GRADUATION SPEECH

Photo Credit: Jackson Stevens

How do you measure the extent to which one adventure impacts the individual? Is it through the amount of strange new lands they encounter on their travels, or through the score of challenges that they face and overcome over the course of the trip? Perhaps it is all of these things. For the past four months as students living and working aboard the Harvey Gamage, we have overcome more challenges than we thought possible, and we have become a cohesive group that has faced everything from soles and bowls to seasickness, as well as intimidating likes and the chaos of the second’s line. And through it all we have been learning and growing: learning how to live and work closely with others, and growing into new people who have seen just a little more and whose hands now show rough callouses acquired by working at sea, more prominently than the hands of that excited, and perhaps scared teenager who stepped off that plan on January 26, into the hot stifling, blinding sun of St. Thomas. I talked earlier about challenges and I think most everyone will agree with me when I say that the biggest challenge we will have to face on this trip will also be the last one we face as a group, and that is leaving. Because here we found something, a closeness, a sense of tolerance and family we would not and could not acquire anywhere else. Together we have seen tall mountain peaks and slain countless dragons side by side. It will be hard to explain to people back in the “real world” how, for the past four months, the place you considered “home”, the place where your heart was and where you felt most comfortable, was right here, surrounded by your shipmates and the sea.

Frank, Vinalhaven, ME

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STUDENT ENTRY

“Thar she blows!”

On April 18^thwe experienced a spectacular sight of multiple species of baleen whales feeding off the productive grounds of Platts Bank in the Gulf of Maine. The Whales, like us have completed their migration from the tropics to the temperate latitudes. Here is a poem Audrey Sheehan wrote in the Caribbean, when we first witnessed these spectacular creatures on our voyage.

I sit on deck, in the sprinkling rain,

waiting with my shipmates for our anchor watch to end.

All of a sudden we hear a blowhole.

The three of us jolt, rush up as if we have seen a ghost, to the rail,

unknowing of the creature that lies beneath us

There it is again…

“Phft!”

There in the full moonlight I see it.

The smooth gray dorsal of what I make out to be a bottlenose

“Phft!” One.

“Phft!” Two.

“Phft!” Three.

Sitting in the Port of Spain Harbor, on a starlit night in Trinidad,

On the Harvey Gamage at four in the morning.

- Audrey, Chagrin Falls, Ohio 

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STUDENT ENTRY

Remember the Caribbean?

Cookouts, cuddling, classes on the beach,

Encouraged by the afternoon sun.

St. John: Where hikes brought land sickness

Statia: Free time, SCORE!

Antigua: are we there yet?... Can we leave yet?

Dominica: Fresh water, fresh food, cliff jumping.

St. Lucia: Dock-lines tied to palm trees. We run.

Carriacou: Scurvy sets in. Climbing up rocks at beaches.

Trinidad: The Breakfast Shed. Northern Range

Memories fade,

Relationships change.

All that’s left is what’s captured and saved.

Memoirs, mementos,

Photographs and scars.

Now just lie down, and look at the stars.

- Brendan, Dublin, Ireland. 

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STUDENT ENTRY

“When you go to Maine, your clothes will never dry!” “It will rain a lot and the sun will never shine!” That was all I was told from friends who had sailed up to these parts of town before.

            Luckily, that hasn’t been the case. Actually, we have been lucky this entire trip. Maine is beautiful, one of the most amazing places in the United States. There is no other place like it.

            We climbed to the top of the Mount Desert Island and got to see the chain of islands that are a part this absolutely beautiful state.

            The forests are wooded, filled with endless amounts of pine and little creaks and rivers. You can go on and on until you reach the ocean, without a soul in sight.

            Stopping at all of these islands in Maine, hiking exploring and being able to just sit and enjoy has been wonderful.

            I was so sad about skipping New York City, but all of the sunsets, sights, and clear, beautiful days of sailing have been absolutely worth it.

Patricia, New York, New York. 

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STUDENT ENTRY

Motion

She swoops and soars,

            Loops and roars,

Fluid as can be.

The Spring

in her steps,

The twinkle

            In her eyes.

We reminisce,

            Remember.

They go through the motions,

We live by the ocean.

Spice and flowers,

Rain in showers.

We wiggle our way,

Through the lavendar days,

            And smile,

                        Smile,

                                    Smile.

Chapin, Yarmouth, Maine

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STUDENT ENTRY

We have seen some exotic places that few people will ever see by schooner. Coming from the Caribbean back to the USA has been an interesting transition. From the small tropical islands to the cities and towns we have stopped in along the way, my favorite location has been Maine. Our first stop, or northern-most point of the trip, was just off of Jonesport, at Mistake Island. Even though at high tide we could see a small part of Jonesport, it was peaceful and secluded. All around us were small, spruce tree-covered, rocky islands. It was beautiful in a New England way. When we first arrived at Mistake Island it was foggy (typical Maine weather, even though Captain Smith won’t admit it) and we couldn’t see much of the surroundings at all. By the next morning the fog had lifted, and we saw the scenery. Rocky shores, islands everywhere, and seals sleeping on rocks. We got to explore Mistake Island, finding cool things in the intertidal zones like fish eggs and nudibranchs, and of course crabs and lobsters.

            The next day we spent a few hours alone, spread out on different islands. I was sent to Knight Island, which was the biggest island full of spruce trees. Some other people were on not much more than a rock. John was on a small rocky island not far from the boat, all by himself. While there were other people on Knight Island with me, I heard no one for the two hours I was there. Once our solo time was over, Captain Smith came by on Sherman (our skiff) to pick up the maroons. The next day we left Mistake Island, but I will remember it as my favorite stop on the trip, even after making the icy plunge into the water on the second morning.  I have enjoyed each place we have been, but none as much as Mistake Island.

Zack, Newberyport, MA

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