Well we did it! Izac sighted our first land, the northern tip of Guadeloupe today just after 12! Ollie was closest to betting the exact time but went over by about half an hour, Wika was the winner with 8 am today - well done all around!

As we get closer and closer to our first port stop, Dominica, I am filled with mixed emotions. I am eagerly awaiting our first glimpse of land (and to see who will win the Land Ho bet) and to find out if you can really smell land like some people have said.

Growing up, I wasn’t allowed to watch TV or movies and the only entertainment we had was the entertainment we created for ourselves. My childhood was marked with grand, fantastical make-believe adventures lasting for weeks at a time

Today marks our 21st day on the Corwith Cramer. Three weeks and many long nights later we are almost at the end of our journey.

Halloween festivities included:
- Decorated ship with home-made donuts to start the day!  Thanks Galley

Over the course of the past few days, it has become increasingly common to overhear people exclaiming how quickly our time on board is passing. Today marks our 20th day – we have officially passed the halfway point of our journey!

This is my second consecutive year doing the trip south and oh how different those two trips have been. This year, like last year, started a little later than planned and this year, like last year, we stopped in at the Sakonnet River, but this year, unlike last year, I am sailing for the first time as third assistant scientist!

Day 18:  Another beautiful day here aboard the Cramer in the sub-tropical convergence zone of the Atlantic Ocean.  Today, students spent time learning the ropes of whipping, seizing and eye splicing for our Nautical Science class this afternoon.

Day 17: this is one of my favorite points during the trip. Behind us are the days in the beginning of the voyage where the students, wide-eyed and perhaps a bit overwhelmed by their immersion in a new and totally alien environment, careen from helm to lookout to lab as they try to learn the language of the ship, how to steer a course and plot a position, and how to count copepods through a microscope while timing the roll of the ship.

Life on a tall ship is very different from life on land. Everything is always moving, you sleep at the weirdest times, and six meals a day is totally normal. However, at just over two weeks in, the Cramer feels like a home and all these eccentricities feel as though it is just how life is meant to be.