From the galley, written by Laurie Weitzen:

Part I: The Breakfast

For me each day always begins the night before. Knowing that at 0400, my usual waking hour, and no cognitive thought from my sleepy brain is not possible. Therefore, I usually try to plan what I will make for breakfast, the night before. "Tomorrow- scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns, fruit cereal and yogurt."

Unusually, on this particular morning, I am not the first to rise out from my bunk. Captain Sophie is futsing, getting ready for our 0445 departure from Norwalk, Ct back to homeport New Bedford, Ma. "Oh" I think. "Everyone else will be waking in 15 minutes. I’d better get the first pot of coffee started!"

There is a total of 13 people onboard including 11 crew, Bob Hansen- volunteer, and visiting 2000-season crew, Chelsea Rubin. As we depart the channel with Schooner Quinnipiack (see their website at: www.schoonersoundlearning.org/siboat.html) up ahead, there is talk of sending over our inflatable to "borrow" some of the crew to help us raise our main-sail. 2700 tons, the average weight of an SUV, with just 10 people available to raise her, our crew would be at it for quite sometime without any help. The sails are set, just as the sun begins to rise.

Cutting potatoes, onions frying bacon, cracking eggs- suddenly Captain Sophie is above talking at me from my hatch. A wake has sent the ship into a rollie-pollie motion, and in my gut I know what she is about to say. "Hurricane Erin is off shore, east of Bermuda. So though we won’t have to deal with Hurricane force winds, we might be seeing some swells from the affected seas." GREAT!! (Can you hear the sarcasm?) Maybe I’d better plan some easy yummy things to make, in case a bit of sea-sickness makes my way!!

Breakfast is served. Time for a nap.

II. Lunch Time

1100- "Oh no, I should have gotten up half an hour ago. What will I make? 1 ½ hours till I serve. Let’s see… Leftover chicken with peppers and onions, rice and black bean soup. Hmmm, Burritos. Maybe they won’t know that they have seen them before." "Oh yeah, don’t forget the oysters!" Through a connection made for us by a Norwalk Oyster Festival Volunteer, Patricia Solum, the Norman Bloom Oyster Company, in Norwalk, CT donated a huge amount of fresh oysters and clams to the ship’s crew. Having eaten ½ of them then evening before, people were already salivating for some more. Many of the crew learned a new shucking technique using their marlin spikes to pry open the shells.

Lunch on deck! With temperatures in the high 70’s, to which you can add 10-20 degrees in the galley with the oven on, and no breeze blowing, for this steward, it is always nice to have meals on deck.

Captain Sophie has given the crew a challenge. "Your mission, should you choose to accept it ~ is to be at "The Race" by 1700." The race is the line of demarcation with splits Long Island Sound from Block Island Sound. 12 hours away, which means we must average 5.8 knots (70/12=5.83). As I look at the GPS, it says we are making 7.1.

1445- I am surfing the buoy reports at www.ndbc.noaa.gov and the tropical storm information. Where is Erin? What will her track be? Will Ernestina be inside Buzzards Bay before any real swells make their way up north? It appears that South of Long Island, the buoy reports a wave height of 2.3ft, every 14.3 seconds coming from the ESE. All of this is important to me as I am prone to sea-sickness. Some might say I am psyching myself out!!!

The engine has been shut down. In the absolute quietness, I can hear the water slapping against the hull. The watch discusses chart positions as mileage over-ground, while our new apprentice questions the mate about cloud types for her boat check log entry.

III. And then there was Dinner

In order to "grab" a chart image of Ernestina at "The Race", I have stayed out of the galley a bit longer that I might have liked. I try to give myself at least two hours to prepare each meal. With just 13 onboard, a good portion of my time is used to think, cook and get a good bit of cleaning done while the food bakes. Tonight I will make lemon dill Flounder, some wild rice, sugar snap peas, and a salad. There is one crew who is allergic to fish and another who really doesn’t like it, so for them I will make lemon chicken. I can make some thing special for them, with such few people onboard. Dinner is served on deck just before sunset.

And don’t forget mid-night snack. Since we will be spending the night underway, it is important that the crew have something to snack on, to energize them during their evening watches- 1900-2300, 2300-0300, 0300-0700. "Brownies with white chocolate chips." I haven’t made that in a while.

Sophie announces that some sails will be lowered just after dinner. With an increasing threat of weather, thunderstorms crackling behind us in Long Island Sound, we lower the jib-top, and the main-sail, and turn on the D-sail (fondly how the diesel engine is referred to). We continue our 140 mile transit home.

Coffee and hot water are topped off. Snacks are set out on the table. Tomorrow’s breakfast will be pancakes with raspberry sauce, sausage, fruit, juice, cereal and yogurt.

My day is complete.

Captain: Sophie Morse
Program Coordinator: Inette Rex