Programs Blog

Captain Allison Taylor

Ship’s Log

Noon Position
17° 30.1’ S 149° 30.0’ W

Taffrail Log (nm)
7.95 nm

Weather / Wind / Sail Plan (from 1300 Watch Change)
Calm, ExS winds, 1/8 cumulus, at anchor

Description of location
At anchorage near Venus Point

Souls on Board

All blogs from S-308

The class of S308 arrived at the ship in Tahiti last night after a long day of travel from Woods Hole, about 22 hours! Despite the travel, they had smiles on their faces – exhaustion not able to hide their excitement.

After a quick call home by most students, they all went below to find their bunks and unpack, and then hopped into bed for some much-deserved rest. They got a personal wakeup this morning for breakfast and had a full day of orientations to the ship. They met with their watch for the first time, learned how to clean the ship, and rotated through safety stations to start getting familiar with the boat check and how to be safe in the lab. During the afternoon siesta, they walked to a nearby park and visited the local craft market.

Flowers at the Pape`ete market

It’s been hot and humid here in Pape’ete recently and the staff kept an early schedule this past week to beat the heat of the day and take advantage of the early morning light – in this part of the world, it’s dark and then it’s immediately broad daylight, with the sun high in the sky very quickly!

The staff has been busy getting ready for this program during our turnaround period – turning over positions to oncoming crew, provisioning the ship, doing preventative maintenance, training the staff about the program, and keeping the ship clean and tidy, ready to welcome the students.

We’re so excited to get this voyage started! It is also a special one to me, as it’s the 20th anniversary of my student trip (class S186) and along the same cruise track. Hello to all my classmates out there – I’ll be thinking of you often on the next 6 weeks!

Captain Allison Taylor