Training Voyage Ships Logs
Brunswick, GA - Bahamas
(This is a series of logs written by Denis Sullivan crew during the training voyage.)
November 10th, 2023
Ships Log written by 2024 AmeriCorps Deckhand Educator Sarah Margolis
Ahoy! I’m writing to you at 2015 from under the Milky Way during my second four hour watch of the day. This morning we set sail from Brunswick, GA and have been heading 120 SSE.
I took some preventative Dramamine. I am feeling pretty ok, although my body is feeling a bit roll-y and a small piece of me is wishing I was flat and stable… oh well, I’m here now and along for the ride.
There are already so many cool things about this voyage. I’ll share a bit with you of what I learned today.
My first job on watch was on the helm. When you relieve the current helmsperson, you ask them what their course order is (the direction the boat is being steered) and then ask the watch officer if you can relieve them.
The watch officers have an eye on bigger picture operations as well as safety. We are in constant communication with them.
There are four jobs on watch. My watch team and I circle through them once every hour. After the helm I rotated through lookout and ships log. The other watch job is navigation, but I did not yet get to that, as the new crew was pulled aside for a lesson on converting our compass course to true North.
As the Denis Sullivan uses traditional navigation methods ( stars, sextants, charts, etc) We must convert our heading from our compass that is affected by the earths magnetic field to true north
Well, that’s a lot of information and its time to get back to work for me. Tata for now!
November 11th, 2023
Ships Log written by 2024 AmeriCorps Deckhand Educator Jess Doherty
Today is our second day at sea. So far the wind and sea have been calm producing a nice swaying to the boat that threatens to rock me to asleep at any moment. I am learning to sleep when I can. A mix of Dramamine and the 0000-0400 watch has left me drowsy, with my mind drifting off into daydreams too regularly.
There is so much to learn. I memorize lines and knots. I do algebra at 0200 under a red light while learning navigation. I practice more knots. Take the helm. Spend a half hour staring at the compass determined to keep us pointed at 120 degrees. I learn how to tie an alpine butterfly. I forget the name of all the knots.
So much of this has felt like a dream. We drift for hours over calm waters without seeing another ship. The only proof I have that the water around me is real is when I drop a bucket off the side of the ship and take the water temperature. At 82 degrees I know we are still in the Gulf Stream. I feel the water before tossing it back.
A ship is a place where it becomes much easier to believe in magic. At night I stare over the railing as the bow of the ship stirs up bioluminescence in the waves below. I think about how I could stare at it for hours as Adam explains the science to me. Science is magic. I watch Rachel conjure a bowline with the wave of her hands. Ger’s cooking has to be magic too.The way she makes cookies and fresh bread appear just when you need a boost in morale.
I am filled with gratitude for the ship and the ocean. The dolphins swimming alongside us feed my soul and leave a lingering feeling of joy. Also I am grateful for all my crew. For the old crew who have been offering up lessons whenever we have a moment, For Tati for facilitating our formal lessons and making them fun. And for my fellow new deckhands who are so kind and whom I can not wait to spend the next year with. Anyways, I’m gonna stare at the ocean for a few minutes and then take a nap before dinner.
November 12th, 2023
Ships Log written by 2024 AmeriCorps Deckhand Educator Matthew Morawa
Hello my friends, I’m Matthew. I stand about 5’7” with curly dirty blonde hair and I’ll be doing the log today. I’ll keep it brief but hopefully enjoyable.
I’m on watch C which means today I awoke at midnight with Jeremy the third mate and watch captain, Hanna, Rachel, and Alex. Our watch was midnight till 0400. While an uneventful watch, I did master all of Orion’s constellation, from Betelgeuse to Rigel and Algol. Aside from constellation and navigational tricks, I spent time on bow watch. An especially important task because radar was down tonight. We however, went all night off the coast of Florida without seeing a single ship. Standard safety checks throughout the night.
When I woke I clambered onto the deck and took a seawater bucket shower. About half-way through I helped with raising the main, and then got sprayed off with salt-water hose. Then we ate breakfast with wet oatmeal. After the meal, noon watch happened from eight to twelve. There I spliced a line together for a toggle to keep lines in place. After that I had a seamanship lesson about knot tying . We learned a highwayman’s cutaway and went over other knots like the clove hitch and the round turn two half hitches. After that it was dinner courtesy of Ger (cook). A stir fry with homemade kimchi. It was Sunday best so everyone dressed up for dinner in vests and dresses.
The whole crew had dinner as the ship drove forward into dark skies and rough seas. After dinner I napped for an hour. At eight, C-watch was called up on deck for the final watch
November 13th, 2023
Ships Log Written by 2024 AmeriCorps Deckhand Educator Rachel Whetten
Hi all! Rachel here.
Today my watch was on the morning watch (8-12) and second dog watch (6-8).
During our morning watch we had perfect sailing weather. The wind was warm, crisp and on our beam. The first thing we did was tension up the back stays and set the jib topsail. Alex and I went out on top the jib boom to unfurl it, enjoying the breeze and the deep blue ocean water.
After that we did a deck wash, and then all of our watch except Jeremy (our watch officer) had to leave for our 10 am class. Today we had the opportunity to teach the Dutchman’s log and Creative writing lessons back to Maddie.
After Lunch, I went to sleep for a couple of hours until our seamanship class with Tatiana at 1400, and when I cam up to deck, I was surprised to find that the blue sunny sky had been replaced with a dull grey, and our great sailing weather had turned into the tall waves and strong winds of a storm.
We learned about all the lines on the main pin rail while trying not to get thrown into them. They set up Jack lines on deck for us to chip onto while moving about.
After another nap, we had dinner and watch. I broke in my new follies while getting sprayed by bioluminescent sea spray and trying not to fall over everywhere (sometimes resorting to crawling).
We had to clean the galley after dinner, which was also an adventure. Along the way we had a few mishaps, including all the Tupperware flying out of its cupboard and spilling the mop water all over my leg. Eventually, we got that galley clean!
Overall, I think today was the most adventurous-feeling day. I was very grateful to have not felt seasick. A lot of other people were. It was a good feeling to stand at the helm, clipped in to the boat, trying to keep Deny pointed in any semblance of the right direction. Watching the bow throw glowing water up into the night.
I feel like a true sailor now.
November 14th, 2023
Ships Log written by 2024 AmeriCorps Deckhand Educator Hanna Hallendorff
When awoken at 4 o’clock this morning, the only reminder of last nights seasickness was my empty stomach quietly growling. After a quick trip to the snack cupboard in the galley, I was ready fro watch. I munched away on my crackers trying to keep the nausea away and before I knew it I was ready to take over the helm
Hours passed with a few deck logs here and there. One of my favorite parts of the deck log is having to study and decipher the types of clouds on the sky, which is something I haven’t done before.At first, the names were the tricky part but this morning, the hardest part for me was trying to tell the difference between the clouds while it was still dark out.
Eventually, the sun peaked out from behind the clouds, which meant that it was time for the fishing lines to go into the water. I have a dream of one catching a fish taller than me, but so far none of the fish in this huge ocean seem to be willing to make my dreams come true. Supposedly there was a 6 foot fish sighting right as the lines were going in, which I guess is proof that there is some sort of life below the waves
The rest of the watch gave us a rainbow, two ship sightings and many different fortunes being told using leftover coffee grounds from Jeremy’s mug.
After a yummy breakfast of eggs, bacon and potato we were told to gather on the aft deck with the whole crew. There were a few speculations about the potential change of plans. Some peoples ideas ended up being true and Captain Flansburg confirmed that. We were going to try and tuck ourselves away in time for some bad weather, which meant out new course was 270°, heading straight west to the Bahamas! In a few days when we are in a better spot we will hopefully have a better forecast and will then maybe start heading to St Croix again. At this point, I’d rather take a few days more to get to St Croix in a safe manner, than being tossed around in bad weather. I would say that my biggest concern at the moment is the ongoing coffee shortage.
November 16th, 2023
Ships Log written by 2024 AmeriCorps Deckhand Educator Alex Berman
I woke up this morning to a call for an all-hands breakfast, Deny having anchored in the Bahamas while I was sleeping. The water here is beautiful, although most of it seemed to be coming from the sky above us as we raised anchor so that we could motor to a different anchorage.
We set a yellow “quarantine” flag on our mizzen mast mast to indicate that we were a “clean” ship seeking entry into a new country. As we were preparing our other anchor to be deployed, the winds picked up to a gale force and Capt. Flansburg informed us it was to windy to anchor and we would be heading Northwest to West Palm Beach, Florida.
As someone who has lived in NYC all my life, I am thoroughly enjoying what has become a little tour of the American South. After stowing both our anchors, we set our staysyl and put a reef in the mainsail. The sun soon after came out to say hello.
It’s only been sixteen days, but I’ve already learned a lot on the Denis Sullivan, both about the world and about myself. For one thing, Mahi Mahi live in bonded pairs, so if you catch one you are likely to catch the other. For another thing, my balance is nowhere as good as I thought it was. Things like teeth brushing and sleeping become extreme sports when the floor is constantly pitching pitching back and forth beneath you. Aside from all the falling over , I really enjoy transit life. It’s nice to have my day broken into four hour chunks, and with the dog (rotating) watches, the routine never gets stale (at least so far it hasn’t). Maybe ill feel different when transit is over, but if this first leg is any indication, I don’t think I’ll ever stop being surprised.
With an inch of standing water in my boots,
Alex
November 17th, 2023
Ships Log written by 2024 AmeriCorps Deckhand Educator Maeve Merkle-Scotland
Everyday on the water is of course unique, but today has been especially different.
We’re at anchor, and have been since this morning. Hello royal island in the Bahamas! We dropped the hook right next to Spanish Wells, so that we can re-provision for our extended voyage and go to customs.
Thank God I remembered my passport five minutes before leaving the airport to start on the Denis Sullivan!
Along with the beautiful clean turquoise water and a sandy shrubbery horizon line, the best part of the Bahamas for those of as staying on the boat has been SWIMMING! What a sight to see all the deckhands flying into the water off the rail, one after the next. We swam like a bunch of monkeys who have never seen water, climbing up out of the water on the boat, and excitedly playing together. So refreshing after living on top of the oceans rolls with only mere splashes and firehose showers.
I truly feel playing together was such a wonderful way to facilitate more bonding among us all, and gave some silliness to reset our crazy ever moving lifestyle, The rest of the day each watch rotated small repairs and sleeping. Not to mention we all channeled our inner “screenager” once we had some service near land
By the end of the day were back underway heading towards Eleuthera for some fuel.
Fair winds and following seas or whatever they say,
Maeve
November 18th, 2023
Ships Log written by Deckhand Educator Andrew Sanchez
“Spanish” Wells
Deny Left Georgia state on a nice autumn day
With twenty-one crew to lead the way
Ten days at sea was presumed to be her fate
However, nobody knew of the exact date
One day one, Andy stood tall at the wheel
Second mate Wells was looking to make a deal
With a hooked finger he pointed at the former stew
“I’m gonna make a bet with you”
Over under if you are a fan
Guess the arrival to the green can
A scholarship of liquid gold is on the line
So hurry up and give me a time!
No math no maps and not much sense of wind or weather
Andy guessed the twenty-second of November
Taken a back and surprised
Wells looked at him with with wide eyes
“Are you sure? Really?”
Wells seemed to be getting a bit gilly
With no hesitation he took the under
His head already filled with the liquid plunder
Made was the bet
And the stage was set
Andy’s confidence swayed
He wished the engines would fade
Fast and straight they sailed
As day five was hailed
Out of nowhere came a peculiar gale
That caught Wells very stale
Deny was quickly maneuvered away
Which proved to be the best play
The crew was reminded water was wet
But Well was not worried about the bet
Cats, gerbils and a rabbit were on his mind
Back at home waiting for just a lettuce rind
“It ain’t over yet”
“I’m still gonna win this bet”
But the anchorage went ajar
And Florida was way too far
The crew was enjoying water in bed
A couple even wished to be dead
By day ten the under was gone
But Wells was stubborn like a prawn
Andy approached him with great glee
Because he knew Wells owed him quite the fee
Defeat was hard to injest
So wells had one more request
He had threaded a new idea just like twine
“Double or nothing should do just fine!”
November 19th, 2023
Ships Log written by Mate-in-Training Tatiana Dalton
The first week of this voyage has given us all plenty to contend with, but especially our new crew members who joined less than a month ago. I have the absolute pleasure of participating in this voyage as training officer, which means that I get to meet with our new deckhands as a fall cohort at least once a day, every day 1430 is my favorite time of day because it means I get to see the crew , our 2024 Americorps deckhands are becoming in real time. Spoiler alert - this is joyful, supportive, thoughtful, quick-learning crew so far — and this is only the beginning of their time together.
Some of our new crew have spent years sailing on tall ships all over North America and beyond —- and some had never stepped foot on one until they arrived for training in Brunswick. Every day I wonder if this new lesson will be the information overload that finally turns their brains to goo, but fortunately for all of us that’s not really how brains work. Everybody has done an incredible amount of listening and learning over the last few weeks, and I hope the picture of how all the little pieces of our shipboard life fit together is getting clearer by the day.
It’s been a rainy transit so far, and rocky and wet. Our new crew are learning how to be soggy and seasick and keep on going, and I’m proud of them for that. They’ve also learned the joy of taking a shower. The fire hose on deck — one of my favorite transit experiences — and the perpetual delight of eating Ger’s cooking three times a day.
I’m prone to sentimentality when I think about the community I’ve been lucky to find here at World Ocean School, and its as time now as its ever been — there’s a lot of love on this boa. If this new crew keeps on celebrating the best of life on board together, and supporting each other through the worst, its going to be an amazing year and I can’t wait to be part of it.
November 21st, 2023
Ships Log written by 2024 AmeriCorps Deckhand Educator Hillary Turay
My day began early and not yet bright with the 0400 - 0800 watch. Dawn watch always begins with everyone’s favorite chores, soles and bowls (scrubbing the toilets and floors)
If I wasn’t awake before, I was certainly awake when I had to watch the forepeak bilge pump out and I was completely doused head to toe with a giant wave crashing. Good morning! Our watch finished off just in time to enjoy a nice breakfast of French toast made by the Capetian himself, my perception of time is always a bit off following a 0400 - 0800 watch, so my brain is always a bit confused as to how it is still only breakfast when it should clearly be lunch time already. The toast was great regardless.
After Breakfast( not lunch, get it together brain) I was met with the good news that we did not have class today, so I was able to get some much needed rest. Typically the new crew have training in lessons we will teach students and seamanship at 1030 and 1430 respectfully. These classes are usually pretty fun, but come at the expense of my ability to nap during the day, since the constant sleep-wake-sleep-wake just leaves me feeling groggy all day.
After a much needed rest, I was awoken an hour before my watch to help C-Watch flake the anchor chain. The chain is normally kelp in a below-deck storage compartment called the forepeak, but it had to be taken out because it was interfering with the bilge pump. My next watch was 1600 - 1800, which is usually quick and easy since it is only two hours and there are no chores (soles and bowls, galley cleanup, etc). This watch did however turn out to be rather eventful, I began watch going out onto the head rig to furl the jib topsail,walking out to the very tip of the bowsprit on a little tightrope while bouncing up and down on seven foot waves really makes you feel like you’re on a roller coaster designed specifically for people who have gone somewhat insane. It is also a lot of fun. (A note to my mother: I know, I know, I was wearing a harness, okay?)
I then took the helm, is always one of my favorite parts of watch. I definitely got the easy job, as Andrew spent the better part of watch (the entire watch) in the forepeak bilge trying to work the faulty pump. Hats off to him. Dinner was linguini with spinach, peas, and artichoke hearts. While dining with C watch , we all commended Andy as he emerged triumphantly and slightly damp from the engine room, where he had been sitting to warm and dry off. After dinner, I retired early, getting all the rest I can before my next watch at 0000-0400. May tomorrow be just as exciting, if not slightly less wet. Wishful thinking, I know who would have thought working in the middle of the ocean was such wet business??
