This morning we awoke to a gorgeous sunrise in Cherry Harbor.  Winds were light from the South.  After a delicious breakfast and a round of daily chores, Gretchen, our fearless leader, laid out the plan for the day.  It was the perfect morning for a round of dory races.  Two dories at a time, they set off on an upwind leg that finished at the good ship Ernestina.  The students, though new to the age old skill of dory rowing, quickly picked up on the commands given to them by the Ernestina crew.

The next challenge for the students was to sail off the hook.  Winds had picked up to a good 15 knots, and it was clear that a great day of sailing lay ahead of us.  After getting underway and tacking out of our anchorage, the rest of the day’s activities began.  Students were given fine instruction in navigation, simple machines, and, by the dynamic duo of Lizzy and Gretchen, they were given the Sail Theory Extravaganza.   By this time Ernestina was showing everybody what she could do under four lowers, occasionally clocking as much as 9 knots through the water and 11 knots over the ground with a fair current with us.  Fred Sterner, our second mate and proud new grandfather, brought us into our anchorage off of Sammy’s Beach at 1800 hours.  By this time we had traveled 41.3 nautical miles in 7 hours and had not used our engine all day.… Another great day on the Ernestina!

Lizzy and Sophie

PS This work would not have been possible without the support of Izzy and Daisy.  We are forever grateful.

Captain: Sophie Morse
Program Coordinator: Gretchen Stuppy