Final Blog Entry

At the halfway point of the trip, I wrote a story for the student crew. Just a short story, of a group of young people signed aboard a mighty wind-ship bound for adventure and a voyage of discovery. The purpose of the story was to encourage them to look deep within themselves and pull out all they’d learned thus far to prepare themselves for the challenge of the second half of the trip. It warned of complacency, of cockiness, and stressed vigilance.

The story was titled “Training Ship”, and it took a supernatural turn as the crew disappeared during a sudden blinding fog, forcing the students to meet the challenges cast before them without the regular input of the professional crew. There was a supporting cast of guardians that watched over them and prompted them through their challenges. The end accomplishment, however, was their own.

Don’t get me wrong. This is no epic work of literature. Its intent was to grab the students’ attention after several days in port and put their heads back into the voyage, while poking some fun at myself and the rest of the staff in the bargain. But I encountered the rough (only) draft yesterday while cleaning out my cabin, and it made me think.

We are a training ship. It is our purpose, our reason to be. The professional crew that join these voyages dedicate themselves with heart and soul. We tell the students that they are all crew of the Harvey Gamage, and that she’s as much theirs as ours. In the couple of days since their mass departure, this never rings more true.

The ship, even tied to a busy road, is eerily silent. I have to go on a search to find another soul. The smallest details and routines become once again huge when the ship’s company once again numbers less than 10. In the last two days, we’ve cleaned, inventoried, organized, graded, laundered, provisioned, and reflected.

All of the conversations involve a reference to a student, a port, an evolution aboard. We share the anecdotes that made us laugh, and those that made us furious. We discuss our raging successes, and dwell on those places we could have done it better. And the ship echoes with their absence. It will take us a few days to transition back to being out of program.

In the story, the crew disappear, and leave the students to adjust to their new status. Now, it is they who have departed us. It is we who have to adjust to life aboard in this in-between mode. The ship demands our attention. There will be another group boarding in just over a week. But, for now, we are still finishing the last voyage.

To the crew of the Harvey Gamage- Proctor Ocean Classroom 2011- the whole crew… THANK YOU! Thank you for a successful voyage. Thank you for challenging me as a teacher, a captain, and a shipmate to be better. I am proud and honored to be each of the three. Thank you for giving the voyage and the vessel everything you had. Thank you for caring so much that it brought out the sweat, the tears, and (unfortunately) a little blood. Thank you for the jokes, the smiles, the helping hands, the photos and the countless contributions you made to the journey. I know it isn’t over yet for me. May it linger a little longer for you as well. You made worthy the ship of her title “Training Ship”. That she has been, for us all. Fair winds, shipmates, and may you give your next journey the heart you brought to this one.

Captain Caroline Smith

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El Gecko

Today after our second class, three adventurers Zoli, Denning, and Hunter decided it would be awesome if we took El Gecko out for a quick spin around the cove. The wind was just about right and it was pretty calm. Mr. Bailey said it would be ok, so we got ready and headed out. We stayed close to the Gamage at first, testing the waters and getting a feel for El Gecko. Once a steady gust of wind came, we were raging. We went a little bit out of the cove where the wind was stronger--we were cruzing when we saw Mr. McKenzie, Brooke, and Angela coming towards us in softy (the small boat) quickly. In a frantic moment we were trying to figure out what we could have done wrong. Mr. McKenzie started shouting, “EL GECKO! EL GECKO! GO BACK TO THE SHIP NOW!” We sat confused and scared drifting in the water. The shouting continued and we all had a sinking feeling that we were in trouble. Then Mr. McKenzie started laughing and they told us it was a joke and sped off. It was really funny. After the initial scare, we continued on our way. We felt bit shaken, but glad to not be in trouble. We laughed about it for the rest of our little journey. We cruised around, and El Gecko can cruise! We sailed over and checked out some charter boats and then headed back out to where there was more wind. After an hour of fun sailing around we came back for dinner. Today was a good day.

--Hunter

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Dan

We have been sailing around to different islands in the BVIs for a few days now and have visited some incredible places. We started in Road Town, Tortola which was a very nice town with lots of touristy gift shops. While we were anchoring, a huge cruise ship came at the same time and filled the town with tourists from the Carnival ship. The people working in the shops kept asking us if we were from the cruise ship. When we told them we were on a schooner and had been sailing for about months they were very impressed.

We left Tortola at about the same time the cruise ship did and I was lucky enough to be aloft while it came barreling passed our small sailing vessel. I saw camera flashes coming form all different parts of the boat. As I was sitting aloft, I began to think about how different this moment is for the people on the cruise and for us. The town was just a short port of call and visit for them, while for us it was a destination. We worked to get here, while everyone on that ship just paid and got a plane. As J-WOs we did everything to get us to Tortola -- the students did all the navigating, sail handing and planning. Back on the Carnival cruise liner, the people on that boat just sit and tan in the sun and wait for the next port of call. However, there is no sitting around and tanning on Gamage. If we are on deck we have to be ready to help manage the ship at any time... “On deck on duty.” This makes us earn everywhere we go to and makes us appreciate it more because of it also makes this trip better then any Caribbean vacation you could go on. That is the difference between a tourist and a traveler I guess (just like we have been studying in lit. class).

--Dan Watts

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Jeremy

Well, here we are in Tortola. Looking at this beautiful island it’s tough to realize that we will be gone so soon, yet it feels like we just started.

It’s November 9^th and we are anchored at the Road Town Harbor in Tortola. We have been sailing the islands for a while now, and our last stop was St. Eustatius a few days ago. This is our first island stop in the BVI’s and we only have around 3 days of full sailing to go. And it’s hot. The BVI’s are going to be sweet, I’m really stoked for all the snorkeling and island hopping. And the islands are so beautiful too! We are pretty much always in view of islands now and they always have beautiful cliffs and majestic forests. I feel like every time I step on deck a new wonder is on the horizon.

The boat is a bustling place now that everyone is cramming for exams and final projects. There’s an interesting vibe going down on the boat because some people are really stressed out and others are really stoked for going aloft and out on the head rig.

Going aloft! It was absolutely beautiful! Charlie (the engineer) and I went up there and talked and just enjoyed the stunning view. You can just see for miles and miles around. It’s absolutely mind boggling to think that the ocean can just stretch and stretch for what seems forever around you. 360 degrees of pure blue ocean.

This trip is more than I could ask for. Every day brings something new and exciting, or a new obstacle to overcome. This is definitely a life changing experience for me, and I hope it’s the same for everyone on the trip.

It’s odd, this life has become the norm. What seemed hard and rigorous in the beginning now seems like regular daily routine. And in a week that’s all going to change again and life will go back to what it once was. What is so important and vital on the schooner will become insignificant in less than a week.

And here we are. I’m stoked for the days to come, and it will be great to get home.

Jeremy

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Eli Clare 2nd Post

The past few days have certainly been a great change of pace for us on the Harvey Gamage. We spent a few days on the beautiful island named St. Eustacias, the very ideal of a tropical paradise in the Caribbean and a perfect get away for those of us who have spent the past couple of weeks dreaming of going ashore. On our first day ashore we were given the opportunity to go snorkeling near the shores around the islands and it was truly the best activity we could have chosen. After sweating away for the past few weeks, a dip in the Caribbean waters was exactly what the doctor ordered. After snorkeling we spent a relaxing few hours on a beach where we were invited to play a game of soccer with some locals.

The day after we returned to shore and we began to hike the islands dormant volcano called the Quill. It is a strange thing to go from sailing a ship to hiking a mountain and I can honestly say that it was quite the adventure. After we staggered our way to the edge of the crater of the Quill we looked down upon a vibrant tropical forest growing throughout the entire interior of crater. Then after our morning hike, most of us decided to have a pleasant lunch at a popular local restaurant called Super Burger. I will recommend to anyone passing through the Island--stop and enjoy a delicious hamburger and milkshake at Super Burger. As my fellow students and I left to explore the town (with a complicated Dutch name), we proceed to buy from any gift shop and small shop in our path until the time came for us to come home to our home, Harvey Gamage.

--Eli Clare

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Devon

Thinking back to Eagle Pond, it’s hard to believe that we’ve been on the Gamage for 6 weeks now. I find it difficult to remember days all together! Even the passages we’ve been on have merged into one long day. It’s certain moments or emotions that seem to shape my memories of the trip thus far. Looking around the ship at my shipmates, I can’t really digest exactly what we’re doing. We have accomplished so much together! I can’t believe that we’ve sailed without seeing land for 12 days, that we’ve been disconnected from ‘the real world’ for almost an entire term now, unable to talk our friends and families.

When we first stepped on the ship, most of us knew nothing about sailing. Things were so unfamiliar. First we learned our lines, then we got head rig cleared. Next we learned our knots and standing rigging, which got us aloft cleared. From there it got harder and more challenging! We entered the JWO phase (Junior Watch Officer), and are still learning how to juggle the impossible job of managing the ship.

Everyday we become more a part of the crew. When orders are called to, “set the main” we now get the task done with ease. Also, when things need to happen, it’s amazing how quickly and orderly we can all pull together. When we left St. Thomas, we hauled back the anchor, navigated, and pushed our own way out by ourselves (under Cap’s watchful eye of course).

As time continues on after ocean, most of us will forget our lines, how to tie a bowline, and plot a DR. But there are things that we will never forget, like what it felt like to be aboard, how accomplished and hardworking we can be, and what it means to be apart of a crew.~*Devon Reiger Webster I*~

Mom please make sure Hannah brings my laptop home J <3

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