Teacher Aboard

Yesterday was memorable. It was a pleasantly sunny day with a gentle breeze that was strong enough to keep us moving along nicely. Just being here is so unique. However, even by those standards, yesterday was anything but ordinary.

In order to get to know all the crew, I am rotating through the watches. I am now on B watch. My watch leader is Second Mate Amy, and my watch mates are Samantha and Sinker. B watch is called the "banker's watch" by the crew because it is closest to a soft lifestyle. I am on deck after breakfast from 0800 hours to noon, and after dinner from 2000 hours to midnight. Unless a lot of sail handling is required, I am not called on deck and so I'm able to sleep through the night. This watch also allows me to have the daytime hours of noon to dinner free to myself. The guys on C watch tell me not to get too comfortable. The toughest watch is yet to come!

Having the days free has given me a chance to watch dolphins. This time Andy put on a harness to climb down into the rig below the bow in an effort to touch the dolphins. So far only Kelly and Summer have touched them. I also spotted my second sea turtle! It looked to be about two feet across, and was poking its head up as it floated on the surface. It has been a real treat to see them.

OFF WATCH

The days are still hot and sticky. When we have a breeze, it is pleasant on deck, but humidity seldom leaves us. Today it was too hot to stay on deck during the off watch, so the galley table was the place to be. Two of the crew were reading, one was making a ditty bag for small tools, two others were working on celestial (star and sun) navigation problems, and I was typing my log.

It brought memories of days in the college dormitory with everyone working on their own projects in the activity room. We don't often play music because it uses battery power, but today we spoiled ourselves and popped a CD into the player. It was quite the "off watch" hub of activities. When it is cooler in the evening, some crew sit on the foredeck (front of the boat) to read, talk, or write in their journals. Even on a ship that is only 100 feet long, the crew is able to find their own "space." The small distances are respected, and people are left alone if they are engaged in some free time activity.

THE PRE-HAWAIIAN WARM UP CELEBRATION
or Pride II's Saturday Night Live

Today we had a special celebration. Captain Parrott declared a pre-dinner aft deck get together. An hour or so before sunset, we gathered on the aft deck by the helm to celebrate: our Hawaiian destination - Saturday night - sailing on the Pacific - or just "fair winds and the following sea." You could choose any reason, but when you consider where we are and where we are going, it is really pretty exciting. Anyway, it was a great idea to take some time to celebrate. Hawaiian punch was served in honor of our destination. If we showed up in our grubby clothes after a hot day on deck, the captain sent us below to rummage in our seabags for something more dressy. Amy, Kelly and Summer showed up in long flowered skirts. Jennifer went for the sports coat and shorts. Damion got a round of applause for his white shirt and tie. Dan wrapped a flowered cloth around his shorts for an Hawaiian flare, and Captain Parrott sported an Hawaiian shirt and straw hat.

A quality celebration needs music and so it should be. Andy played his harmonica as the Captain, Damion and Sinker plucked out a familiar song or two on their guitars. Dan was our man on rhythm adding to the musical numbers with his bongo accompaniment. Jennifer was featured on maracas while thoses of us who knew the words sang along. Now I don't mind admitting that it isn't often on a Saturday night in January that I find myself sailing the Pacific under a tropical sunset while sipping Hawaiian punch to the music of tall ship seafarers. Definitely memorable!

By day the dophins have put on quite a show, leaping as much as 15 feet out of the water and swimming in our bow wave. Tonight, however, they put on a special performance. The ocean contains tiny creatures called plankton which float in the water. Some of these guys give off sparkles of light or a glow when they are disturbed. This is called bioluminescence, and is it similar to how fireflies or lightning bugs produce light. Last night when we looked over the bow, we could see the sparkles in the glowing trails produced as the dolphins crossed back and forth in front of the ship. They reminded me of torpedo trails in old war movies on TV. A whole bunch of us were watching from the bow and cheering as we watched the dophins break off in pairs to the right, then zoom back to cross our bow. Like folks back home reacting to fireworks displays, our cheers reflected the spectacular show of the dophins. This was one of those shows of nature which you never forget!

CATCHING MICROSCOPIC CREATURES - PLANKTON

This is a journey of multiple missions. Aside from talking to you guys via the web, I have also been asked by Dr. Sherwood Hall, a scientist at the US Food and Drug Administration's Seafood Lab in Washington, DC, to collect and videotape microscopic creatures in the ocean called plankton. In general, plankton are either phytoplankton (plants) or zooplankton (animals). They float near the surface of the water and are mostly microscopic.

There is a food chain in the sea just as there is on land. On land the food chain may include grass, a mouse, a snake, and a hawk. In the ocean, the phytoplankton are the "grasses of the sea". The zooplankton are small animals which sometimes look a little like transparent (clear) lobsters, or they may be larval (newly hatched) forms of larger animals. The food chain in the ocean goes as follows:

• phtytoplankton (plants)
• zooplankton (animals)
• small fish
• larger fish
• BIG fish, and
• Pride of Baltimore II crew (if our fishing luck holds out!)

Dr. Hall is interested in the plankton in the Pacific because not all plankton are healthy for the fish which humans may eat. He is gathering data on where these plankton are located. Since we are crossing the Pacific Ocean, it's become one of those "While you're there would you mind. . . ?" kind of assignments. The bottom line is that whenever I have the chance, I tow a finely meshed net behind the ship for several minutes to collect plankton. Ideally the ship should be sitting still in the water, and the weighted net should go down 30 feet before being pulled to the surface. I smiled when this procedure was first described to me. Even as a newcomer to sailing aboard Pride II, I knew this ship with all her sails full was not going to stop to drop a net!

Captain Miles was funny when I explained what I wanted to do. "You will have to become good at judging moments of transition (change)," he said. In other words when the ship slows down for a reason, such as changing from sailing to powering as the wind dies, I should be there with my net. Basically he told me to look for "windows of opportunity." Recently we have had light air (wind), so I was able to tow the net. Even at 6 knots it required all our strength for John and I to pull it back in!

Anyway, we were rewarded for our efforts. Jennifer and Kelly helped me videotape our catch as we put the tiny critters on a slide under the microscope. Some of the zooplankton look like monsters with tentacles and legs everywhere. The phytoplankton are less exciting, taking the shapes of green or yellowish balls. Here's one last thought about plankton I would like to share. At a glimpse, the ocean looks clear deep blue with turquoise froth cresting on top of the waves. This would lead you to think that there is little contained in those waves. However, the plankton tow reveals a whole world of life which we depend upon not only as the bottom of the food chain in the ocean, but also as producers of oxygen. This is a fascinating world for kids to explore. If you live near Chesapeake Bay or a pond, you might want to make a planton tow to check out your local plankton population. Use a wire coat hanger for a loop, panty hose as a net, a plastic medicine bottle for a collection bottle, a weight, and a line - and you're ready to tow. Put your catch in a plastic ziplock bag, and keep it cool in a water bath until you get it to school. Take a peak through a microsocpe as soon as possible. Enjoy! (When I get back, the Pride II team and I will be making a videotape of my different plankton samples from across the Pacific. I hope you get a chance to see what I caught.)

AMY STRANGE

When Amy was a kid in Ohio, it seemed to her that the only people who grew up to be sailors were folks who chose to have a life at sea on ferries or tug boats. It wasn't until she was living in Alexandria, Virginia, that she became familiar with the circle of people who sail tall ships. She volunteered to crew on a three-masted schooner, called Alexandria, which was docked in Alexandria and occasionally sailed down the Bay. It was here that she began to accumulate the wealth of knowledge which she draws on today as our second mate. But this knowledge has been years in the making. For the past five seasons, she has served on the square rigger, Niagara, in various positions from cook to third mate. She will return to that ship as second mate after Pride II's tour of Asia.

However, you don't need to read Amy's biography to know that she has spent time at sea. Her calm easy style of commanding her watch comes from long experience. She is an interesting mix of no nonsense sailing with a sense of humor. In the middle of adjusting a deck line, it would be like Amy to say "Houston, we have a problem here" as a means of telling the crew that things are not going as planned. Her style is smooth, confident, and great fun to watch in action!

Amy also has those special qualities that make her an excellent teacher. I have enjoyed the way she applies these qualities to making me feel part of the crew. My sailing experience is of little use to me when faced with the complicated rigging of a tall ship. Amy has done a wonderful job of finding ways to include me in the crew work as I gradually learn what needs to be done. From this personal perspective (point of view), I have appreciated her efforts immensely.

Amy's appreciation for practicing what you know is constantly in action. Don't think for a minute that because Amy is second mate that she is always on the deck. It is not uncommon to find her high in the rig checking for chaff or performing a bit of maintenance. Presently she is working on increasing the level of her captain's license. (She now holds a license that authorizes her to pilot a 100 ton vessel on the inland waters or in coastal waters within 25 miles of shore.) Amy is quick to remind me "that passing the test is only one of the parts of being qualified. It's putting it into practice at sea that really qualifies you for the job." As part of this process, I often see her sighting stars with a sextant to practice her celestial navigation. During our off watch yesterday, she was making a ditty bag, and today she baked a cake. It seems understated to say that she is a woman of many talents!

Amy is also a mom. Back home in Pennsylvania she has a husband, and two grown boys (the youngest is 21). While she is away on this Asia tour, her husband, Dave Horvath, will be moving their home to Milwaukee where he is starting a new job. It must be the nineties. The "wife" is at sea while the better half keeps things straight on the home front!

The wind has been building to 20 knots. Captain Parrott said we might be finally reaching the trade winds. He started a contest for all of us to guess our arrival date in Hawaii. The deadline for entries in our lure contest has been postponed to Tuesday. Some of our crew is having trouble meeting the deadline. While we're on this topic, have you thought of what you would put together to win the lure making contest? Do you fish? Maybe you guys could have a lure design contest of your own! Test driving will be a problem for you, but I am sure you can think of some way to determine winning categories!

Now that I am not such a "greenhorn," we will start to learn what all these strings do! In my next log we will start to talk about crew work aboard Pride II. We will also meet Samantha!

Looking for lures,
Leslie Bridgett

YOUR THOUGHTS

1. How is the main salon's galley table similar to a "family room" in a house?
2. Imagine living and working for a month with 13 strangers in one room of a house with access to a large porch with limited use of electronics for entertainment. What problems would you expect to occur? How would you feel about the lack of space and privacy?
3. What are some of the reasons the crew wanted to celebrate? You can be "rich" either by getting more or desiring less. Based on your life TODAY, make a list of all the reasons you count yourself lucky.
4. What caused the glowing trail of light behind the dolphins at night?
5. Why are phytoplankton called the "grasses of the sea"?
6. In a food chain, each animal is dependent on smaller ones that it eats for food. Predict what might happen if pollution killed all the zooplankton in the ocean.
7. Some pollutants bio-accumulate (are passed from one animal to the one who eats it) in the food chain. With this thought, why is Dr. Sherwood Hall interested in toxic (poisonous) microscopic plankton that are too small for humans to eat?
8. Describe the procedure for making your own plankton net and taking a sample from a nearby waterway.
9. Amy Strange said that, "It is important to remember that even after passing a test, it is putting it into practice that really qualifies you for the job." How does this apply to driving a car?

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