Provincetown Harbor to Aucoot Cove in Buzzards Bay through the Cape Cod Canal.

Wind: SW Force 2
Seas: Calm
Temperature: 20C
Pressure: 30.30"Hg

Written by C watch: Owen Jensen Granich, Esther Pounds Julia Kelly, Richard Henderson, Meghan Curtiss, Jason Merryman, & Ryan Driscoll

Call us "sea" watch,  Arghh!  Some time ago, I don't know how long precisely, on August the second our story begins.  Now as every sailor keeps a tale of the ship and seas, so do we!  Ours is a tale of courage in the face of the unknown, of trials and victories, of the fair Schooner Ernestina.

We begin as a blood red moon sinks towards the horizon of Buzzards Bay and the Gods ready their fiery chariot for morn.  As the vigilant anchor watch stood alert, a figure could be seen, a shadow about the deck.  In the bright light of a full moon we could identify her as Barbara.  It seemed to be a sailors case of sleepwalking and we steered her back on course to her foc'sle bunk below.  Arghh!   A call is made out for all hardy crew to rise and the ship begins to stir in the dark.  I tell you mates!  With the sun not up yet we had to haul up that anchor and before it was secure the wind had filled our sails.  Arghh!

As we sailed through Cape Cod Canal we shimmied aloft while others kept watch from out on the bowsprit.  We has scant seconds of rest before the choppy waters of Buzzards Bay assailed our brave ship.  The crew then prepared for an otter trawl!

Scowling the bay floor for those benthic monsters of lore!  As the crew put their backs into hauling in the net, a view of the world under our keel emerged.  Flounder, sea bass, whelks, and sea robins were our catch.  As the net was emptied midships, one could feel a sense of the old fishing vessel coming back to her roots.  Arghhh!

Since we were all covered in grime we braved the heights of the Ernestina bowsprit to leap into the angry sea.  We peeled off the layers of mud as was done in days of old, and soon the manly scent of Strawberry Suave wafted through the ship.

As challenges never cease at sea, we tested our wits in a race to identify the many parts of the ship.  Luckily "sea" watch had the guidance of Erika Boulware's imparted knowledge to place them above the rest in a first place victory.  Arghh!

As the day waned into night the accumulation of our efforts took their toll.  Arghh.  Gathered midships, now cleaned of fish and mud, we settled into a round of sea shanties.  As the sweet melody of Erika and the sailors drifted through the rigging, we all paused, happy and tired, to show our love for the fair Schooner Ernestina.

You can see the overall track for the first four days on the chart image to the bottom right.

Captain: Willi Bank
Program Coordinator: Crista Mellican