Programs Blog

Location: Dominica

Date: 3/4/26

Weather: Warm and cloudy and sometimes very rainy

Hi Friends!

I am so excited that I am in Dominica. It is amazing here. So many mountains! So many things to see! The places I am seeing and the people I am meeting are phenomenal. Everyone on board is incredible and very kind, and I truly feel very happy and I’m loving the science, too. Yesterday I did a neuston tow, which is a net with a container on the bottom to catch all the critters and anything on and just below the surface of the water. I have seen a lot of shrimp and sargassum which is a type of floating seaweed. Once we get it from the net, we sort it all into species type. We also did a CTD carousel deployment, which we use to get water at different depths for chemical analysis. the science is really cool and so enjoyable.

Seeing so many amazing sea creatures and corals at each site is also very cool. I saw a nurse shark, stingray, so many remarkable fish. I have also been doing work on six-hour watches. I am on watch A and we rotate through before B, C watches handling the work of the ship night and day. Within each watch there are four rotations: gally support, helm (steering the ship), lookout, hourly log notations, and boat check. My favorite is Lookout where you are on the bow of the boat in a harness watching the horizon checking for any incoming thing such as ships, rain clouds, and anything blocking our path. During the lookout every wave you see sends the bow and you 10ft higher into the air seeing everything around you in the horizon. I feel a since of calm looking at the waters, but also a thrill. While on the voyage to Dominica, I saw a group of dolphins off the bow, and it almost got me emotional. But I am very happy here and feel a since of accomplishment each day. My project is going amazingly and I’m finding good data. I have also been writing in my journal and made a poem for you all:

Winds are kind sometimes

Shore aboard I adore

Will make me soar

Sail Sail Sail to ashore

Horary forever more

This reminds me of the journey from St. Croix to Dominica which has been incredible to experience. It’s hard to describe what I’m going through, but I am in awe every day.

Andrew, A watch, UNH

Shout outs: To my family: missing you all very much but loving every bit of this experience through the rain and sleepiness. I’m meeting so many amazing people…. Guess what? I might have found my calling. I am now thinking that I might want to be a tall ship sailor. I know, I know, I need to think this one through, but I have already come up with a business idea that might be fun. It is called Salty Sailing Cow & Co it is a funny name, but the idea is to sail around to ports and be a sailboat diner selling foods and local fish (that I catch!). I wonder every day what you all are doing and missing you so much. Thank you for all the knowledge you have given to me about hard work and determination. It has guided me along this journey, and I’m loving every second. Love you all lots!