We are once again together and underway after spending three days anchored in Prince Rupert Bay, Dominica. Each watch had two days on land to explore the island and one day working on the ship to give Mama Cramer some well-deserved love.

This morning, the taste of Ting (a local grapefruit soda - think Squirt but so much better) still tickling my taste buds,  we jumped right back into watch rotations, “rotating home” or back to our original watch officers for our last three days underway.

Dominica was great! We had so much fun touring the island, cities, and rainforests! Of our two days ashore, one was spent exploring on our own, and the other was spent on the planned excursion. The individuals of A Watch traveled far and wide on Dominica: from Roseau to Portsmouth, Cabrits to Toucarie Bay, and even the north shore. We swam in a gorgeous waterfall, hiked a nature trail, and forged our way into a freshwater swimming hole.

Kia Ora!

After a brief stint in Napier, most of us were surprisingly relieved to return home to the boat and get underway. Though land has its perks (Netflix and espresso in particular), the routine of the boat is comforting and allows ample time for appreciating the beauty around us.

Yesterday, as many of the ship’s company sat enjoying our regular Poetry Time, we were treated to a spectacular sunset, a full moon rising under a pink glow, and dolphins leaping in our wake all at the same time.

Cruisin’ on down Main Street, you’re relaxin’, feelin’ good. Next thing that you know you see an octopus in your neighborhood!

As the trip is winding down, I’ve been thinking a lot about how I would sum up this experience to my friends and family. Really, its a pretty familiar story: A small group of students in a non-conventional learning environment (focused on science) traveling to exotic locations in what often feels like a magical vessel. Yes, I am making a Magic School Bus reference. Honestly though, it is a very appropriate analogy.

From the perspective of a tourist seeking adventure, Dominica blew us away with its natural beauty and friendly citizens. On shore we wrote about how to improve tourism on Dominica to increase climate resilience, with an emphasis on promoting ecotourism activities such as hiking through rainforests to waterfalls, snorkeling, and enjoying the immense amount of untouched natural beauty on the island.

“In the end, we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we
understand and we will understand only what we are taught.” —Baba Dioum

Today was another “land day” for the students and crew of the Bobby C. We jumped off the ship at 0745 this morning and onto the waiting bus for a winding ride through the bucolic New Zealand countryside.

SEA Semester in the News
Sea Change: Students Set Sail for Ocean Research
By Glenn Jochum
SBU Happenings

Two Stony Brook University students traveled to a remote part of the world this past summer with the hope of contributing to big global change.

Ruthann Monsees ’16, Alexandra Bonecutter ’17 and 21 other crew mates set sail in a brigantine, the SSV Robert C. Seamans, from Hawaii to the Phoenix Islands Protected Area of Kiribati. Their assignment: to study the pristine atolls there and the effects of climate change. The ship on which they sailed is operated by Sea Education Association (SEA), which offers the SEA Semester program, an accredited study abroad initiative. SEA is based on Cape Cod in the oceanographic research community of Woods Hole, Massachusetts.

Ruthann, who grew up on Long Island, hails from Hauppauge, while Alexandra calls Cincinnati, Ohio, home. Despite their disparate geographic settings, these two young scientists were both drawn to the maritime from an early age.

Ruthann and Alexandra met for the first time in a physics class earlier this year. Ruthann told a friend in class she had been accepted to the SEA Semester program and Alexandra overheard her and told her she had been accepted as well.

READ FULL STORY

After a voyage full of hard work, learning, and science we finally made it across the Atlantic, finding ourselves in a place that looked like paradise. Many of us had different feelings about seeing land: sad, nervous, excited, confused, bewildered, and overwhelmed. After being at sea for a month, the plethora of lights on land was somewhat shocking. On the other hand, the majority of land was lush green mountainous terrain. We had one day of work and festivities on the boat to acclimate at Anchor.

We saw actual kiwis today! Our second day in port was off to a fantastic start with a visit to the National Aquarium of New Zealand-a convenient 20 minute walk from the port. Contrary to popular belief, kiwis are not tiny birds-they are chicken-sized. Lorna’s fun fact is that kiwis technically have the shortest beak of all bird species because the length of the beak is measured from the nostrils. We also saw the highly-anticipated feeding of the penguins, frightening spiny lobsters, and a huge sea turtle.

So here we are, in Dominica!! All day we were within sight of land, getting closer and closer to our destination. The first contact I personally had with the Caribbean was hearing marine weather reports in French, broadcast from Martinique. I really wasn’t expecting to hear familiar French after 29 days living on a tall ship in the middle of the ocean. We then met the smells of Dominica, a moist earthy tropical rain forest aroma. Shortly after, its mountains (tallest point of the Caribbean) towered before us as we crept our way into the Prince Rupert Bay.