Tuesday May 17, 2005

0300 The wind is diminishing, and the sky is clearing.

0600 The sky is clear, with a beautiful sunrise. We hope to do some sailing today, but the wind is not promising.

0730 Reveille! Mr. Weisse rouses the crew from their bunks by playing the William Tell Overture on his trumpet. Other reveille tunes during this voyage have included the Dudley Do-Right theme and Pop Goes the Weasel (which was actually a traditional reveille tune at one time).

0800 Breakfast makes for a great way to start the day, but...

...Oops!

Unfortunately, spilled milk at breakfast is a great way to start the call for a deck wash. But the fresh wet decks will make the day feel cooler; we can feel the sun already.

0900 The anchor is coming up once again. Once underway we will sail about the mouth of Rondout Creek, and then make our way north with the flood current. Destination Athens Channel. We look forward to seeing our friend Larry Fingar and the folks at Peckham Materials, and hope that they can help us get a replacement fan belt for the generator (of course, we only use engine parts that Henry Hudson would have used!).

1030 We have the sails set; the student crew did the work of unfurling and readying the sails. They go aloft just like the old hands on Hudson’s voyage, except that they follow modern safety practices! It is useful to set the sails even with so little wind; it provides good practice. We would like a bit more wind just to make the sailing more fun.

1115 We strike the sails (meaning, stop sailing by hauling the lines that put the sails into their gear and prevent them from catching the wind). The student sailors are becoming adept at going aloft and unfurling and setting the sails. It is amazing to see them work so well and so surely.

1221 We are passing the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge, making 5 knots.

Accurate navigation requires calculations that take account of many variables. The speed of the ship relative to the ground is affected by the speed of the current, the speed of the wind, and other matters. Calculating the projected time of travel and estimated time of arrival can be one of the trickiest navigational calculations. In this day of electronic gizmos few people do more than just push a few buttons to find this answer.

1300 Jamar, Bryan, Dylan, and Jamal have determined to make this calculation longhand. Under the tutelage of Mr. Linehan and Mr. McDonald, the students use dividers to measure the distance to travel on our paper charts, estimated the speed of travel, and then calculated the estimated time of arrival at the entrance to Athens Channel from the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge. Their answers are close to each other; we will check their accuracy when we arrive.

To the left, Jamar and Bryan are the first to present Captain Reynolds with their calculations. Captain Reynolds adds a complication to the mix, asking them to take into account a change in the ship's speed halfway to our destination.

Elsewhere, Mr. Weisse recruits Ginny, Kiera, Emily and Sam to create a "found poem" about their experiences during the Voyage of Discovery. A found poem is a poem that uses only snippets of text from existing sources, as opposed to the more common sort of poem, where the poet composes their own verses. Think of it as a cross between a poem and a collage.

Samantha is soon called away to steer the helm, but Ginny, Kiera, and Emily keep working and complete their poem. They draw their verses from some of sources we have on board: Juet's Journal (pardon his spelling), the journals the students have been keeping themselves during the voyage, and two biographies of Henry Hudson.

Here's their poem:

Ship Called the Half Moon

We sailed off.......
May 14th Verplanck............
the night came on and it began to rayne.....................
.......Anchor Watch
a very good land to fall with, and a pleasent land to see.
..Sailing the Hudson
rough tides smashed the ship's sides...........................
...the journey
............Showed us great friendship
....the sailors
Friendly meetings.......
..............Ship called the Half Moon

Ginny, Kiera, Emily

1330 High above the Tivoli Island Estuarine Preserve six crows chase what appears to be a red tail hawk. With ship noise and distance we can not hear the normal cawing of the crows as they chase and harass the hawk; the flight is classic, with the crows diving in and out attacking, and the hawk keeping a steady glide that takes it higher and higher. As the altitude gains, one crow after the next drops the chase. Two crows show their mettle by sticking with the hawk to a great altitude, but then one and finally the last crow fall back, giving up the chase. The hawk continues its stately glide to greater heights before finally fading from our view.

The Tivoli Island Estuarine Preserve is one of four estuarine preserves in the Hudson River Valley. These preserves set aside important areas for conservation, especially important in this day and age. Preservation of habitat is important for maintaining areas where fish and wildlife can reproduce, and water can be filtered and kept fresh for the River. Without these key natural systems the Hudson River Valley would not be the major attraction that it is.

1400 Above Saugerties we enter the section of the Hudson River dominated by cement production. The natural resources of the Hudson River Valley attracts European explorers and settlers. Even in the log of Hudson’s voyage in 1609 one finds explicit mention of the minerals seen along the banks of the river. It is no different today, with extractive industries of the Hudson River Valley providing the raw materials needed to sustain the building construction that is so much a part of our modern world. We can see this industry particularly in the area around West Camp, Cementon, and Inbocht Bay.

Meanwhile, Captain Reynolds decides to take a turn at the helm to give another crew member a break. He seems to be enjoying himself, doesn't he?

1500 An immature bald eagle swooped by on our port side, its powerful wing beats catching our attention and boldly presenting its identity. The mottled coloration gave it away as a year old bird. It covered the western shoreline before disappearing from view in the trees.

This has been a busy day for birds; this morning, a pair of sparrows circled our masts for several minutes, possibly wondering whether the Half Moon would make a good place for a nest.

1536 The Rip Van Winkle Bridge is overhead.

1620 We arrive at the entrance to the Athens Channel, within minutes of the calculated time of our new navigators. Great job Jamar, Brian, Jamal, and Dylan.

1700 Courses and Topsails are set at the northern end of the Athens Channel, and we are sailing! We shut down the engine and appreciate the wonder of moving under the wind alone. Our sailors are really quite proficient now, and we can brace the sails as we move back and forth across the narrow confines of the Channel.

1805 Secure at anchor off of Peckham Materials, one of our good corporate friends, and our host when we filmed Conquest of America for the History Channel last Fall. It is like coming home. Michael Black, of Liberty Paint and Glenco Construction, will join us for dinner to discuss the repainting of the ship; Liberty Paint is our paint of choice on the Half Moon.

Tonight's dinner is pot roast, mashed potatoes, and carrots. It all goes quickly.

2130 Anchor watch briefing and then some sleep after a long day.