best time because I’m pretty sure that despite enjoying this experience, since I probably won’t go sailing again.

Journal Entry by Rocio Cisneros on April 5 

Yesterday we were in the middle of the ocean heading towards Jamestown. Our watch was doing some line handling on the main sail when I accidentally cast off the halyard and the line came running down while I was holding it. The entire sail came down and my hand got a really bad rope burn. All the crew and students came up on deck to pull the sail up again and to help me because I was in shock. Luck was on my side because the wind was barley blowing and my burn was not as bad as I thought it would. If the wind had been blowing really hard it could broke a part of the ship or even my hand.

Today the medic on board, Ted, had to clean it. I got my bandages taken off and my gauze too. I was sitting in crew’s quarters and Ted took off my gauze and soaked my arm in warm water with iodine. I thought I was going to die from the pain. The burn stung so much!!! However the crew was so nice and supportive - I even got a snicker bar. The captain was also super nice. He made me laugh so I would not think about the pain.   (see picture) I think that if the crew would not have been so nice I would have not been able to tolerate the pain. I like the fact that the girls were really supportive and helped me out with all they could. I was in pain but all the love raised my spirits and helped keep my head high.

Journal Entry by Wren, Janet, and Roxy on April 6

Our teachers had been noticing that everyone seemed very tired so we started off the day with a group meeting about how we were feeling. We discussed our goals that we wanted to fulfill before the end of the trip and how to motivate ourselves and each other in order to succeed. Everyone wrote down a list of personal as well as group goals. We shared them and came up with a combined list which we all agreed on and signed. Then Wren had a great idea of making a “props” page.  This was a great idea!  Each person had a piece of paper with their name on it.  We passed these around so that each person got a chance to say something positive about everyone.  At the end everyone collected their own paper and had a props page for motivation that they could keep for themselves and reflect on.  Everyone was really happy with this idea.  It seemed to be exactly what we needed to get ourselves back up on our feet.

Also, the most fulfilling part of the day was when the captain came and announced that we were going to be given a lot more responsibility in running the ship and be given a bigger role to play.  This role was to take over our watch meaning doing everything that our watch officer would usually do. Now instead of just taking orders we are going to be giving them. The crew is just there to make sure we don’t do anything to jeopardize our safety or the boat.  We were given responsibility of making sure all the chores where done, knowing where people were at all times (bow watch, down below, helm, on deck or in the head) and giving permission for people to do all these things.  We were also given responsibility of overseeing navigating the boat which requires checking radar, and the using the charts to set our course to steer and knowing where we are at all times. This is all a lot of responsibility and part of this is to know when to wake the captain in certain cases just like the mates do. Being the person in charge was really challenging. There was so much to like checking for other boats and buoys also trying to figure out where we were on the chart. Overall it was a lot to handle and we finish it off with telling the next person in charge everything that they had to be responsible for and we couldn’t leave until the person in charge is comfortable being the on in charge.

Journal Entry by Ibukun on April 8

Today was the highlight of the whole epic long voyage for me because we docked in Baltimore’s inner harbor, our final destination. Also, I was the Junior Watch Officer on duty when this occurred when got here which means that during my watch I was in charge of overseeing everything that needed to happen on deck and below and I got to give commands to the other girls on my watch. The Junior Watch Officer is also in charge of knowing where the ship is at all times, must keep the Captain informed with approaching ships and change of the winds and weather.  

Luci, one of the girls in the watch with me, went aloft while we were docking, so she was 80 feet off the ground for over thirty minutes and got a unique perspective on the events. She was aloft because she won that in her Easter egg. (We had an Easter Egg Hunt and once we found the eggs in different places on the deck of the ship like, the anchor box, pig poke, main gaff, jiggers and other lines, we all won something.  For example, Janet won one hour of tutoring with the First Mate, Mr. Mosley, for our final navigation exam; Jessica got to choose a meal to cook with the Cook, Molly. I won an ice cream date with the Captain in Fernandina Beach. 

I was so proud of the knowledge I learned and was able to lead the task presented in front of me well.  We have all come a long way in forming friendships and our knowledge as a group. I am sad to see this as the end of the journey. On this trip, we formed strong bonds in this group of girls that you would not think possible. I hope people don’t lose these bonds when we land in San Francisco. I am glad that we gained so much knowledge on this epic voyage and we docked smoothly. For the most part we all are coming home unharmed. All of us have bug bites and a few battle scars that we are proud of and we are all are in need of a hot shower and a nice home cooked meal. 

When we docked, we all did different chores to make the ship shine because when it is in dock people come up to look at it and we want it to shine and looks its best. The Inner Harbor at Pier Five it is busy and we are outside the office of Living Classrooms, which does day sailing trips around Baltimore with middle and high school students during the week (Thanks for the hospitality Living Classroom!). It always looks good because of all of our hard work, but in port, its even more important to make it shine.  

When we were finished with our chores we had lunch and everyone helped out with each others chores so that girls that were not finished with their work could get checked off on Running Fixes (plotting our location on the water with only one light that we are able to see on land), Local Apparent Noon (you take a reading with the sextant when sun is at the highest point in the sky and with this we can find out our latitude) and boxing a compass (which is writing all the different directions of the compass down on paper. It is also remembering the compass points by heart.). It was nice to see all the girls working together and helping each other pass and girls being willing to stay behind instead of scoping out the town and having a ball while others were working on their work. This didn’t happen in Floriday, so it was great to see people willing to stay behind here in Baltimore done out of their interest in getting us all to see Baltimore at the same time.

After everyone was checked off, the girls that stayed behind to help and the girls that passed enjoyed a beautiful walk along the calm waters of the Inner Baltimore Harbor. A perfect ending to a long tedious journey. 

I will see you when we land in San Francisco,