After a productive layover to concentrate on our studies, we cast off our lines and headed north, bidding farewell to Captain Trueman and his tugboats.

Each student made considerable progress gathering data for their project, making explorations of the wetlands, and continuing their work about the ship.  Weather conditions today indicated light and variable winds, so we moved under engine power up to the Athens Channel, another favorite anchorage in the upper Hudson.

We motored up the Hudson all morning, enjoying a beautiful day.

With a northerly wind, we motored under the Kingston-Rhinecliff bridge...

...while Ceili and Mr. Morel got a close-up view from the foretop.

The students spent most of the day in the final stretch of their projects. By now, most students were analyzing the data they had already collected and working on writing their reports.

Here, Mr. Swartout stands at attention while Justine, Tevon, and Samantha focus on their work.

Several students, like William here, prepared charts or graphs to accompany their reports.

Up on the Quarterdeck, Jared made progress on his glossary with the help of Captain Reynolds. Some students' projects benefited from online research, using the same computers we use to send out these logs.

In the afternoon, we set anchor in Athens Channel just off Peckham Materials, our host from earlier in the summer. The students kept working throughout the afternoon.

Here, Justine and Nicole continue their research by taking a sounding. It never hurts to gather more data!

In one of the more thrilling moments of the day, near-catastrophe struck when Samantha's project notebook accidentally fell overboard. Fortunately, Ms. Oosterloo and Mr. Mangrum raced out in the zodiac and were able to rescue it, soggy but still legible.

We turned this opportunity into a "man overboard" drill. It was a sobering experience to learn that, even on a clear and beautiful day, it still took 4 1/2 minutes to rescue the notebook.

Later in the afternoon, most of the students gathered on the foredeck to play a board game. This game had been developed by a previous student crew, the Peekskill Square Riggers, from the Lakeland school district near Peekskill.

This game tests the players' knowledge of the science and history of the Hudson River.

Competition was fierce, but ultimately Ceili and Samantha pulled ahead with a decisive lead.

Meanwhile, Ms. Davis and Mrs. Fountain decided to create their own board game. They call it Clew (after a clew sail), a solve-the-mystery game set on the Half Moon. It's inspired by a certain copyrighted game that shall go nameless here (wink-wink).

Jared took a break from his project to have a look.

As Ms. Davis and Mrs. Fountain worked on their project, Hannah supervised their progress.

Eventually, this relaxing day came to an end. The sunset over Athens was so breathtaking we couldn't help but share it with you.

Ah, but our day wasn't over yet! Before serving dinner, Mr. Wolfe had a pair of treats ready for us. First, he presented the crew with a report on various spices used in Henry Hudson's era. He even handed out fresh ginger root for everyone to taste.

Next, he served hardtack, an extremely durable form of unleavened bread used for portable rations throughout history.

Finally, we enjoyed a meal of Mexican lasagna and called it a day.

It looks like rain tomorrow, so before retiring to bed, we stretched tarps over the main hatch to keep everyone sleeping on the orlop deck dry during the night.