0700 Our adult crew has been aboard the ship now for three days, provisioning, troubleshooting, rummaging (the word used in the early 1600s for sorting and organizing gear), and conducting refresher training courses. With all the work we need to do on ship, we have hardly been on shore, except for runs to area stores and checking in with Randy King, the proprietor of King Marine, where we spend winters with the ship. We are psyched and ready for the students to arrive. This morning will be a bustle of activity as we take care of last minute details before the students arrive.

1230 Captain Reynolds hears the call, “Bus in the yard!” But he doesn’t see the bus -- only a line of student crew members toting their gear to the waterfront. After a quick orientation the students move their gear from the land to the ship, and thus begin their Voyage of Discovery.

As always, our new crew has packed light.

Lunch will be served soon, but first Captain Reynolds delivers a safety orientation, explaining where to go and what to do in emergencies, how to preserve public health aboard ship, and how to move around the ship safely.

Next, as our new crew members settle in and get organized, Captain Washington takes the students through a short tour of the Half Moon and how it would have been used in 1609. Ultimately, he leads them down to the orlop deck, which they will call home for the next week.

Next, the students turn to their work. Down in the galley, Dylan and Kiera help Mrs. Barton prepare lunch for everyone.

Meanwhile, the rest of the crew sweeps and mops the orlop deck, readying it so the students can bunk down and stow their gear.

1330 Finally, lunch! Then more training and orientation: the students learn terms for parts of the ship and procedures for everything from how to use a marine toilet to how to coil a line. This is all needed, as in a few hours we will leave the dock, with the students gaining their first underway experience.

1430 The students are divided into two watches, port and starboard. Port watch is on duty from 0600 to 1200; starboard watch is on duty from 1200 to 1800. This pattern repeats for the time the students are aboard.

The watch roster, above, is posted in the orlop deck to remind everyone of their duties. The port watch is assigned to the Foremast; starboard to the main mast. You may notice that the students' watch also determines the general topic they will be studying for their group presentations during the voyage.

The students work on setting and dousing the courses (the bigger lower sails) and the topsails (the smaller, higher sails).

1715 We arrange the dock lines to cast off, and have the students at ready to set their sails and sail off the dock. The order is given, and off we go, with students working their lines, overhauling clews, bunts, and martinets; bracing the fore, by slacking bowlines and tacks, coordinating a dozen different actions.

Then the main sets and fills, with action everywhere and lines like a bed of snakes across the decks. The ship moves in a stately fashion, and we are underway, heading north past Indian Point!

As a note, we have chosen to leave the dock at King Marine entirely under sail power, without making use of the engine. This is a tricky maneuver, but our student crew -- despite being brand new to their posts -- pull it off without a hitch.

1830 Jones Point across from Peekskill is the entrance to the Hudson Highlands; we sail around it and look towards Bear Mountain. A ways farther up and we round up to douse sails and head to an anchorage.

1930 Anchor is set in Tompkins Cove, the former anchorage of the Reserve Fleet, across from Indian Point. Shortly thereafter, dinner is served: meatloaf, string beans, and baked potatoes.

After dinner, an anchor watch briefing is prepared. The students are set in teams of two to stand watch for an hour at a time through the night. This vigilance protects us in the (very rare) occurance that the anchor starts to drag along the bottom, allowing the ship to drift away from our intended anchor point.

Midnight Our first squall blows through, with a good rain falling all around. The student crew is definitely earning their stripes; many of the adult crew have remarked on how quickly the students seem to be learning their way around the ship.

The forecast for tomorrow morning is fog and light wind from the south, with 40% chance of rain.