Programs Blog

Matt Bihrle, Assistant Scientist

Ship’s Log

Noon Position
28 09.5’N x 071 59.6’ W

Ship Heading
337 degrees

Ship Speed
6.8kts

Taffrail Log
1331.2

Weather / Wind / Sail Plan
Wind NNE, F3, motor sailing under the stays’ls, jib, and storm trys’l

Description of location
414nm off the coast of Cape Canaveral

Souls on Board

We are over halfway through our voyage and every day it is becoming clear just how much the students have learned. They are becoming more and more competent sailors, navigators, and molecular biologists every watch. However, my favorite part of this journey is watching the ship’s company come together to form a collective sense of place aboard Mama C. Some of this sense of place is built from the moments at sunset and sunrise, the dolphins, and the wonders of the ocean–the rest of it comes from the tiny details of shipboard life that do not always make it home in pictures and videos. For today’s blog the students and crew had a chance to leave a Yelp review a random aspect of ship life. I hope you enjoy!

Stewards Jackie and Audrey host Barista Night at Local Apparent Starbucks while Ashley, Amir, Maeve, Kelly, and Thane await their beverages. Kayla is crushing galley clean-up in the background.

Marin: All the Wooden Fish. Beautifully done, artistic and inspired≈would be better if they talked. 4/5

Elizabeth: The Various Ladders. Foc’sle Ladder: Good lighting and great aesthetic, but too steep. 3/5 Aft Ladder: Very nice, but sometimes too much traffic at the bottom. Also the railing is too close to the wall. Reliable but with some pitfalls. 4/5 Lab Ladder: Exciting things to see at either end. 5/5

Kayla: Galley Mats.  Very heavy, hard to put back in, not built for nighttime, BUT they keep the stewards safe while they cook really good food. 2/5

Isabelle: The Helm. Very ergonomic, turns nicely, easy to handle, well-oiled and has a nice classic look with its brass plaque and wooden construction. My only complaint is that sometimes it bites back. –4.5/5

Starr: The Bow. Nice to stand at, best view of the weather, and great place to get alone time. Very calming and my favorite place on the boat. 5/5

Maeve: The Binnacle. Quadrantile spheres are nice to look at, the metal is nice and polished, however the compass is in magnetic and not true which is kinda inconvenient for me. Otherwise amazing location and looks beautiful at night. 4/5

Emmi: The Tops’l. Really cool sail, only lost a star because it took our entire watch hanging on the outhaul to set it. 4/5

Lucy: Spatching. This one is difficult to rate. As a galley person it is an essential service to clean dishes. As an eater it’s tough to see all the leftover food. Rather, I prefer to suspend my vision and think of beautiful things. 2.5/5

Amir: Sargassum Types

• Natans I: Leaves too small, hard to scrape. 3/5
• Fluitans III: Not much experience with it ?/5
• Natans VIII: Leaves are big and easy to scrape, lots of hydroids on it. 21.98/23

Posy: Boat Coffee.   Inconsistent and not strong enough but it gets the job done. 3/5

Audrey: Climbing into Dry Stores. It makes me stronger and I love to witness all the ways people decide to climb in and out of dry stores. Some roll onto the sole (floor) and others are more agile. Me personally, I go up and down a lot and that’s good for strength training. 3.5/5

Jackie: The Upper Oven. Really solid piece of equipment. This puppy will roast a full hotel pan of Old Bay potatoes in 30 minutes flat. Door’s a bit sticky but nothing a little elbow grease can’t solve. Would recommend a biweekly field day scrub for maximum efficiency. 4.6/5

Maggie: The Trash Compactor. Slightly disappointed about the capacity of the trash compactor. Was hoping the trash would come out as a little square as featured in the film Wall-E by Pixar. Instead, the trash comes out only slightly  more squished than it was before. Although effective, I was slightly disappointed. However, I will still give it my business. Would recommend. 4.5/5

C Watch: The Engineers. Great teachers, very knowledgeable, silly, cool, and sweet human beings. Take snack time VERY seriously. 10/5

A Watch: The Stewards. Inventive, original, stunning, talented, inspired, adventurous. 5.8/5

Matt: C303 Crew. Would ship again. 10/10

P.S. To my family, sending lots of love! Say hi to Mo for me ?

P.P.S. Hi Jordan’s Dad!

Matt Bihrle, Assistant Scientist