Swim Call!

Eily Montenegro & Aidan J. Baitsell, New Hyde Park Memorial High School & Fox Lane High School

The temperature is at 80°F with cloudy weather and a light breeze from the East North East. We are anchored in Buzzards Bay for the second night and we had a surprise swim call from Sean. Eily lost her watch to the sea :,). When we were finishing up swimming and jumping off the boat, we showered using the ocean, which is extremely refreshing after some hard work from today.

We found some zooplankton clinging to our bathing suits and put them under the microscope in the lab. We also practiced many drills, including man overboard, fire drill, and abandon ship. These drills were useful as we were able to see how far a person can truly get after falling overboard, even when the boat is moving incredibly slow. The fire drill section taught us the different ways we fight fires on the ship and finally with the abandon ship orders we have 25 person life rafts that are given to A, B, and C watch that come equipped with food and fresh water for basic survival. We also worked on coiling and balentining ropes for safe need storage, hoisting sails, tying down sails, and safely operating science machinery.

At 1800, after the many eventful drills that left us hungry, we received a soup that contained potato, kale, and quinoa, along with some homemade bread with a side of whipped butter that had rosemary.  After dinner, we started to do watch chores that showed us the true life on the boat including doing the dishes, sweeping, and washing the deck.  Both me and Eily are enjoying ourselves and are both excited to see what is in store for us in the future.

- Eily Montenegro, New Hyde Park Memorial High School & Aidan J. Baitsell, Fox Lane High School