Programs Blog

Author: Chief Scientist Jeff Schell

Ship’s Log

Sunday, 8 October 2023
Noon Position: (Lat and Long):  42DEG 35.7’n X 070DEG 40.1’W

Ship Heading (degrees):  075 deg Ship Speed (knots):  8 knots Log (nm): 276.1nm

Weather /Wind / Sail Plan at 1400:  Winds SSW BF 4, broad reach on starboard tack, Single-reefed mains’l, main and fore stays’ls, foretopsail and raffee

Description of location:  ~10 NE of Gloucester Harbor

It was a busy weekend anchored in Gloucester Harbor as we sheltered from Tropical Storm Philippe.  Since we had already cleared out of the US bound
for Canadian waters, we were not permitted to go ashore.  However, that did not slow us down.  Still plenty to do and learn even at anchor while aboard the Cramer.  We took advantage of our comfortable anchorage to hold the infamous Pin Chase – time when students demonstrate how many of the lines they have learned onboard the ship.  It is a friendly relay race among the Watches, a bit of competition to encourage their learning.  Though I don’t recall which Watch found all of the lines first, the true winners are all of us.  It was clear that everyone is learning their lines and that means we can set more sails and the captain can feel confident in leaving them up longer even when the winds pick up.

We also used this time to train students in the proper way to climb aloft in the rigging and to continue our scientific investigations in a unique coastal setting.  Our nets were full of young crab larvae, the seafloor sediments were full of small worms burrowing in the mud (good holding for our anchor!), and our secchi disc went no deeper than 4 meters because of all the productive phytoplankton growing nearshore.  And of course, the entire time the students were keeping Cramer safe with hourly boat checks, weather observations, and making sure our anchor was holding, even when TS Philippe passed by in the middle of the night.

Today, as I write this, the winds have abated, the sun is shining and we are making way toward Nova Scotia once again.