The Freshness of Dominica:
When you find yourself in the natural harbor of Portsmouth you cannot ignore the dense wall of green the volcanic mountains created by Dominica. They scream to the weary sailor, “YOU ARE HERE AND YOUR TOILS HAVE PAID OFF!” Dominica is not the kind of country I was expecting at all. It was so lively; within five minutes of being on land I saw a scooter doing wheelies in the street. A small insignificant event to probably everybody around me but for some reason it warmed my heart.

Today as I start my blog post, I think back to our amazing port stop in Dominica. This was not an island I had heard of before I came to SEA Semester, but while on it I fell in love with its mountainous terrain and natural wonders. I was walking with a group of friends, Michaela (Big Mike), Maddy, Lukas, and Will, when a man came up to us and offered us a tour to go see a waterfall. Maybe it’s the atmosphere of being in an entirely new place, but on a whim our group accepted the tour of this licensed guide.

Three days in port, now once again the crew of the SSV Corwith Cramer is taking turns standing watch on deck as we sail our ship towards the French Exclusive Economic Zone off Guadeloupe. The port stop in Dominica was rich in many ways. The locals opened up to the students allowing them to acquire valuable information for their projects and gain unique insight into the lives, economy and culture of this Eastern Caribbean nation.

Our second day in Dominica consisted of a field trip to the Kalinago territory led by our tour guide Patrice. The Kalinago are the indigenous people from Dominica. We took a bumpy car ride that took about an hour to get us to the other side of the island, but offered stunning views of the mountainous and vegetative island. Our first stop on the tour was at David’s Cassava Bakery! Here we learned about the history of the vegetable as a native staple and how the technological advancements in David’s shop helped popularize cassava into a ready-made food that he could quickly make into bread for sale.

All C-271 students are safely aboard SSV Corwith Cramer here in Gallows Bay, St. Croix.  This evening, we conducted some orientation training and safety discussions to make sure everyone is comfortable aboard our fine vessel. After a wonderful dinner provided by our steward, Kate, students are now finishing up packing into their bunks and starting to get sleepy.

Good afternoon from the SSV Corwith Cramer. This morning Williams-Mystic S17 went ashore in St John, U.S. Virgin Islands.  As the sun rose, we took the small boat ashore to gather on an empty beach for class and snorkeling. Prof. Mike Nishizaki and I discussed the geography, geology, conservation, and reef ecology of St John. Next, TA Hannah Whalen reviewed snorkeling safety.  Students put their notebooks down, and then paired up to explore the reef a few steps away.  As we swam, pelicans dove for small fish.

We arrived in San Juan harbor early yesterday afternoon under light winds and calm seas, very different from the weather in which we had departed at the start of our voyage. The afternoon featured a field day to give our beloved Cramer a much-deserved cleaning, followed by a round of student research presentations on our quarterdeck classroom. The students did an excellent job with this, and it was exciting to see all that they had accomplished during the 10-day program.

Today was a day unlike the last six or seven. I was woken up around 1030 after a much needed long night’s rest, and was told we were going swimming! That was quite a change of pace from being awoken at 0620 for watch duties. I put on my swim suit and went up on deck to find we were anchored in beautiful Sun Bay off of an island called Vieques. About an hour later, we got debriefed on all the swimming rules, and then they let us go at it!

Welcome to the SEA Miami of Ohio program. I’m happy to report that, after an arduous day of air travel yesterday, all 16 Miami of Ohio participants (14 students, their professor Rachael Morgan-Kiss, and TA Shasten Sherwell) all boarded the Corwith Cramer in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico at 1100 this morning.  After a quick muster on the quarterdeck for introductions, we transited the ship to a nearby anchorage in San Juan Harbor, blissfully leaving hordes of noisy passing cruise ship tourists behind.

The evening air is drenched in sweet tunes pouring from the lips and fingers of our talented crew as students and staff alike swing about the science deck, yet again, entrenched in a jovial contra dance. The dancing and giggling is only briefly and occasionally interrupted by the dregs of a hilariously long game of “mafia” and for short sips of secret recipe swizzle juice and cookies.