Two otter trawls in Nasketucket Bay off West Island.  The second one worked....  This is an area off Fairhaven, MA in Buzzards Bay hard hit by the Bouchard Company's oil spill. (See chart image to the right)

Today's ed sail, 9am-4pm, is cold and windy. We left the State Pier in New Bedford at 9am with after-school program kids and their parents.

After setting the fore and the jumbo, we motor-sailed out the hurricane barrier and moved into some teaching stations. Everyone had fun learning about plankton, line handling, below decks, and of course the all-time favorites: bow and helm.

After lunch there was a survival suit donning race and we trawled in Nasketucket Bay. We had to reset and try again after being skunked the first time.

Finally there were four more stations, (trawl catch, knots, navigation, and bowsprit). We struck sail and came in to cap off a very full day.

Professor Vernon Domingos from Bridgewater State College was also aboard with several teachers working with him on improving geography education.  They hauled the lines, took a turn at the helm and experienced a day on Ernestina with after school kids and their families.

Program Coordinator: Polly Zajac, Kristen Sharpless
Captain: Amanda Madeira