Programs Blog

Sunday, 19 October 2025

Noon Position: 37°38.5’ N x 070°05.8’ W             

Log: 818nm

Weather / Wind / Sail Plan: Warm temps, bright sun, the occasional squall. Winds have been fairly light but were drifting 4 knots with the Gulf Stream under the main and forward stay sl’s

Day 11 aboard the SSV Corwith Cramer and today we crossed the Gulf Stream! The breeze was warm and the sun felt wonderful after several days stuck below deck during stormy weather and cold temperatures. I am on A watch and today we had dawn watch (1am-7am) and evening watch (7pm-1am) as well as our first “field day” (several hours of deep cleaning the ship) in the afternoon, so a fairly exhausting schedule. Slowly but surely, I am adapting to the 18-hour watch cycle and lack of sleep. I spent dawn watch this morning on deck and night watch in the science lab. It’s been great learning the ins and outs of sail handling (furling the jib or JT on the head rig is my personal favorite) and getting to know our expansive scientific capabilities on board. My favorite deck rotation is Helm. At two in the morning it is certainly exhausting, but still so much fun steering the ship and then learning to plot points and predict weather in class. Lookout is also quite pleasant; being alone at the bow of the ship in the middle of the dark night is indescribably incredible. As the swell hoists Cramer up, the lookout becomes the highest point on the horizon for what feels like 100s of miles. On lookout this morning at around 3am I saw a pod of bioluminescent dolphins (dolphins with bioluminescent plankton on their skin) playing with the ship. I watched for about twenty minutes as they weaved in and out and below the keel, which was probably the highlight of my trip so far.

During night watch science lab I got to do a Neuston tow that collected these bioluminescent organisms. As we poured the sample into a bucket on the science deck at 11pm, the bioluminescence swirled around, and the thousands of plankton looked just like the thousands of stars and bits of the Milky Way visible above us in the incredible night sky. When I’m feeling seasick at night I like to come on deck and sit and watch the stars and the sea as the swells push us up and down and the waves spray up onto the quarter deck, a feeling that is equally incredible as the seasickness is miserable.

As we make our way out of the Gulf Stream and into warmer weather and fairer seas, the whale sightings of the North Atlantic have turned into flying fish and dolphins in the bright blue Sargasso. How great it feels to finally be heading for St. John!

Riley C., A Watch

Shutout Dad, Mom, Piper, and Tess – I love and miss you more than you know. I am so grateful to be here and am having an amazing time; I can’t wait to tell you all about it!!