From the Journal of Jesse Prothers
>> Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Going home after being on a ship for four months is gonna be really weird and sad at the same time. Leaving people that are basically your family now. These are people you love and care for, that you see everyday will become people you can only talk to on the phone or computer. You may only see them, maybe, if you’re lucky, a few more times before you lose touch. Or maybe, you will find a life-long friend that you will talk to everyday and be able to tell them how you feel and what you think. Most of all its gonna be hard to say goodbye. No matter how much you wish it was a “see ya later” or a “goodnight” …it’s now a “goodbye”. Goodbye—never knowing what will happen to that person, not knowing where they are, what they are doing, not seeing their face everyday. Maybe you will wake-up in your bed and think it was all a dream and continue on with your normal life. Or… maybe you won’t be able to sleep at night knowing the same familiar people are all gone and not a hundred feet away from you while everything “normal” has become alien. Adapting… is what will be hardest to go home to.
Read more..."The Horizon" by Abigail Campbell
>> Monday, May 17, 2010
Maritime Literature Assignment: Place yourself 50 years in the future: how do you think you will look back at your experience on the Harvey Gamage?
“The Horizon” By Abigail Campbell
The sea had become a part of me, a necessity: blood, water. A home everywhere I looked, the possibilities as endless as the horizon. Craving unpredictability drew me to the places I went, to the people I met, it molded my mind into one that thrived when faced with adventure. It took the better part of fifty years to realize I haven’t changed. Being young, embracing the things I was scared of. I threw caution to the wind and the waves carried me to the place I wanted to be mentally and physically.
I drove past her on way from yoga class. She was sitting in yard, sun reflecting off of her newly varnished booms, oiled deck boxes. She looked different, out of place on land. I parked the car and got out, looking up at the chipped white paint and embellished lettering. “Harvey Gamage Islesboro, Maine” She had been taken from her home, just as I was the moment I stepped off her wooden deck for the last time. She looked older, years of wind throwing itself at her beam, and so did I, but our relationship, our spirits hadn’t aged a day.
I climbed aboard, dust covering the planks I had walked on so many times before. Slowly running my finger along the rail, it lifted the accumulated layer of dirt; it all came back.
My years of following the wind around wherever it wanted to take me began when I was 16. I boarded the SSV Harvey Gamage, dropped my dry-bag full of polypropylene on her deck. Soon after I lost my sun deprived skin, my land hands, and in return I gained a rig and a strong pair of sea legs.
I left my family only to find another aboard. I left my home only to realize I was still in it. Sailing taught me that the world is my home. My mind was permanently opened to the endless opportunities I have found.
Every second of my days I groveled for moments of achievement and challenge. I took life as it came and made out of it the best that I could.
I walked back down the ladder, leaving behind the worn lines and weathered sails, this was the place where my life began.
Charleston, SC
>> Saturday, May 8, 2010
For Moultrie to the northeast, Fort Sumter and the beaches of Morris Island and Fort Wagner, where the 54th Massachusetts Regiment fought so valiantly, to the southwest. Sailing into Charleston Harbor is a history lesson in itself! Docked at the Charleston Maritime Center, we're ideally situated in the heart of downtown, just a walk away from the South Carolina Aquarium, the College of Charleston, the Charleston Museum, and all the shops, restaurants, and tourist traps the city has to offer. We even took in the annual Dragon Boat Festival. We also had the chance to do some well-earned laundry, take some very necessary fresh-water showers, and spent hours at the library doing research for end-of-term projects and catching up with friends online. We also got to meet with the crew of another traditional schooner, the Spirit of South Carolina, who takes local schoolchildren and high school students to sea on programs that last from a few hours to ten days.
Charleston has been good to us, maybe too much so, as good sailors and good ships rot in port. We're looking forward to getting back to sea and heading north toward the mouth of the Chesapeake. Goals: Shooting Local Apparent Noon (LAN) to within a mile and earning aloft clearances. All hands are well and would like to wish our moms a HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!!
JP
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