Programs Blog
Our Tiny Floating Village Nears Hawaii

Vanessa Van Deusen, C Watch, 3rd Scientist
Ship’s Log
Noon Position
17° 27.8’ N, 154° 03.5’ W
Ship Heading
350°
Ship Speed
6.4 knots
Taffrail Log
3007 nautical miles
Weather / Wind / Sail Plan
Sailing under the 4 lowers with a shallow reef in the mains’l. Wind NExE blowing 11 kts
Description of location
30 nm from Hawaii
Our tiny village will be floating ashore soon! There have been many guesses about when we will first see land, but it will likely be sometime tonight or tomorrow. What a humbling and special experience to get to be so fully disconnected from shore, to truly experience the vastness of the sea and the extremes of wilderness. As a scientist coming back to SEA for the first time since my student trip, I am reminded of the community that life away from shore necessitates. Strong friendships, trust, and a requirement to work together (even when you are tired). While I can’t wait to land in Hawaii, I will miss the feeling of being a part of a community isolated from the world by a seemingly endless expanse of water.
Last night captured that community perfectly. After dinner, everyone worked together to clean the salon and galley- putting away dishes, wiping tables, and labeling leftovers. Once everything was clean I sat at the table waiting for a game of cards to start. I listened to students preparing for their Junior Watch Officer roles for the following day. They worked as a team: filling in knowledge gaps when they arose, offering timing suggestions, and reminding each other about frequently forgotten steps while gybing. I went on deck to look for fellow card players and found a beautiful night filled with guitar and melodica music coming from the aft deck boxes. Dinner, stars, and a show. With some coaxing I successfully recruited the musicians to play games. Over the course of two hours I, impressively, lost all but one hand of cards. Before going to sleep I went to deck one last time and found a ship abuzz with activity (setting up for a meter net) illuminated by moonlight. New York may be the city that never sleeps, but we are the tiny floating village that is working towards a communal goal at all hours of the day and night. Also! Happy birthday Mom! I miss and love you so much! Vanessa Van Deusen, C Watch, 3rd ScientistRecent Posts from the Ships
- Ocean Classroom 2024-A collaborative high school program with Proctor Academy
- Collaborations and Long-term Commitments: SEA’s Caribbean Reef Program Sets a Course for Coastal Programs that Compliment Shipboard Experiences.
- Sea Education Association students prepare for life underway using state of the art nautical simulation from Wartsila Corporation.
- SEA Writer 2022, Magazines From the Summer SEA Quest Students
- Technology@SEA: Upgrades Allow Insight into Ocean Depths
Programs
- Gap Year
- Ocean Exploration
- High School
- Science at SEA
- SEA Expedition
- SEAScape
- Pre-College
- Proctor Ocean Classroom
- Protecting the Phoenix Islands
- SPICE
- Stanford@SEA
- Undergraduate
- Climate and Society
- Climate Change and Coastal Resilience
- Coral Reef Conservation
- Marine Biodiversity and Conservation
- MBL
- Ocean Exploration: Plastics
- Ocean Policy: Marine Protected Areas
- Oceans and Climate
- Pacific Reef Expedition
- The Global Ocean: Hawai'i
- The Global Ocean: New Zealand