A Whale of a Time
Alex Ellerstein, B Watch, University of Chicago
May 24, 2022

Peas in a Pod
Ship's Log
Noon Position
41°45.03’N, 68°19.11’W
Ship Heading
190
Ship Speed
2kts
Taffrail Log
377.9nm
Weather / Wind / Sail Plan
Winds/3 ft Seas/Sailing under four lowers and shallow reefed mains’l
Description of location
Georges Bank
Hey land lovers! Welcome to the thoughts of a person who has helped set around 3 sails and thinks she is now a seafarer. Well, except for the whole seasickness thing. Anyways…
On the morning of my 21st birthday, after the deep sleep following 6 hours of evening watch stargazing between deck tasks, I was greeted with the most exciting phrase you can hear on the SSV Corwith Cramer: “WHALES OUTSIDE!”
Trying not to get my hopes up, as my peers often wait too long to report a sighting until the whale is long gone, I ran onto the deck (half a bagel in hand and in pajamas) with about ten eople shoving me forward to see. It was not “the boy who cried whale.” Not only were there whales, there were at least 3 pods of whales! The sighting was no fluke (I think this is the last of my whale “humor”); we watched, mesmerized, for about 20 minutes as the whales continued to leap from the water. We pitied A Watch, who had to return to deck chores, because we could relate; just days before, me and my B Watch friends had to fold in the jib sail on the bow (see Isabella’s description), and I truly don’t understand how sailors get anything done when there are cool critters in the water. For those of you who are curious, the zoology nerds in the group identified the whales as “pilot whales” (I hope I spelled that correctly, it is weird not having internet!), which are really similar to belugas. Cool!
The rest of the day included (in no particular order) brownies, celestial navigation class, steering the ship, more brownies, gorgeous sunsets, leftover brownies, and copepod poetry. All in all, a good day at sea.
PS- For those of you who didn’t believe in me, I have NOT fallen off the boat. They gave us harnesses
Scrubbing at Sea
Sarah Kirsh, B Watch, UNC Chapel Hill Ship's Log Noon Position 31 13.884'N 159 22.270'W Ship Heading 355 T Ship Speed 4.6 knots Weather / Wind [...]
Birthday at Sea
Kelly Barr, B Watch, Gonzaga University Ship's Log Noon Position29 37.744'N 159 13.185'Ship Heading350Ship Speed6.7 knots Sail PlanStorm Tris'l, Main Stay'l, Four Stay'l, JibWeather / Wind Cloudy skiesSouls [...]
An Adventure at the Whaling Museum
Hadley Levcnson - Trinity School & Luka Magder - Harriton High School We took our first field trip today and visited the New Bedford Whaling Museum. [...]
Rockin’ and Rollin’
Emily Barron, A Watch, Boston University Ship's Log Noon Position 27 48.1' N 159 10.73' W Ship Heading 350 Ship Speed 4.5kn Weather / Wind Cloudy [...]