C-285 students are all aboard and ready to depart for the high seas!  The full ship’s company have spent the past day and a half preparing for the voyage, orienting themselves to safety, lab operations, sailing, and life aboard their new 134-ft drifting home away from home.  We’ll set sail tomorrow on our voyage through the Sargasso Sea from Key West, FL, to Bermuda, to New York City.

Greetings from the SSV Corwith Cramer docked at the Stock Island Marina Village near Key West, Florida. Today, class number C-285 joined the ship for the sea component of the Marine Biodiversity and Conservation Program (MBC).

The students of SEA Semester class S-285, Oceans & Climate, have all arrived safely in New Zealand and are now settled in aboard their home for the next five-and-a-half weeks, the SSV Robert C. Seamans. Be sure to follow their voyage on this blog.

The students of Class S-285, Oceans & Climate, join the SSV Robert C. Seamans in Lyttelton, New Zealand on March 28th. The voyage ends in Papeete, Tahiti on May 4th, after port stops in the Chatham Islands and Raiatea.

Students of Class C-285, Marine Biodiversity & Conservation, join the SSV Corwith Cramer on March 28th in Key West, Florida.  The voyage ends on May 4th in New York City, after a port stop in Bermuda.

As a third-generation resident of Cuttyhunk and an aquaculture pioneer, Seth Garfield, W-23, has made a career on the water and he credits SEA Semester for much of his success.

An active member of the SEA community, Seth’s involvement began in 1975, when he enrolled in SEA Semester as a senior in high school.  He was the youngest in the class—most other students were juniors from Cornell University. His captain was John Metcalfe, and the first mate was Wallace Stark. Wallace went on the sail many voyages as SEA Captain and, as Marine Superintendent, led the design and construction of the SSV Corwith Cramer.

As I write this, spring is just around the corner. You would think that the cold, winter months are the not-so-busy-time for SEA’s shore facilities coordinator. On the contrary! I may not be out and about as much, but my days are filled with planning and coordinating our much-needed springtime maintenance activities. I’m fortunate this year to have a six-week window of opportunity to get some larger improvement projects done that would otherwise interrupt student life here on campus.

SEA Semester in the News
Allegheny College Student Spending Semester Sailing through Waters of New Zealand
Allegheny College News

Allegheny College student Luke Kellett, an environmental studies major and political science minor from Pasadena, Maryland, is among a select group of 26 undergraduates from diverse U.S. institutions who are spending this semester sailing through the waters of New Zealand.

After six weeks together and 2139 miles sailed, SEA Semester Class C-284 has come to a close. Following a wonderful “swizzle” last night on the quarterdeck and this morning’s graduation ceremony, students are heading on to all sorts of spring endeavors: back to college, internships, jobs or travel.

One thousand nine hundred and ninety eight nautical miles, one thousand five hundred and thirty six eggs, and over eight hundred cookies later we have arrived at the end of our voyage.

This day has been a whirlwind of emotions and envirox as we spent our final day aboard the Seamans.