From Fishcakes to the Boiling Lake

      Worn out, weary, and full of wonderment, we are finally ready to weigh anchor. For the last two days we have been shepherded about the island by our charismatic tour guide, SeaCat, an Ocean Classroom legend. It's an experience just to ride around in his passenger van, which has a sunglasses-wearing octopus spray-painted on the front and back, as SeaCat says hello to all his local friends. Yesterday he took us to the Carib territory where we met the culture of the higher Dominican elevations and sampled just about every fruit and spice the island has to offer. We climbed trees to pick grapefruit, guava, and oranges, but the highlight was when SeaCat ground roasted cocoa beans and mixed them with milk and sugar for us to eat with our breadfruit and jerk chicken lunch. We returned to the ship heavily laden with fruit and spices for our next passage.

      Today we experienced another adventure with SeaCat: the epic trek to the Boiling Lake. Twenty-six kilometers of treacherous terrain, a rumored 20,000 footsteps, our adventure took us up to a view of the surrounding islands, down into the valley of desolation, and eventually to the other-worldy  boiling lake. We soaked in hot springs, painted our faces with sulphorous mud, and swam through a deep gorge that led us to a hidden waterfall. We ended the day with a delicious shipboard meal and  the anticipation of our next port of call.

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Dominica!

We arrived in Dominica after a nearly 3 day passage from Statia, ready to take in the Nature Island. We've already explored town, shopped for the region's best fruit and veggies at an open air market, and snorkeled Champagne reef, where the island's volcanic activity causes bubbles to form out of the reef.

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We've also got photos posted online at: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjS5ntnm, which will be out photo home for the rest of the voyage... Enjoy!

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The Quill

The crew, on the rim of the Quill

 

 

 

Kevin's postcard art

Rose's postcard art

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Sint Eustatius

Sint Eustatius has been good to us, providing out student crew with a number of firsts...

First foreign port of call, and the first passports stamps that accompany that. 

First shore time and the cold, sweet, delicious Tings (grapefruit soda, for the uninitiated) that come with that.

First green flash, which occurred last night on a clear, beautiful evening just before the supper bell was rung. It was a fine prelude to Lizzy's fantastic baked ziti supper.

And our first pod of dolphins, which shared our approach to the anchorage here in Gallows Bay. 

The students have had a fine time here on the "Golden Rock," but are anxious to get back to sea and continue this great voyage. They've sent postcards, and are eager to get on a phone or online soon to share their adventures!

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Captain's Post

“Sailing is going slowly in the wrong direction at great expense”

Usually we begin the spring term with several short stops to the BVI.  This year the Education department and I decided to start with a bit longer sail—I suppose it has to do with building a crew out of a diverse group of students.

Our first passage, after the “shakedown” to Buck Is., was to Sint Eustatius, only ninety nautical miles. But this it the Caribbean and that means that this time of year the wind blows steadily from the east—the very direction we needed to go. So, you can drive 90 miles in an afternoon, fly it in a minute, or sail it—could be as little as 10 hours for us in perfect conditions. As it was, though, it took us 5 days of tacking to weather.

What is the point? Everyone learns something from this: to slow down, be patient, appreciate the beauty around them, to do all they can when things aren’t going their way, and to count on others to do their best in turn. That working and waiting for something is ok, even better most of the time.

Students came to the ship with different ideas about what this voyage was for. We will depart “Statia” with a crew who has a good idea what it means to them.

  Fair winds, Captain Flansburg

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Beating to Statia

Sint Eustatius lay only 90 miles from Buck Island, but nearly due east and into the teeth of the trade winds. We sailed over four miles, on average, to make a mile of easting. But five days at sea have turned a group of students, all strangers a week ago, into a crew. We've sailed almost 500 nautical miles already, and all have learned so much... about the boat, about the Caribbean, about each other, and of ourselves.

Today we hiked the Quill, a dormant volcano that dominates the landscape here, and while inside the crater learned about the Caribbean plate and how these islands were formed. Tomorrow, we lay into town to explore the history and culture of Statia and the region, as well as have our first meal ashore.

Lots of great photos are on the way (internet access is so very limited.. and SLOW) but we'll work hard to post some student writing and artwork before we take off, bound south for Dominica.

JP

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