Sail Portsmouth Sea Challenge: Day 2

Provincetown, MA

Ship’s Log written by students Anja, Alex, Kaden, Derek, Ellie, and Naomi

Ju1y 20, 2024

My dream is to live on a sailboat like my parents did, so I was very excited to hear about this program. It's only been two days and we've already learned how to tie multiple boat knots, read the wind, put up the sails, drive the boat, and learned about how many factors go into living on a ship even at night. We all had to wake up at different points in one night and tend to the boat, checking the bilges and compass and learn how to make sure we haven't drifted. Lastly, my favorite part of this trip so far is definitely the crew. From the very beginning they have all been so kind and welcoming and have taught us all to work together and the power of teamwork!

-Anja

Today we saw a bunch of marine animals like whales and we also saw a sunfish and something else (not 100% sure what it was). We also saw a research boat that was trying to tag one of the whales. They had some people in a small boat with a pole who were trying to get close enough to one of the whales. Last night I did anchor watch, and it felt kind of like I was in an indie horror game, but not scary.

-Alex

I had some second thoughts about the trip on the first day, but after seeing some incredible Humpback Whales today, those thoughts are now gone.  I saw a whale breach for the first time in my life today!  It was incredible to see the whale pod bubble net feeding, yet so weird when they all emerged at the same time and it looked like a cluster of oysters.  Some of the whales got quite close as a NOAA research vessel where they attempted to tag it.  I also saw an ocean sunfish gliding through the water and I got it on film!  I have had a hard time adjusting to the ship and have lost a lot of sleep already, and the toilets are weird.  But all in all I love the trip:).

-Kaden

Today we did a lot of fun things, I had my first anchor watch waking up at 11 pm making sure that the ship wasn't drifting from the designated anchor spot. There was also sea life we saw during our trip like a bunch of whales and saw some people trying to put a marker on the whales, we also saw a sunfish on the way. So far the trip has been going great. I have been having a great time with Marcus and Julian, and I definitely don't regret going on the trip with them.

-Derek

So far, I have been pleasantly surprised by the amount of things I enjoy living in such a small amount of space. With the tiny bunks and small bathrooms, you would think that most of it would be bad but I have loved watching all the wildlife and looking at the stars at night. Throughout the week I really hope to see some more fish, swim, and climb the masts. I look forward to making some more memories this week on board!

-Ellie

So far this trip has been the best I’ve ever had, its so peaceful but chaotic at the same time the people are so nice and its so fun just spending all day sailing and raising and lowering the sails and surprisingly the swaying of the ship is super peaceful. I’ve learned so much in the two days we’ve been here so far, from tying the sails to just living in a small space with so many people and taking care of it and doing your part so everything is always nice. I’ve made lots of friends and seen some amazing things like WHALES but another fun part is night watch. My first one was last night from 11-12 and since I had night watch last night I got to sleep in this morning and next morning I wake up at 5:30 am to raise the anchor with everyone else. It’s so nice to have a small space in our bunks all to ourselves like a personal little cave with our own lights and fans. The sea is so beautiful and I’m exited to continue with the rest of my week even though a week is just not long enough. I’m super exited to swim and also learn more about the charts and maps there. It’s very fun this week and is gonna be a blast and so exited to see what the rest of this week holds.

-Naomi