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Friday October 21, 2005 |
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Morning Position |
Midday Position |
Evening Position |
Quicklinks Use these links to jump directly to an event. |
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0700 hours: Rise and shine! |
1400 hours: Sail handling. |
1800 hours: Sunset. |
0700 hours: We rise to greet a momentous day for the young crew of the Half Moon. Within the hour, we've already weighed anchor and are underway, motoring back up the Hudson River. Our long layover on the Bay Ridge Flats has come to an end. As we make our way back north, we raise our colors. To the right, Kris and Mrs. Colley run the traditional tricolor flag of the Netherlands up the main mast. The American stars and stripes is already flying on the jackstaff at the stern of the ship. Despite some misconceptions, the position of honor for a flag on board a ship is actually to fly from the far-aft flagstaff, not the highest. When not flying American colors, we typically use the jackstaff to fly the flag of the Dutch East India company -- a combination of the Dutch tricolor and the company's VOC logo. |
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The teachers examine the students' notes and offer advice on how to organize and present their findings. |
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Most of the students, on the other hand, are busy down on the orlop deck. Everyone is hunkered down over their notes, carefully graphing their data. |
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With only a few hours left before their presentations, the individual students finalize their own work and meet with their teams to plan their presentations. |
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The work keeps everyone occupied into the early afternoon. |
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1400: We reach Haverstraw Bay, which will be our anchorage tonight. Our bad luck with Haverstraw Bay anchorages continues today. Last time, our anchor started dragging through ooze at the bottom. This time, we're on the far side of the bay, so there's no problem with the anchor. Unfortunately, just after we set anchor we notice a string of tiny plastic buoys floating nearby -- a fishing net. We're too close; as the wind and tides spin the Half Moon around its anchorage, we could snag the net. In a worst-case scenario, it might even snarl around our propeller shaft. |
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Thus, no sooner have we set the anchor than the decision is made to weigh it again and move to a better position. Since we have to move anyway, and since the students seem to be fully prepared for their presentations, we take the opportunity to get in one more bout of sail handling. There's almost no wind, however, so we focus on using the top masts to grab whatever gusts we can. The fore mast team reports to the foredeck... |
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...while the main mast team reports to their lines on the weather deck. Nate and Alex W. work the port lines, while Alex S. and Mrs. Franz work the starboard lines. |
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With both courses and top sails in use, we do manage to grab a little wind -- just enough to move to a new anchorage a few hundred feet away from our original position. |
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1530: Alas, we run out of time for sailing. The student presentations cannot wait! Several students accompany the adult crew into the rigging to furl the sails, as Sam and Mr. Morel are doing here. To furl a sail is to fold and lash it, preventing winds and rain from damaging the sail or pulling it loose while not in use. |
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1600: The time has come for the students to deliver their presentations! Each team is given one hour to present their research and field questions from the audience. Port Watch goes first, presenting their study of water science. You can visit our Presentations page for further details, or just click on the photos above and below to jump directly to the presentations of individual students.
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1845: Meanwhile, the rest of the student relax on the orlop deck. The pressure of the preceding days has definitely been lifted! |
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1900: However, some students are still interested in furthering their work. Captain Reynolds, Nate, and Amro step inside the fo'c'sle to examine their graphs and consider possible refinements. 1930: Dinner is served! After dinner, the students update their journals and are briefed on anchor watch, but are otherwise free to kick back and relax. 2100: Once again, the crew opts for an early lights out. Tomorrow, our Voyage of Discovery will end and our young crew will return to dry land. |
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Four Days after Departure, 1609: The seven and twentieth, in the morning was faire weather, but much wind at the North, we weighed and set our fore top-sayle, and our ship would not flat, but ran on the Ozie banke at halfe ebbe. Wee layed out anchor to heave her off, but could not. So wee sate from halfe ebbe to halfe floud: then wee set our fore-sayle and mayne top-sayle, and got down sixe leagues. The old man came aboord, and would have had us anchor, and goe on Land to eate with him: but the wind being faire, we would not yeeld to his request; So hee left us, being very sorrowfull for our departure. At five of the clocke in the after-noone, the wind came to the South South-west. So wee made a boord or two, and anchored in fourteene fathomes water. Then our Boat went on shoare to fish against the ship. Our Masters Mate and Boat-swaine, and three more of the companie went on land to fish, but could not find a good place. They tooke foure or five and twentie Mullets, Breames, Bases, and Barbils; and returned in an houre. We rode still all night. -- Robert Juet's Journal. |
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