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0700 Hours
Current Position: Moored at the Old Lyme Dock Company in Old Lyme, CT.
Latitude: 41˚ 18.9'
Longitude: 072 ˚ 20.7'
Day Four of our 2008 Fresh River Voyage of Discovery.
We rise at the Old Lyme Dock company to greet what we expect to be a busy morning -- as of last night, we need to leave port by 0900 hours.
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While the students are just starting to wake up, Ms. Cosgrove and Mr. Wardwell have been out in the salt marsh and surrounding shorelines since dawn to collect foraminifera.
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0800 Hours
As our day begins, we receive word that we do not in fact have to set out within the hour (partly because the ship is not, as had been expected, blocking access to the fuel pumps on the dock). This allows our students a little extra leisure time to rouse themselves and rummage their gear.
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Would you believe that Oksãna actually asked for this photo to go online?
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0815 Hours
The morning's just begun and the weather is already turning hot and muggy. We remove the outer hatch cover on the weather deck (which is usually seen acting as our dinner table) to allow more fresh air and sunlight into the orlop deck.
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We also notice that Mr. Mangrum and Ms. Reilly have dressed alike for the third day in a row. Mr. Mangrum promises to switch around his wardrobe tomorrow to end this disturbing trend and get back behind the camera.
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0930 Hours
We enjoy a simple breakfast of bagels with a variety of toppings.
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1030 Hours
Our postponed departure time allows us a second chance to visit the nearby salt marsh at the mouth of the Connecicut River.
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1100 Hours
After walking the marsh and collecting flora and fauna samples, however, it's time to return to the ship.
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1115 Hours
While the students were on shore leave, we decided to take advantage of the adjacent fuel pumps and refuel the Half Moon. (A scenario that sailing vessels in 1609 didn't typically encounter.) As a safety precaution, we do not allow the students to board the ship while the fuel lines are out and running. However, they are delighted to learn that they've instead been permitted to go cool their heels at the nearby beach for a while.
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Mouse over for a closer view.
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While hanging out at the beach, Jamie shows off the dead squid he collected this morning. We'll examine it under the microscope later on.
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Mouse over to hoist Ms. Reilly.
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Meanwhile, the senior crew is up to shenanigans on board. Ms. Reilly has a sore back, so she elects to apply the "Jim Barry Solution" -- to have herself hung upside down. It works!
Meanwhile, a hundred yards away, the students on the beach see this happening; there is much puzzlement and consternation as they try to figure out what the senior crew is up to.
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1230 Hours
Refueling is complete and the students are once again allowed to climb aboard. Most of them immediately retreat to the orlop deck to catch a break in the shade.
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1300 Hours
While we make our initial preparations for departure, some students start collecting data for their presentations.
Jessica times the current speed, while Alex and James learn to take a sounding.
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1315 Hours
All hands at their stations! The order comes down to Nora to haul in line one.
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Once again with assistance from the dock crew, we take in our lines and depart, immediately turning north to continue upriver.
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With that, we bid farewell to our benefactors at the Old Lyme Dock Company.
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We've already unfurled our courses to take advantage of the southerly wind. Before we can set sail, however, we have one major obstacle to clear...
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Mouse over to see if we clear the bridge.
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1330 Hours
This highway bridge crosses the Connecticut River just north of Old Lyme. According to the measurements we made this morning, with the tide at its current height, our topmasts should clear the bottom of the bridge with just a few feet to spare. Here's to hoping our math was right...
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Beyond the bridge, the rolling green landscape of the Connecticut beckons. Due to its narrow confines and the sandy shoals at its mouth, the Connecticut has never been home to major industrial river traffic, and as such has never been extensively developed, allowing for these scenic views.
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1400 Hours
We serve cheese quesadillas along with rice and beans for lunch while underway.
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1430 Hours
As soon as we reach our destination at East Haddam this afternoon, an intensive period of data collection will begin. Students grab their notebooks and start preparing data tables to fill in later.
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1500 Hours
The heat of the afternoon is starting to wilt the more delicate among our crew. We discovered that this varmint has burrowed into the tarps around the main mast for a quick nap in the shade. We need to do something about the heat, but first...
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1515 Hours
We're passing Selden Creek and decide to launch a Zodiac expedition to Ms. Cosgrove can collect samples. Mr. Schuijer, Ms. Read, Jamie, Jessica, and Gabriel accompany her.
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1600 Hours
While the Zodiac team is away, we break out the hose and indulge ourselves in a long, fun deck wash. Just dousing the wooden planks of the deck makes the temperature feel like its dropped ten degrees; getting soaked with the hose feels even better.
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1630 Hours
The Zodiac team has returned, but the seem a little wary of us. Perhaps it's the wild eyes of the crew...
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...or maybe it's just that we keep begging them to come within range of the hose.
Soon, we negotiate a deal: we turn off the hose and the Zodiac crew comes back on board.
Feeling much relieved by this break, we continue on our journey upriver.
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1645 Hours
We're now passing Gillette Castle State Park, a major local landmark. This castle was designed in the 1910s by William Gillette, a successful actor, director, and playwright well known in his day for playing Sherlock Holmes.
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Mouse over to set sail.
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After an afternoon of motoring under light winds, we finally have the breeze we need. We set the courses and continue under sail.
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1700 Hours
After drying out from the deck wash, we make sure that our student crew members slather themselves in a fresh coat of sunscreen.
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1800 Hours
We're closing in on our destination, so mast teams are dispatched to douse the sails.
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1815 Hours
Soon after, we glide into our docking position.
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As we close in, we toss lines around standing pilings and use them to help pull ourselves into position. We're soon securely moored.
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We will spend the next two nights here at a riverside park in East Haddam, just across the River from the Goodspeed Opera House, which was kind enough to treat our crew to a show during our last visit here two years ago. (No chasing the limelights for us this time, however.)
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1915 Hours
As the sun sets and the air cools, we serve dinner on the weather deck. Tonight we're having escalloped potatoes and ham with peas, followed by brownies for dessert.
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2000 Hours
After dinner, the students fetch their notebooks and gather back on the weather deck for a briefing on the coming data collection layover.
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The students will collect data at regular intervals from now until we leave at midday on Day Six -- even at night. Of course, this requires cooperation and coordination between crew mates!
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2030 Hours
The captain has each team present their research topic and offers some suggestions in turn. In some cases, students have prepped for experiments which are certainly interesting and challenging, but cannot be satisfactorily completed within the limits of our 40-hour window of opportunity. We suggest new avenues of study, and those teams choose new topics for themselves. (More on this in Presentations.)
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2115 Hours
The student crew prepares to collect data through the night during their anchor watch while we settle into the evening.
Tomorrow will bring a long, active day!
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