SEA Semester in the NEWS
THE BRINK, Pioneering Research at BU
“Field Report: What’s It Like to Sample Sea Life in the Remote Pacific”
Video by Devin Hahn

Article and video about Allie Cole, who sailed with S-287, Protecting the Phoenix Islands, during the summer of 2019.

SEA Semester in the NEWS
UMSL Daily
“Biochemistry and biotechnology major Sharla Friend spends semester of discovery at sea”
By Steve Walentik

Sharla Friend has had a couple months now to readjust to life on land.

A ship on the ocean distills the idea of movement. It’s the underlying force. We pitch and yaw and roll, and learn that walking in socked feet will end in sliding. It’s all about finding the balance between bracing and moving to the ocean’s rhythm.

This morning started off slow with a late wake-up for A Watch as we had watch till 1 AM last night. I slowly rose out of my bunk in the forward ship and made my way to grab some waffles. Watch began at 13:00 and A watch had the privilege of making sure we stayed on the right course as we began to approach Fiji.

If you’ve read any previous blogs, you may have learned or seen that life on a ship is fairly different from life on land. Our physical location, being on the open ocean on a sailing ship, is only one defining factor of our experience.

“Two turns right!” Allison, our chief mate, shouts.

“Two turns right!” I call out. Grabbing the top spoke of the helm, I rotate the wheel, my hand moving from my shoulders to my ankles to my shoulders and then to my ankles one more time and then the turns are complete, each movement more difficult than the next.

Daily life aboard our new home is filled with not only fun and adventure but also knowledge and experiences that we will never forget. It’s really easy not to notice how much we are actually learning because of how exciting everything is.

Perched upon the narrow wooden platform, partially up the foremast, I secured myself to the shrouds with my black and gold harness. I dangled my toes over the edge, 40 feet above the surface of the ocean. My harness straps pinched my thighs as I scooted closer to overcautiously grasp the sturdy rigging. I

SEA Semester in the NEWS
WBUR (Boston NPR)
“Millions Of Tons Of Plastic Are Dumped In The Ocean Every Year. We Don’t Know Where Most Of It Ends Up”

For nearly 50 years, the Sea Education Association has taken college students sailing on the ocean to study biology. During the weeks-long voyages, students drag a plankton net (imagine a super-long butterfly net) next to the ship twice a day and study what they catch.

Today is special. It’s my 17th birthday! I was “lucky” enough to have the late night watch, which meant I was awake when the clocked struck twelve. My pals rushed me over to lab the minute it was past twelve to show off a new zooplankton they found, but all I found as I opened the curtain to a dimly lit laboratory was not a rare new breed of zooplankton.