During a cruise with SEA Semester, there are many truly amazing things that happen and (for some reason) they always get all the attention on the blog. So this blog post is about a mundane comfort on the ship that is hardly ever mentioned. The title requires an explanation.

When I was a young girl, I used to feel lonely when I woke up in the middle of the night.  Night was a time to be sleeping, and I would spend hours trying to force sleep to come even when it couldn’t - counting the minutes and hours impatiently.  But here on the boat, we are asked to be up at odd hours.

SEA Semester in the News
URI student joins SEA Semester to study coral reef ecology on tall ship ocean research voyage
URI Today

Woods Hole, Mass. - Dec. 4, 2018 - The Sea Education Association has announced that University of Rhode Island senior marine biology major Sharil Deleon is on an ocean research voyage this fall to study human impact on Caribbean coral reef ecosystems. Through SEA Semester: Caribbean Reef Expedition, which is offered by Sea Education Association, the Central Falls native, together with other students with a variety of academic interests, is conducting guided field research at sea sailing through the Lesser Antilles to St. Croix, US Virgin Islands.

Compared to a typical college classroom, teaching maritime studies at sea presents some unique challenges. Time is particularly precious aboard the

Corwith Cramer: while she is underway, one third of students are standing watch at any given moment.

I really can’t believe it is December. Growing up in Wisconsin I got used to snow and negative temperatures in the winter. Going to school in Oregon I got used to chilly rain. But I have never experienced a December with clear blue skies (minus the squalls) and temperatures fit for shorts and tank tops.

This morning we anchored in Tobago Cays and prepared for our first survey off the Cramer. The area that we decided to survey is in a Marine Protected Area (MPA) in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Eager to get in the water after a couple of days at sea we all shuttled into the small boats and headed towards the reef.

Hello Friends!

Today was filled with sails and science! At 1300 the Cramer, having logged 85.5 nautical miles, was positioned at about 11˚26.8’N x 61˚37.9’W.  Wind and waves came from ESE and wind speeds were about 7-10 knots.  The sky was filled with altocumulus clouds but on deck it was pretty hot with a temperature of 30˚C.

Evening twilight approaches.  We are close-reaching under Main, Main Staysail, Fore Staysail, Jib and Jib Topsail (affectionately known as the JT), steering SSE in the light Force 3 (7 - 10 knots) Easterly Trade Winds. The students are getting their sea-legs on this first day underway, adjusting to the ‘motion in the ocean.’

Welcome to the SSV Corwith Cramer!  The students of class C283 could not be more excited.  True, they have enjoyed their time in Grenada, but this is what they signed up for.  The opportunity to join the crew of the Cramer and sail through the Caribbean; and all the while, learn about the coral reef ecology of each island we visit.

If you’ve read all of our posts diligently, you may have noticed that we students have become much more than classmates. We often revel in the miracle of having met, wondering what it would’ve been like if we had chosen a different SEA program, or chosen a different way to spend this semester altogether.