Programs Blog

Thursday, 31 October, 2024
Position (Lat and Long): 40° 52.7’N x 071° 17.09’W
Log (nm):  2239.8nm
Weather / Wind and Sail Plan:  Deep reefed Maine, our 2 stay’sl, and our jib
Description of where we are sailing:  We are sailing towards Newport Road Island, we were originally going to sail past Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard but there is a bit of weather coming.

Image 01:  Virginia at the helm
Image 02:  Northern Lights in P-Town:
Image 03:  Bella, Coop, Dylan, Kendal, Reagan, Abby, Penelope, and Max
watching the sunset
Image 04: Halloween!
“Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, only if one remembers
to turn on the light” – Albus Dumbledore

That’s something I’ve had to remind myself throughout this voyage. Even
though this moment is hard; I can still turn on the light and find
happiness. Ocean has been and will probably remain one of the hardest things
I will ever do.

C-Watch was woken up at 0030, but I was up at 0015 since this morning was my
JWO (Junior Watch Officer) watch! We had watch from 0100-0700, which is
always hard to get out of bed and wake up enough to run a watch. Once you
get on deck and that wind hits you and you can see more stars than sky
that’s when you know that hauling yourself out of bed was worth it.
Especially when you can look to the starboard side of the quarter deck and
see bioluminescent dolphins, which was insane they looked like something
from a Disney movie. They glided through the water with a Elsa blue colored
glow, and then this morning at our watch turn over there where more than 20
dolphins and babies! I never thought there where dolphins this close to
Martha’s Vineyard. This morning when I got on deck the air was warm and
thick, there was some fog but it wasn’t bad. The dew point was crazy the
deck looked like it had just rained everything was wet including down below
was damp!

We are heading to Newport Road Island for anchor, there is a pretty nasty
storm coming from the north that is building with 30knots of wind and 10
foot waves and we are not trying to go through that again. Our original plan
was to go up around Nantucket, over Martha’s Vineyard and then back to Woods
Hole. We will be at anchor tonight and some of Friday depending on when the
storm dies down. After that we will make our way back to Woods Hole which
isn’t that far from our anchorage, it’s crazy to even be thinking about
going back to Woods Hole. It feels just like yesterday that I was pulling
into the SEA driveway and moving into our rooms in 165.

I’m not ready for the sea component to end, but I am ready to see my family
and friends. Once I get used to life back on land that’s when I’m going to
start to miss living on the boat, getting up at 0030 to be on deck or in the
lab, I’m going to miss being lookout and singing on the top of my lungs
knowing that no one else can hear me because of the wind, and most of all
I’m going to miss the sun sets, sun rises, northern lights, and the stars
that we’ve been able to see; I’m not going to be able to see stars like this
again with no light pollution.

Ocean Classroom has been one in a million, there is nothing like sailing on
Open Ocean on a vessel such as the Corwith Cramer. The water is so blue it
looks fake, I’ve always wondered if the National Geographic pictures and
video of the ocean are heavily edited there’s no way that water can be that
blue but it really is that blue.

This whole voyage has felt like a fever dream and something out of a Disney
movie. Sometimes when I’m at the helm I feel like Captain Jack Sparrow, I
think I finally understand why he walks so funny when he’s on land.

-Virginia A., C-Watch!

PS to family and friends.
Olivia K.- Hola mamacita-can you please bring an extra suitcase
for all of my extra belongings when you come to Proctor and a puffer jacket
for me please (preferably a cute new Northface 700 one;))?and please send my
medication to Woods hole please ASAP so I can get when I get off the boat?
Por favor y gracias HASTA LUEGOOO!!!….

Bella S.- Toady I painted myself purple.
Penelope- Toady I painted myself red
Kendall- Toady I painted myself superman.
Reagan- today I was a christmas tree
Virginia A.- Mom, Dad and Ellie I’m so excited to see you all. I hope
you all come to the symposium, maybe Erica and Scott can come same with Mimi
and Grampy. Please don’t forget to pack me some clothes for college visits,
maybe some of my magnetic north stuff specifically my kule quarter zip blue
and white chunky sweater I’ve got some jeans. Could you also send me some
tide pods + dryer sheets! Love and miss you all tell Antonella that I’m
sending her a huge hug and I’ll see her the second I get to Toga. Any way
talk to you later Maverick (please get that reference dad aka Maverick)