I can’t explain how much this leg has opened my eyes to certain things. Leaving Bermuda was pretty interesting. Sailing on a much larger scale of ship is pretty amazing and unique. From previous tall ship experiences “Mama Cramer” takes the cake on how slow she is at her top speed of 7 knots, but she’s pretty sweet. Sailing into open water gave me that thrilling rush, teaching me what to expect in upcoming days.

We’ve whipped our way out of Bermuda, wearing a little extra paint off of our starboard side from the steady port tack. After sailing for the last four days set for maximum sail area, the trip towards the coast has been pushing a zesty seven or eight knots. After taking our stop ashore and watching the little island of Bermuda fade into the distance, it has strange to take in how familiar and consistent the ocean can sometimes be.

The wind has picked up and there are sizeable swells today - not the smooth, sunny conditions we’ve enjoyed since leaving Bermuda. It’s just after lunch and conditions may be classified as “sporty” as we approach the counter-current of the Gulf Stream - about Force 7 on the Beaufort Scale.

Hi,

Three days out from Bermuda. I’ve found that the first three days out from port prove to be the most taxing, both mentally and physically, as we have to readjust to the watch schedule, motion of the ocean, and extreme self-containment of sea life. That said, tomorrow is looking up. After a long dawn watch and 3 total hours of sleep last night I’m more than ready to sleep from 0100 to 1100 tonight after evening watch.

SEA Semester in the News
by Emily Duggan, Staff Writer, The New Hampshire

Ella Cedarholm, a University of New Hampshire student, always knew she wanted a “unique” study abroad experience, but never thought she would do so on the SSV Robert C. Seamans, a 134’ tall ship.

From Lee, New Hampshire, Cedarholm has sailed all her life, both competitively through the UNH sailing team, and with her family up the coast of Maine on their 26’ Bristol.

Read the full article here.

SEA Semester in the News
Heading out to SEA
Sailors for the Sea blog

SEA Semester student Alex Merkle-Raymond, from Northeastern University, is currently sailing aboard the SSV Corwith Cramer and sending regular dispatches to Sailors for the Sea as their Onboard Reporter.  Here’s a compilation of recent reports, filed as Alex departed Nassau, Bahamas.

Waking up for morning watch today, there was no question that we have experienced a change in our horizons here on the Robert C Seamans.

I, and I am sure a majority of my fellow students, were tired from the day before as we worked furiously to finalize the research projects into which we have put so much time over the past 10 weeks.

Wow, what a day this has been. I started the day off with two hours of sleep before Dawn Watch, which probably wasn’t the best idea, but I was able to get a lot of things done the night before. The watch itself was amazingly calm and finished itself off with a stunning, cloud-scaped sunrise that I got to experience firsthand from the bow.

There are brief snippets of time in my life when everything aligns, there is a lightness in my heart and smile on my face, and I experience what I call “capital ‘G’ Good moments.” They’re not always the moments that get photographed, but those that I carry with me wherever I go. In order to understand the best of the best of times on this boat and the people who live on it, I have compiled a list of these moments from our community aboard the Robert C. Seamans.

Last night marked our entrance into the French Polynesian EEZ, meaning a point of land is just a short 200 nautical miles away. This is the closest we have been to land since leaving the Chatham Islands three weeks ago. Almost as if in celebration, the wind and the sea cooperated for a brief few hours last night and we were lucky enough to have what many of the staff called “the best sail the Seamans has to offer.”