A Day in the Life of a Student at Sea

Dawn watch is going well. Andrea is at the wheel, Tony off on a boat-check, and Vu and Britta have the neuston tow under control. We are looking for myctophids, for one of the science projects, and our chief scientist, Jeff Schell thinks they might be out by the light of the full moon.

I just woke up Laura (our steward), and Ken is the assistant stew for the day, meaning we will probably have sandwiches for lunch and spaghetti for dinner. We set the tables for breakfast, and the stove is on. Pancakes maybe?

C-watch is straggling up to deck, coffees in hand. The sunrise was beautiful this morning, and we have started to see outlines of the Caribbean islands. It has been 22 days since we stepped on hard soil, and Bequia will be our first port of call.

C-watch took over on deck, we headed down below for a great breakfast, and now it’s time for a little dawn cleanup (somehow there is no lack of dust and sand in the middle of the ocean, quite a mystery).

After a mid-morning nap, most of B-watch is up on deck, catching up on reading, working on some sail projects—diddy bags, twine bracelets—and enjoying the Caribbean sunshine. Bryan, Jenna, Laura, Tony, and I got together for some reading, and Ken is still desperately trying to figure out the guitar. A few people are aloft, checking out the lay of the land.

Class called to order. After the ship report, Captain Dave sent us out on a buoy chase. We threw one of the rescue buoys overboard and had to circle back to pick it up. It takes a lot of sail handling, delegation, and some yelling, but both groups did a decent job, although a small fishing boat thought we had actually lost something and motored our buoy back over to us. After class, we met up with our partners to get some work done on our projects; rough drafts are due next week.

Just finished up a delicious spaghetti dinner, in time to write a quick journal entry and head on deck for evening watch. I’m in the lab tonight, probably doing 100 counts, and maybe a little data analysis for my project. We are scheduled to arrive in Bequia around 7:15, so all hands have to be available for the quick sail handling and manning the anchor.

We have safely set anchor. It is so bizarre to hear the voices and music from shore, especially since the last land we saw was Nantucket’s Great Light under a cold gray sky. Tonight’s watches have been split up, since we only need two people awake for anchor watch and boat checks. Tomorrow we get to set down on Bequia’s sandy shore, and the first place I’m heading is the ice cream shop.

Off watch and it’s time for bed. Another long day, and I throw myself into my bunk. It’s warm below deck, and my thoughts drift to the cold November wind that must be blowing in Woods Hole. Tomorrow will be a day of new adventures (and some swimming on a tropical beach), and in a few days, we will be back on open water. Signing off.

The first wake-up call. Jenna pulls aside my curtain and starts singing a good-morning song; good-morning songs should be illegal. "Beccah, it's time to get up. The wind is blowing lightly you should grab a jacket. The stars are out and there are brownies and fresh coffee for snack."

The second wake-up call. Jenna stops by again on her way back through, checking to make sure everyone’s bunk lights are on. As A-watch is wrapping up a successful mid-watch, we, the members of B-watch, are getting ready for the dawn shift.

The 8 members of B-watch huddle around the night orders in the dog house, some with a cup of coffee and others starting in on the brownies. The plan is for a neuston tow, and some good sailing—hopefully with a couple of star sights.