Teacher Aboard Logs

Howdy O' Doody!!

I wanted to say hello in Irish, but this is the best I can do at the moment! You see, although we arrived last night at 10:30 PM, we haven't been ashore yet. Earlier today we had gale conditions and now everybody is busy with ship duties. So I thought I'd tell you about our trip from Oslo to Ireland.

We left Oslo on Thursday, September 21st at 10:30 AM. The morning was so beautiful that I decided to take a couple of pictures from aloft. With Dayle as an escort, (since it was my first time up), I climbed up to the foremast cap which is roughly 70 feet in the air. And this is how it looked behind us.

This is how it looks straight down.

Dayle took this picture of me enjoying the sights! Little did I know that we were headed for a completely different weather pattern!

Storm at Sea

Late in the day, we saw this oil rig in the distance. The seas were already starting to build, so we knew we were in for a blow.

The first thing that had to be done was put up the lifelines, so Paul and Dayle wove and attached lifelines to both sides of the boat. As you can see, the seas were already building.

The captain ordered the crew to reef in the main (reduce the sail area by tying down a portion of the foot of the sail). The first mate, Chris Flansberg, had to climb out to make adjustments to the lines. Here he is beginning his trek outward.

And here he is doing a balancing act over the sea!

As the weather continued to worsen, we had to reduce our sail area even further and secure things in the face of the storm. This photograph of the crew on the jibboom securing the sails on the headrig may be the most exciting and telling of all. The jibboom is often called the "widowmaker" due to the number of lives that have been lost while tending sails on it! The worst of the weather lasted through Friday and Saturday.

Saturday night I was feeling better, although I still carried a knot in my stomach. I managed to keep all of my meals down and continued to drink lots of water. I stood my watch and fought off the queasiness. I hoped I'd be able to conquer this seasickness without medication! As the evening went on, the storm abated and left the next watch with better conditions than they'd seen in a few days!

Ahoy Scotland!

The next morning the fog and drizzle lifted, and we were greeted by the coast of Scotland!

The sunrise even treated us to a great rainbow off the coastline. We wondered about leprechauns and pots of gold!

During the day, we had some visitors that brought smiles to everybody aboard. We saw a whale in the distance, but it was too far away for a picture. But here are some shots of some different friends racing along our bow. Recognize them?

We had some gorgeous weather so the crew had time for deck work, duties, and hobbies. Christopher and John were certainly happy as they celebrated at the wheel!

I've been asked by several students if we can fish on Pride II. The answer is yes, but only with a hand line because poles do not work well. This is what our hand line looks like trailing the boat. We haven't caught anything lately, but we hope to as we move further south. I'll let you know as soon as we do!

Christine and P.J. took this opportunity to work on their Celestial Navigation. P.J. (on the right) takes a siting with the sextent, while Christine checks their figures.

In the meantime, the 1st Mate was below making a pair of socks. Sewing and knitting are quite popular with some of the crew. They can make their own garments and it's a great way to pass the time.

I was up on deck learning how to put a "whipping" on a line. The whipping is used to finish the line and keep it from fraying.

Pamela's birthday was cause for celebration, so Andy made a cake and we all joined in for the song. Happy Birthday, Pamela!

Go to Part 2 of the September 27, 2000 Log