Daily Log, September 26

We spent today moored at our current location on Rondout Creek so the students could focus on their projects.  Some projects require a full day in one location for a full data set; others require extended work time without interruption from the work of sailing the ship.

 

Mr. Swartout woke the students at 0700.  As you can see by the looks on Rosa, Justine, and Hannah's faces, each day was greeted with enthusiasm by the crew.

 

Thanasi, however, couldn't wait to begin his day. 

 

After breakfast, Captain Reynolds called a meeting and set out the plans for the day.  Each student got a chance to review their project with the entire crew so that everyone could share their particular area of expertise and lend a hand with research. 

 

After the meeting, the students turned to their individual projects. Samantha compared relative wind speeds on the deck and at the top of the masts.  She recruited an adult crew member for supervision and climbed up to take her first reading. Down below, Nicole and Justine sounded the water depth.

 

Up in the maintop, Samantha took a reading while her photographer took in the view.

 

Samantha needed to take readings every hour from the deck and the maintop, so she recruited other students to help. Here, Nicole is enjoying her climb while Mr. Morel supervises.

 

Other students were hard at work as well. Tevon continued testing the principles of mechanical advantage, with our resident rocket scientist, Mr. Zantkuijl, looking on.

 

William and Jared tested the water's clarity.  They lowered a device called a Secchi dish beneath the surface of the water until it could no longer be seen, then slowly raised it until it became visible and noted the depth in feet, as marked on the attached line.

 

Later in the morning, Thanasi helped Mr. Z with his leather-craft.  Together they made a new sheath for one of the ship's rigging tools.

 

Ceili created step-by-step instructions to set sail and weigh anchor.  Her plan is to actually have the crew follow her instructions to accomplish these tasks.

 

Here, Ceili works on her how-to guide to the ship as Ms. Davis and Mrs. Fountain observe. 

 

As the morning came to an end, Captain Reynolds called the students together to review their progress. 

 

So far, so good! Or "Tot zover alles goed," which is the best translation of this phrase in Dutch.  Jared's project is comparing the Dutch and English sailing terms.

 

Meanwhile, some students' projects required a little time out in the zodiac. Before anyone could go out, they needed to put on their life vests.  Mr. Swartout guided the students during their field collections.

 

Here, Ms. Oosterloo takes out the first group of students. The zodiac made several trips through the day, making sure every student got a chance to go out on the water.

 

The zodiac allows us to gather samples from spots along the river that we otherwise could not get to with the ship.  While out in the zodiac students took soundings to measure the depth of the channel where we are moored. They also collected water samples along the shore to make a comparison study of the dissolved oxygen, water temperature readings at different depths, and plant specimens.

 

The students spent much of their time across the Rondout Creek, exploring the wetlands and the shoals developing along this collapsed wooden barge.

 

Justine continued her soundings.  Part of her project is drawing a cross-section of the channel to plot the depths.  This will aid the operation of the Half Moon when we depart.

 

William collected more plant samples. Or possibly Swamp Thing himself, to judge by this photo.

 

Meanwhile, the adult crew was hard at work as well. Mr. Meilick and Ms. van den Berg repacked the stuffing box around the engine shaft.

 

For some of the crew, the sound of rushing water in the engine room was a bit disconcerting, but they had it well in hand and feet and legs. :)

 

 

Up on the Quarterdeck, Ms. Davis helped prepare the daily log for our faithful (and much appreciated) audience.

After a long day of focusing on work, the crew got a special treat; Captain Steve Trueman, who was our host in Kingston, took a few of his friends and our entire group out on one of the vintage tugboats that form his North River Tugboat Museum (www.tugmuseum.org).

 

The students (not to mention the adults) enjoyed the chance to relax and enjoy our unusual tour.

 

It was a treat to be able to cruise along the Hudson and just enjoy the ride.

 

Captain Trueman showed the crew the steering house of the tug, demonstrating the controls.

 

It was a good opportunity for the students to compare the navigational technology of a 20th century vessel to that of the Half Moon.

 

After an hour, it was time to return to the 17th century and reboard our own ship.

 

As the moon rose behind us, it was time for dinner and the end of a busy day.