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Date: Thursday, May 30, 2002
Auburn Middle School, 7th Grade Class

The beginning of today's sail began with a workout. Auburn middle school seventh graders helped the Ernestina crew in raising the four lower sails - the mains'l, the fores'l, the jumbo, and the jib. Once outside the inner harbor, the ship's company was met with a gentle Southwesterly breeze as well as fog, fog and more fog. Bow watch was extra alert for nearby traffic and the students heard our fog signal for the first time this week.

While taking a mid-morning turn about the deck of the Ernestina I was inundated by the sounds of Ernestina underway with students on board. Over the sounds of water on the hull and sails in the wind were voices raised to sing traditional ballads and chanteys sung by sailors for decades. Questions and little tidbits of information were carried on the wind past our ears and into the sails in the rig as the boat schooned along towards Padanaram. Helping Ernestina get where she was going were the students who steered her on a true course through the water. Students were hard at work interpreting a nautical chart of Buzzards Bay. Along with learning about the folklore and story-telling of sailors at sea they wove their own daisy chain bracelets. While discussing mechanical advantage, students were able to figure out exactly how the blocks that look like their clothes-line pulleys at home helped them raise the Ernestina's four lower sails earlier this morning. Other groups were discovering what real live plankton looks like and how it is connected to all of the life in our oceans and beyond.

A moment of silence began the afternoon, giving both participants and crew a chance to appreciate their unique surroundings without the melee of classes and rotations. After a few quick stations the students helped to strike and furl the sails. They were quick, efficient and alert throughout the day - all qualities that make them good sailors, students and shipmates. Each of the sails was stowed well and Ernestina looks shipshape and ready to sail another day.

Captain: Amanda Madeira
Program Coordinator: MaryHelen Gunn

We would like to thank Lotus and IBM for donation of software, hardware and funding to enable regular electronic updates from the ship.

NOAA Chart is provided courtesy of Maptech using Cruising Navigator 4.3 and grabbing the image using Grabit Pro 6.02.

 
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Copyright 1997-2002
Schooner Ernestina
89 North Water Street, P.O. Box 2010, New Bedford, MA 02741-2010
phone 508.992.4900 -- fax 508.984.7719
www.ernestina.org

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