tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-93929312011-04-21T14:13:31.118-04:00Weblog of the January-term course:<BR>Piloting, Seamanship and Tall Ship HandlingMHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comBlogger781100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1107814572486172362005-02-07T17:13:00.000-05:002005-02-07T17:16:12.486-05:00

I've also added photos to a few previous posts. ----- posted by Bill

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1107463505128546762005-02-03T15:39:00.000-05:002005-02-03T15:45:05.126-05:00

I'm going through the recovered photos from the laptop. Here's one to start off.

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1107287326110154722005-02-01T14:47:00.000-05:002005-02-01T14:48:46.110-05:00

I've received word that the photos and some unsent posts were recovered by our crack recovery team. Will post as soon as I have them. Bill

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1106977122327850982005-01-29T01:38:00.000-05:002005-02-01T14:47:14.323-05:00

The day we left Dry Tortugas, the captain thought that we should gain some hands-on experience with a very important event in any voyage, the weighing of the anchor. Before modern luxuries such as electric anchor winches, called windlasses, with which the Bounty was thankfully equipped, the crew spent hours using the capstan to raise the anchor by hand. Because we had put out nine shots of

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1106891068087832612005-01-28T01:44:00.000-05:002005-01-28T13:35:13.740-05:00

Well, I return yet again with another catch-up post. I felt like I should write down some kind of reflection on my experience as a mini-mate. Being a mini-mate meant that we each played the role of mate for the entire watch. I was pretty anxious before my turn came up, and I anticipated a rather stressful four hours. One of the biggest reasons I felt so nervous was that I had to be mate from

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1106836482066508922005-01-27T09:33:00.000-05:002005-01-27T09:34:42.066-05:00

It is strange to be back home. I miss all the activity of the boat and of course the warm weather. I know that all of the Mount Holyoke students were sad to say good-bye to the Bounty, but perhaps through our pictures, email and all the other technological devices we have invented to communicate with each other we will be able to stay in touch in some way. Reflecting on my experience I am

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1106799582822974552005-01-26T23:19:00.000-05:002005-01-28T13:36:05.416-05:00

This story was, in my opinion, the funniest moment of the cruise. Lindsey was showing about six of us how to splice rope on the tonnage hatch. Evan, a crew member, was busy hacking away with his knife because, occasionally, a finished splice had to have its loose ends trimmed off or an aborted splice had to be excised altogether. Seeing this, Lucas proceeded to tell him how to cut lines

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1106756987943998262005-01-26T11:26:00.000-05:002005-01-26T11:29:47.943-05:00

Even though I had a wonderful time being back on the water and sailing, I realized that I came to this trip with some assumptions about people and I learned how incorrect those could be. This revelation has been hard for me to come to because I have always thought that I am not judgmental about people. While I learned a lot from the crew about sailing a tall ship, the most important thing I

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1106717734962849902005-01-26T01:35:00.000-05:002005-01-26T11:30:28.820-05:00

Unfortunately, just as I was warming up to the idea of blogging, the laptop was fried about three or four days before our trip ended. I have finally managed to pull myself out of my post-voyage languor and write down some of my experiences. One event that I had begun a post on was our little trip into Key West. It seems like an age ago now, and yet, I can still acutely recall how I felt that

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1106674166449251762005-01-25T13:18:00.000-05:002005-01-25T12:29:26.450-05:00

January 15, 2005 1426, Dropped anchor in Tampa Bay 27º37.9’N 082º43.17’W The Red Tide is an oceanic condition in which all organisms, from fish to algae, die. The stench is nearly unbearable when you notice it. A couple of days ago Mate Andy smelled it. He explains that there are no explanations for this phenomenon thus far. Looking back, the Red Tide might have been a premonition for the

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1106665692870536972005-01-25T10:07:00.000-05:002005-01-25T10:08:12.870-05:00

I have arrived home and am sending the last post, a reflection on the last few days at sea. We were made into mini mates on our trip back to St. Petersburg, we took (to some extent) charge of the ship. On C watch there is the tradition of the mate telling a bad joke at the end of the watch, at the capstan meeting. I am proud to say that the students on my watch had some serious muscle on this

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1106350794308514902005-01-21T18:38:00.000-05:002005-01-21T18:39:54.306-05:00

Re-entry has been bizarre. I slept 16 hours last night and woke up bleary and off balance. My sinuses are a mess and I think I pushed the body a little too hard... I want to write write write, before this self I recovered disappears into the fog of memory. The house is so spacious. There are plants and animals and all my books and music here...so much stuff...so foreign. I folded laundry

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1106350653245687272005-01-21T18:33:00.000-05:002005-01-21T18:37:33.246-05:00

I know that I have been remiss in writing, but my reasons are many, and good. Foremost is that we have fried the computer, something that is apparently common in a moist environment such as this. The circumstances through which this occurred will become evident as I tell the tale of the last several days. Day before yesterday- or perhaps the day before that, we had reports of some incoming

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1106233444454585982005-01-20T10:02:00.000-05:002005-01-20T10:04:04.453-05:00

At about 4:00 a.m., Friday, somewhere north of Naples, we were struck with a rain squall as a cold front passed through. For a short while torrents of rain flew sideways, obscuring the bow and flooded the decks. Water leaked through, frying our laptop computer as it awaited bloggers on the galley table. At the other end of the ship the rain found our video camera, roasting its screen. Even my

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1106233185187567452005-01-20T09:56:00.000-05:002005-01-20T09:59:45.186-05:00

I do not normally eavesdrop on student conversations, but sitting around the galley table late at night I learned something about what it is like to be young again. Not one of the Americans at that table was proud of her country. Indeed, each was deeply ashamed – so ashamed that several questioned the Canadians in the crew about the prospects of emigrating. I had not heard such conversations

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1106157025720381242005-01-19T13:48:00.000-05:002005-01-19T12:52:42.340-05:00

The ship and crew have returned safely. We are in the process of recovering the most recent posts and photos from the hard drive of the laptop, which did not like getting wet when the ship ran into a rain squall. Stay tuned. ----- posted by Bill

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1105723701831969982005-01-14T13:26:00.000-05:002005-01-14T12:28:21.830-05:00

Sailing around the clock creates a special netherworld, both on deck and below. On deck the rig above looks like a dark German forest in an etching by Durer. But everything is so indistinct that you have to ask the person standing next to you who she is. Night vision is crucial, so you dress in the dark and stumble through the ‘tween decks in darkness, hoping that no one has left a hatch

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1105723585528963112005-01-14T13:25:00.000-05:002005-01-14T12:26:25.526-05:00

Sausage and cinnamon rolls for breakfast, and of course a shot of ship coffee. We are in the last stage of our sailing adventure, trying to act independently of the wonderful crew of the bounty, and even acting as mini-mates, leading the wearing of the ship and keeping track of our course of navigation. An underlying theme of the Captain’s afternoon sailing "classes" has been that sailors are

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1105723477025282102005-01-14T13:22:00.000-05:002005-01-25T10:07:20.843-05:00

Thursday January 13, 2005 1:45 pm Today is another beautiful, sunny day at sea. I am beginning to slowly forget about life before the Bounty and the initial strangeness that I felt begin on the boat. As we are settling in our routines and know what to do to sail the ship, where all the lines are, how to do our assigned jobs and so forth, it seems natural that we are here. We have dogged the

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1105723301863812952005-01-14T13:17:00.000-05:002005-01-14T12:21:41.863-05:00

About 3:00 this morning, we had a boarder -- a toothless drunk who had tried to paddle his kayak out to his boat and got caught in the tide, which was running past us like the Columbia River. He managed to grab hold of our whaler, which was tied alongside, until Joe, who was on anchor watch, heard the thunking of gunwales and brought him on board. The fellow looked like Ben Gun in Treasure

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1105722646303692492005-01-14T13:09:00.000-05:002005-01-14T12:10:46.303-05:00

08’38 Seasickness is indiscriminant. Some people have it and some do not, but admirals and common sailors are as likely to get it as not. Yesterday, we motored toward Key West in a force 5-6 gale and several (myself included) were quite ill. The nausea is incapacitating and we were all grateful when those who were not ill took over our stations on watch. The most important thing to remember

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1105722274140778152005-01-14T13:03:00.000-05:002005-01-14T12:04:34.140-05:00

Once again on a new watch, we raised anchor and set the sails, battling a current and teasing the winds to escape Key West, land of key lime pie and binge drinking. I think we are all getting a better grip on the sails and the lines and their order on the pin rails, but it is still a confusing task to handle the sails efficiently. We set the forward course, the main topsil, and the mail

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1105722140669048162005-01-14T13:00:00.000-05:002005-01-14T12:02:20.670-05:00

I have not written for a few days and so missed a few key events. We arrived at the Dry Tortugas, spent the day at Fort Jefferson, left the Dry Tortugas and arrived at Key West. Spent most of the day at Key West walking around town and at sunset we went to Mallory (this may be an incorrect spelling) Square were you can watch the sunset as well as performers who come to entertain. The town is a

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1105721985333423142005-01-14T11:55:00.000-05:002005-01-14T11:59:45.333-05:00

We motored quietly into Key West at dawn alongside the Empress of the Seas. As we prepared to drop our hook in the channel, the 600 foot, 12 storey high cruise ship glided by and then did a 180 degree turn within her own length, aided by powerful bow thrusters, and parallel parked in front of what used to be submarine pens during World War II. She completely obscured our view of the town. Key

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1105722887427418432005-01-14T11:54:00.000-05:002005-01-14T12:14:47.426-05:00

Here we are drifting along past Key West at 4am. No sails set and no engines running. We are simply waiting for sunrise so we can turn around and head for the harbour where we will set anchor and then "play" for the day. Since it is now the 11th, yesterday we brought the anchor up by hand (a very long process) from the Dry Tortugas and then motored away. Some people got sick because we

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1105721661183502802005-01-14T11:53:00.000-05:002005-01-14T11:54:21.183-05:00

Oh my goodness gracious me, the ship is rocking. I have just come from bow watch where I was keeping a look out for other ships, markers and bits of land from the bowsprit. This is the highest and furthest forward part of the bow and as such attained the most distance between the crests and troughs of the rocking cycle. We are now trucking off to Key West by way of the Florida Seaway. I am

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1105721456093972002005-01-14T11:48:00.000-05:002005-01-14T11:50:56.093-05:00

It’s 21:18 and I just got off bow watch. The glow of Key West is to our port side, and to our starboard is a lot of darkness looking out to the Atlantic. I saw a wonderful shooting star – long and bright...made a wish for y’all. As you’ve probably read, we are finally rockin’ and rollin’ and I am totally excited that I am not seasick at all! I’ve been splicing all afternoon and adding my own

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1105721267627261932005-01-14T11:45:00.000-05:002005-01-14T11:47:47.626-05:00

Currently 1835 At 1626, 24º26.5’N 82º33.2’W Dry Tortugas- Florida Keys The waters are rough and all is creaking. Earlier today, the foretopmast stay of the sail parted and the sail flapped in the wind- only partially, but it was going wild and part of it even fell in the water. Captain Robin, Andy, the first mate, and Matt, the third mate, were trying to fix it along with about five other crew

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1105721028381857052005-01-14T11:39:00.000-05:002005-01-14T11:43:48.380-05:00

The wind has been a constant 12 to 15 knots out of the east for the past 24 hours and looks to hold on for the next 24. Andy ferried us back and forth to the fort yesterday in the whaler. At 6:30 p.m. the ride in in the dark was something of a slalom, and back out under the stars was suitably wet. But the water is warm and the experience pleasant, except when trying to get on to the Jacob’s

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1105720766039592002005-01-14T11:29:00.000-05:002005-01-14T11:39:26.040-05:00

Last night we had a candlelight tour of Fort Jefferson by a Park Service employee in Civil War uniform. He began with a demonstration of his British Enfield musket, a knockoff of the American musket that the Springfield, MA, armory could not produce fast enough. The British, like the Americans during the Napoleonic era, supplied both the North and South with about a half million muskets each.

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1105551829537198982005-01-12T13:37:00.000-05:002005-01-12T12:43:49.536-05:00

Photos have arrived! Just a couple due to technical constraints. The first picture is Carly at the helm: The second shows Natalia, Anna, Nino and crew on a yard: ----- posted by Bill

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1105379860106451302005-01-10T13:55:00.000-05:002005-02-07T13:53:25.200-05:00

January 8, 2005, 1000 DR position 25º15.5’N 082º36.5’W This morning during my Navigation I used the Sextant, an instrument used to calculate the degree of the sun from the horizon. I was able to look directly at the sun. It was perfectly round and trembled with fire on the surface. It was situated at 31º from the horizon. It appeared so manageable and safe but without the instrument to protect

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1105380869300537932005-01-10T13:12:00.000-05:002005-02-07T17:01:10.290-05:00

This is the third day of sailing. I have not seen land all day and it looks beautiful out here. The weather continues to be excellent, as does the food. Today I got to go aloft and set a sail. I thought that I had gotten over my fear of heights, but being up there pushing the sail off the yard certainly argued the opposite, at least for a moment. Once I figured out where to hold on, I began to

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1105380756934480662005-01-10T13:11:00.000-05:002005-01-10T13:12:36.936-05:00

A day fabulousooo today. A day of doing--woke up at 3:30am to stand watch, strike sails, scrub the deck, and navigate safely into the Dry Tortugas bay. Cindy and I spent about two hours, just laying in the sun, at the helicopter landing pad, looking at the sea, talking about safety on board a boat, marveling at our pirate-looking boatie, but secretly dreaming of the Robert C. Seamans.

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1105380465062086602005-01-10T13:06:00.000-05:002005-01-10T13:07:45.063-05:00

So for the past five days we have been peacefully sailing along the coast of Florida and learning the ins and outs of square-rig sailing. Pretty exciting stuff. The differences between this boat and the Robert C. Seamans are infinite. Probably not going to go into it here, next one, though. This morning we arrived at the Dry Tortugas where we docked briefly and then set anchor offshore where

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1105380324555193402005-01-10T13:04:00.000-05:002005-01-10T13:05:24.556-05:00

Sunday, January 9th 9 pm I have just spent a beautiful day on a remote island at the southern tip of Florida known as the Dry Tortugas. During my morning watch, from 4-8 we successfully maneuvered our ship into the dock before the rest of the tourists arrived by ferry or plane. The island is the strange, beautiful place completely isolated from "civilization". There is no fresh water (hence

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1105380212004906532005-01-10T13:01:00.000-05:002005-02-07T17:13:01.326-05:00

After sailing back and forth all night, we hauled up our sails and motored into Fort Jefferson to deliver our tourists and beach bums. The approaches are fairly treacherous in the best of weather, and are marked only by telephone poles stuck in the sand. The first three or four are mere stumps, run down by ships that did not see them in the night or fog. There are at least 400 shipwrecks around

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1105380066429066482005-01-10T12:59:00.000-05:002005-01-10T13:16:40.533-05:00

The seas are getting rougher. Not bad, but you can certainly feel the boat rocking back and forth, and the creaking of the boards and the sloshing of the water against the boat are the sounds that lull you to sleep at night. Last night we were hove-to so we were on watch for only one hour. On my watch from 2145-2245 I was once again reminded of how amazing and different me being on this boat

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1105379679204870782005-01-10T12:48:00.000-05:002005-01-10T13:17:18.506-05:00

FYI for readers: The team has been sending their posts in batches, so the day and time shown for each post is not necessarily when it was written. You might run across a post that was written earlier but posted later than another post, making them appear to be out of sequence. ----- posted by Bill

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1105379236092423942005-01-10T12:40:00.000-05:002005-01-10T13:18:04.060-05:00

On Saturday we raised the main to’gallant yard, which is like hoisting a 35 foot long log 85 feet into the sky. This black log carries a furled sail, numerous hanks of rope, and assorted wires. The halyard was wrapped around the capstan and the students walked it round. It was clear to the captain and me that the yard was rigged to go up upside down, but we said nothing, waiting to see if the

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1105378786070636432005-01-10T12:38:00.000-05:002005-01-10T13:18:22.913-05:00

Saturday, January 8th 11 am The wind has picked up as of last night and the boat is rocking a bit more, which is very nice for sleeping at night, and so far no sign of seasickness for me (knock on wood). We are making good time and were able to furl the sails, turn of the motor and “heave to” for the night – basically we just drift. This meant that we did not need a full watch crew but only

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1105378606651577022005-01-10T12:36:00.000-05:002005-01-10T13:16:21.643-05:00

16’10 A ship is never still. It is an ecosystem unto itself. There are people about at all hours of the day and night. Some are on watch, some struggling with celestial navigation, or finishing Melville, some learning knots, many laughing, most exhausted. When under sail, once the sun goes down we live by red light, below the weather deck so as not to ruin our night vision above deck.

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1105378395894632012005-01-10T12:31:00.000-05:002005-01-10T13:15:30.316-05:00

10’45 I think it’s Friday. No, Saturday. It’s easy to forget. The watches change, the sun rises and sets, we sleep and wake, and there is little need for names of days, though the hour is still quite important. When I am below deck I find it surprisingly easy to forget that we are underway. The gentle rocking has become so much a part of my world that I have forgotten its existence in the

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1105380594948310442005-01-10T12:14:00.000-05:002005-01-10T13:19:43.116-05:00

The days are filling up so quickly that I am writing the fourth day entry on the fifth day. The most exciting thing to report is the work party. Every day each watch has two watches and a work party. This far we had only had sailing theory and some exercises, but on the fourth day we were assigned the job of helping the crew raise the topgallant yard. We actually got to use the capstan, which can

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1105379321351932562005-01-10T11:47:00.000-05:002005-01-10T13:17:47.140-05:00

Second day, and we have set sail. We have been simulating an electronics failure all day and have been doing all the navigation without the GPS. My day started at 4am, which is my first watch. I got to see the sun rise and be on the watch that opened the main sail and the foretopsail. I have started to get to know more of the crew today as we settled into our watches and I must say I like the

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1105369167419143002005-01-10T09:57:00.000-05:002005-01-10T09:59:27.420-05:00

16’14 Today we received the first whispers of wind. We are on a port tack, which means that the windward side of the boat is the port side, and that the yards are braced to reach forward on the port side. The wind has been sufficient to shut off the motor, which is a blessed thing, as it lessens the noise on board considerably. The generators below us still groan on ceaselessly, providing power

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1105368432939880582005-01-10T09:44:00.000-05:002005-01-10T09:47:12.940-05:00

Megan Folz HMS Bounty Guest BLOG 01/07/05 1641 Someone once asked me what is the best thing about living on a tall ship. Actually a lot of people have asked me that. I believe that the best thing, the most important thing is that you learn how to live with other people. There is a camaraderie amongst a crew that can be experienced in few other circumstances. As a crew you work together, live

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1105238856202284352005-01-08T21:44:00.000-05:002005-01-08T21:47:36.203-05:00

The big event of the morning was a school of dolphins herding fish, swimming in tight circles and slapping their tails. We spent the afternoon doing evolutions – maneuvering the ship down wind, wearing ship, or jibing to small boat sailors. The three watches were assigned respective masts, and then rotated among the masts, so that they learned the similarities and the differences. The wind was

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I was sitting on Bow Watch last night at 2200 looking around at the endless sea that was surrounding me and starry sky above me and I finally realized how amazing it was that I was out here. There is no land or anything that would show me how I got out here in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico from Connecticut. I opted for this experience because I knew that it would be an unbelievable

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2105, 01.06.05 Bow of the H.M.S. Bounty standing bow watch at twenty-one-oh-five. The sea was just answering the question I had posed to Allison: what experience had left the greatest impression on her in these first few days. I had been starring at the water and a white trail zipped past, weaving at high speed like a dorsal fin of a shark. But once several appeared in and among each other,

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At home we pass from building to building, oblivious of the weather. Here all our senses are alive. We are acutely aware of the weather. We feel it on our skin. We taste it in our mouths, and we wonder what more dampness, high flying mare's tails, a red dawn, or rising swells will mean. I am a walking barometer; my sinuses can detect a hurricane 600 miles away. We are still trying to learn

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1105151528836250592005-01-07T21:32:00.001-05:002005-01-20T10:14:19.386-05:00

Feeling restless tonight. Probably because it was an awesome day, or perhaps because I took a long nap in the late morning right after our watch... This morning I watched the sunrise from the foremast port yard, while we were shaking the course (one of the foremost square sails). Yes, I must admit that my legs were shaking and the deck seemed further down than it actually was, but the view was

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1105151535094720802005-01-07T21:32:00.000-05:002005-01-20T10:11:15.143-05:00

Megan Folz HMS Bounty, guest BLOG 01/06/05 2225 I was wondering why Evan and I were so anxious to write one of these BLOG entries. There is something very rewarding, perhaps more important, comforting or reassuring to know that someone will read your words. It puts you up, and somehow makes you a little more important than the common stranger on the street. It does not matter who reads it, some

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Hello to all, my name is Cindy and I am a junior at MHC. I am an anthropology major focusing on medical anthro. My minor is Spanish, politics, and the five college culture, health, and science certificate. I have been sailing for 10 years and did the Sea Education Association summer program (yeah S-188) from Honolulu to San Francisco recently. And now I am on the Bounty--go figure. So here

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This is the first day of sailing and we have had almost no wind. While I would love to see the ship in full sail, and I am very much looking forward to that day, I think it did help to go aloft without the wind for the first day. The weather and the sights are beautiful, sunny all day and a starry sky at night. The ship itself is better then I had imagined it. The ship is an amazing sight on

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January 7, 2005 35 miles away from the Tortugas Today felt like the longest day so far. There was more wind than yesterday and by now my face is quite toasted. As part of Watch A, we made rounds in the morning and while I was at the helm a school of dolphins swam by us on portside, jumping around. I've never seen so many at the same time. They glistened in the sun and spewed water. The Galley

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Friday January 7th, 8:15 am I have just finished my morning watch and breakfast and I am soon headed for bed again. Our cook has been doing an amazing job with our meals, this morning's breakfast being a good example of the meals I look forward to every few hours: eggs cooked to order, sausage links, cereal, and toast. I am pleasantly surprised my by the more than adequate area for sleeping

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1105151342289260692005-01-07T21:29:00.000-05:002005-01-10T09:51:23.680-05:00

Day Three is waning as I write. The sun has set, the sails are furled, and the ship is heaving to. Night watches have begun and the sea is cradling us in her loving arms. There is very little in this world that is more peaceful than the rhythmic rocking to and fro of the ship at sea. For most of today we sailed at three knots, a record for this trip. The threshold speed of the Bounty is

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0900 Thursday It happened sometime in the night, while I slept blissfully in spite of the constant motion above and below me. This morning I stumbled bleary onto the deck and scanned the horizon for land, but there was none. Sometime in the night we lost sight of terra firma. Somehow this magnifies the feeling of being at sea and the understanding that this small vessel of timber and steel is

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2200 Wednesday It's night. The sun left us quietly this evening, sinking slowly into a silver sea. I had hoped we would lose the shore today, our first day underway, but we are hugging the Florida coast with the hope of catching some slight breeze. We motored most of the day, an unfortunate state of affairs for a ship such as this. I barely know where to begin by way of relating my experience

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First day on the high sea. It was fun seeing some Florida folks wave us good bye. I already feel dirty enough to have been on board for 12 weeks, but realize that I only have a small introduction of the sea slime that will come. We've seen wonderful dolphins playing by the bow, and heaved sails up and down despite a windless sea. It was a wild beginning. ----- posted by Rose

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Tonight will be my first of sleeping on the open water. Luckily, for me, there is just a faint breath of wind, which rocks the Bounty very gently, like a crib. My bunk may most accurately be described as an open topped coffin. It is just wide and long enough to lay myself out in and if I were to be decapitated, I would just be able to sit up straight. The wee mattress is surprisingly

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1105033014029681012005-01-06T13:36:00.001-05:002005-01-06T14:23:28.663-05:00

We left the port at St. Petersburg this morning and have been sailing south along the Florida coasted towards the Dry Tortugas. There has been very little wind all day so we have had to rely on the motors instead of truly sailing. We went aloft today for the first time, which was a bit terrifying, but after sitting on the yard arm long enough I did eventually become relatively comfortable. The

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After reading other people's descriptions of their coffin-like bunks, I feel almost guilty speaking of my accommodation. Yet, I will do it, as my living situation is not only super comfortable, but may even be considered of historical and cinematographic importance... To my surprise, I was assigned to sleep in one of the "Officers' Cabins". I am pretty sure by now that it is in fact what once

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Morning flat calm. Captain Walbridge briefed the crew and had these words for the Mount Holyoke students. "We will take you," he told them, "to the Dry Tortugas. You and we will take the ship to Key West. Then you will take us back to St. Pete." We backed off the dock at about 9:30 a.m. and motored down the channel. Then the students were sent aloft to practice their "up and overs." Mike

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Dawn rose red this morning across the bay. Light breeze from the northeast. Young cormorants chirped on the jib boom, while pelicans preened on the pilings. The Bounty is out at the end of "the pier," next to an inverted pyramid. She's a bit naked at the moment. On the way down the coast in December she broke her main tops'l yardarm and it now lies in pieces on the port channels, outside

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1104815138130491482005-01-04T01:05:00.000-05:002005-01-04T09:50:11.420-05:00

Hi, My name is Maria. I am a first year at Mount Holyoke College and am from Hadley, MA. I have no prior sailing experience. However, I have wanted to sail on a square-rigger ever since I read The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle when I was ten. I hope that this turns out to be a truly memorable adventure. ----- posted by Maria

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1104791265218217962005-01-03T17:27:00.000-05:002005-01-04T09:50:44.416-05:00

Hi all, My name is Natalia and this is my last year at Mount Holyoke. I was born in Bulgaria but spent half my life in Budapest, Hungary. I love the water, I've been swimming all my life, and I also like studying about ocean currents. I had my first sailing experience last winter when I sailed from Tahiti to the Marquesas Islands, and to Hawaii aboard the Robert C. Seamans, a beautiful

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My name is Anna. I am a sophmore at Mount Holyoke and I am from Charleston, SC. I have lived by the water all my life, but have never had experience sailing on a tall ship. I will be shooting digital footage while we are on board for a short documentary film of our journey. I am excited to set sail! ----- posted by Anna

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1104783217238052972005-01-03T15:09:00.000-05:002005-01-03T15:16:44.260-05:00

Chris Pyle grew up in Plymouth, Mass., where he spent summers racing old wooden sailboats. While in college he captained the sailing team and served as foretopman on Mayflower II, a replica of the Pilgrims’ ship. He also taught sailing and rebuilt boats. In January 1983, Pyle and three Mount Holyoke students built an 18-foot pulling boat from scratch, which they sold to make money for

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Hey, I'm Mike, Amherst class of '08. I'm 18 and come from Elmira, New York, the middle of the Finger Lakes region. I'm on the joint Amherst/Mount Holyoke sailing team (with a Hampshire student, a UMass student, and a Smithie thrown in for good measure). Before that, I learned to sail by zipping around Cayuta Lake on a Hobecat. Even the end-to-end trips were pretty quick as the lake only

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1104776775740537662005-01-03T13:26:00.000-05:002005-01-03T14:03:55.460-05:00

My name is Nino. I attend Mount Holyoke College. My hometown is Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I have gone sailing only a few times with my uncle, but never on a tall ship. I love the water and cannot wait to go on the Bounty. ----- posted by Nino

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1104771478296720822005-01-03T11:54:00.000-05:002005-01-03T11:58:53.313-05:00

Allison, of Mount Holyoke's class of 2008, comes from Stevens Point, Wisconsin. She has no previous sailing experience. ----- posted by Bill

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1104470414789985022004-12-31T01:20:00.000-05:002005-01-02T15:46:55.346-05:00

Hi, I'm Carly, I'm 19, a sophomore at Mount Holyoke and a Politics major, Music minor. I'm from West Hartford, Connecticut and I have no previous sailing experience. ----- posted by Carly

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1103756290241097072004-12-22T17:58:00.000-05:002005-01-02T15:48:14.680-05:00

A piece of cake! Of course I'm not standing on the deck of a moving ship trying to point the satellite antenna through the rigging to some unseen point in the sky. Bill

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1103731869212875432004-12-22T11:01:00.000-05:002004-12-22T11:18:46.466-05:00

The HMS Bounty was built in 1960 in Nova Scotia for the film Mutiny on the Bounty. Today she is the only wooden square-rigger in North America still sailing as a training vessel. This photo is from the ship's web site.

MHChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01527789877316010579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9392931.post-1103668312416831032004-12-21T17:26:00.000-05:002004-12-22T11:22:45.556-05:00

This blog is being managed on land by Bill Denneen in the communications office. Our sailors, using a satellite phone and laptop computer (they're waterproof, right?), will post to the blog via email, and Bill will publish it in the blog. Each post will say "posted by MHC", and the writer's name will be shown in the body of the message.

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During January term, eleven students will join the crew of HMS Bounty for two weeks of deep-water sailing in the Gulf of Mexico. The ship will sail south from St. Petersburg, Florida, to the Dry Tortugas, east to Key West, and north to St. Petersburg between January 5 and January 19, 2005. There will also be opportunities to visit an old Civil War fort and explore an underwater wreck in the Dry

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