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This
morning at the early hour of 0700, Boy Scout Troop 11 boarded
the Ernestina with 18 people. Along with the scouts we
had 5 additional guests on board that helped to fill out our
watches. Boy Scout Troop 11 has been actively involved with
the Ernestina over the past years and are annual helpers
during the Summerfest in New Bedford. Earlier this year,
the Troop also put on a Spaghetti dinner fund raise event
helping to earn over $1,000 for the program. Our
sail today was a 12 hour transit from New Bedford, MA to
Providence, RI. With good seas causing some tender
stomachs early in the day, it turned into a great sail around
Newport where we turned off the wind up into the Narragansett.
The participants onboard stood watches and aided in bring the
ship to Providence. In addition, the scouts spent time
taking a broad look at the maritime world through which we
sailed. They learned how to navigate and tie knots as
well as studied plankton and the chemistry of the water. The
scouts took turns on the bowsprit as we swept past Newport and
by the time we arrived in Providence they had all taken the
helm, stood bow watch, and helped with our daily ships tasks. We
thank Troop 11 for all their help over the past year and look
forward to spending more time with them both on and off the
water. "Please relay a big THANK
YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to everyone from Troop 11. We had a
great time on the transit and even though there were a few who
were green around the gills in the morning, they're all ready
to do it again! The crew did a tremendous job, as always, from
comforting the seasick to entertaining and teaching as all for
12 hours. I don't know how they do it! A special thank
you to Gretchen for the great job she did as "cruise
director", sorry I mean program coordinator.
Everything went off without a hitch. Thanks again for
everything!" ~Don Ryle & Boy Scout Troop 11 Program
Coordinator: Gretchen Stuppy
Captain: Sophie Morse
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