1200 hours

Ship's Position: Docked at Peckham Materials in Athens, NY.
Latitude: 42˚ 16.2' N
Longitude: 073˚ 48.1' W

Day One of the Half Moon pilot video project.

The crew has been hard at work all morning with final preparations for the voyage.

The students arrive in groups around noon. No wonder they didn't all arrive at once: we have crew members coming in from the Albany/Rensselaer region and Westchester County here in New York State, and still more students from the East Hartford area in Connecticut!

Once the students arrive, our senior crew greet them (and invite their parents on board for a quick tour). For the most part, all of our students already know at least one or two of their fellow crew, but Mr. Boudreau leads the group in some team-building games so everyone can get to know their new shipmates.

1300 hours

Once everyone's reacquainted with each other, it's time for the students to refresh their shipcraft skills, including harness training, a safety briefing from the captain, and even (especially) retraining in using the head.

Mouse over to call "Action!"

Our initial plan is to have the crew spend the day settling into their roles. While Mr. Woodworth and his crew learn their way around the video equipment, the students practice coiling lines and working the sails.

1700 hours

Well, that's the initial plan, anyway. Weather forecasts indicate that we're likely to see a week of muggy, still weather interspersed with violent thunderstorms. Today's certainly hot and muggy, but a westerly wind is begging to be chased. This may be our best opportunity to sail all week! Leaving Mr. Woodworth and his assistants Ms. Niehaus and Mr. Linehan on shore with the camera, we grab sound man Cardoza and sail off the dock.

We spend the rest of the day following the fluky winds up and down the northern end of Athens Channel, parading back and forth for the benefit of Mr. Woodworth's camera crew.

Of course, we aren't sailing just for the sake of capturing glamour shots of the Half Moon. This is a sailing ship, after all, and our crew came here to sail!

1830 hours

Mr. Wolfe serves Mexican lasagna for dinner, and our hungry crew quickly "wolfs" down seconds. We save plenty of dinner (and brownie desserts) for the filming crew on shore.

1945 hours

Many filmmakers refer to the last hour before sunset as the "golden hour." The golden light cast by the setting sun produces the richest, most dramatic lighting of the day, so we keep on sailing, taping, and practicing our canvas bucket- and leadline-slinging skills right through sunset. Admittedly, on a midsummer shoot, that does make for a pretty late work day, but everyone keeps their energy up.

1030 hours

With the sun down, we return to our waiting camera crew at Peckham Materials and once again secure our docking lines. As evening turns to night, the crew settles in on the orlop deck, relaxes, and ultimately, calls it a day.

Next Time: Scene One, Take One!