Anchor Watch Haikus

Anchor Watch Haikus: Aug. 23/24
Elderhostel Voyage aboard Adventuress
San Juan Islands

the generator stopped
now the silence can be heard
how many night sounds remain

new constellation
forming in my memory
over my new home

black back white night flanks
our ship sleeps, one eye open
like a drowsy whale

syllabic restrictions
makes this not a haiku
grasshopper goes chirp

gentle fish swished ripple
discordant heron crank
silent cacophony of shooting stars

not green not green yes white
bearing to check throughout the night
watch for falling stars

A dark and stormy night...

Anchor Watch Poem: Aug. 21/22
Elderhostel Intergenerational aboard Adventuress
San Juan Islands

It was a dark and stormy night
Waves lapped up against the hull
And wind howling night
Waves shook the boat
Like thunder from below
And rain covered up the red compass light’s glow

But when it did pass and the ship found herself made fast
It was calming with the fish splashing
And as the dawn broke through the dark
All the crew found themselves singing sweetly as meadowlarks

Only six hours till we say farewell
Adios, dear friends, it’s been swell
So remember the wind in the sails
The beach walks and the tidepool snails
The good food coming from the galley
All the things learned
That we cannot tally

Happy trails to you
My family and new friends
Till we meet, I hope, again.

Name That Star!

Anchor Watch: August 20/21
Elderhostel Intergenerational aboard Adventuress
San Juan Islands

Here's Your Opportunity to Name a Star!

Azula
Primeus
Zeazros
Beatles
Flying Saucers, two of them, bearing at 240 degrees
Sea Star!
Star Knot
That One There
Antirius (Anti Mars)
Pisaster Disaster ( = Supernova)
Cavan
Sunman Blazer
My Guiding Light
Jing (yes, I’m naming it after myself J)

Journal Entries: August 20th

Journal Entries: Aug. 20th
Elderhostel Intergenerational aboard Adventuress
San Juan Islands

Last night, while Adventuress was rafted up to the beautiful schooner Zodiac, the current pushing between the ships was alight with bioluminescence and the water was loud with the snorts and thrashing of pinnipeds.

A big highlight was sailing with the wind through the President’s Channel. The lines were taut with wind and the ship was heeled over so far that walking across the deck felt like rock climbing. Below decks there were some breaking jars and slipping bags--a good reminder to stow things properly.

We sailed all morning, then stopped over at Deer Harbor for warm showers after furling the jib out on the windy bowsprit. We continued on a cleaner crew to Blind Bay, where we learned about stars from the mate Sarah as darkness fell.

Oh, What a Beautiful Morning

Journal Entry: Morning of Aug. 20th
Elderhostel Intergenerational aboard Adventuress
San Juan Islands

The smell of zucchini bread wafted to my nose
My delicious wake-up call
I eased my body out of my bunk
Taking heed to the advice of not bumping my head
On the two-foot length of my tight top bunk

The quilt that hung for the sake of our privacy
Was being hung on the ceiling
As the ladies arose from their beauty slumber

I grabbed my blue stainless-steel water bottle
My dentist-advertised toothbrush
And my minty Colgate toothpaste
Time to brush my pearly whites

Up on deck, 6:00 to 7:00, night watch was wrapping up
Checking the Adventuress bearings
I moved my toothbrush back and forth
Swooshing around the suds of the paste
Savoring the minty aroma
Then spit it overboard
Watching it melt into the salty sea.

My eyes caught sight of the trail of the sun’s reflection
Oh, what a beautiful morning.

…by Julia T.

August 18, 2009

We're on board Adventuress for an Elderhostel Intergenerational voyage. The "Killer Crustaceans" watch group wrote a poem:

What a Magical Day

Starry skies and orange moonrise

plankton glowing bright

sea lions splash a loud surprise

our anchor watch last night.

Rising sun and morning star

water still as snow

Mt. Baker awes us from afar

the currents ebb and flow.

Eagles high above us soar

porpoises at play

glacial rocks along the shore

natives paddle bay to bay.

Cute harbor seals bob and breathe

jellies drifting by

and then the wind we cannot see

hugs our sail against the sky.

Once a "dirty" island, now

nature's treasure trove

Sucia's just beyond our bow

we end our day in Echo Cove.

Comments in the log book:

• "Setting sail, great wind today."
• "Sailed onto the anchor; great coordination and cooperation."
• "Helped back the main. Crew are great instructors and always kind."

August 19, 2009

On anchor watch last night, First Mate Sarah posed a challenge to all, to complete this thought:

"If you were a source of light, you would be..."

Here are the responses:

• A campfire or a lit jack o' lantern
• A shooting star
• A lightning bug
• The ON switch on a coffee pot
• Joy
• A green deck prism as seen from below during a deck wash; swirling, thunderous, bubbly, and colorful
• Sunrise over the marsh
• Aurora borealis
• A full harvest moon rising
• A birthday candle (courtesy of Tommy, the birthday boy!)
• A glow worm
• Polaris
• A fire on one's own beach
• Venus
• Moonlight
• Anchor light
• North Star
• Red compass light
• A dinoflagellate
• The sun breaking over a horizon of water

One more entry from the Fantastic Voyage

Better late than never! Here's another entry from the Grades 7 to 9 Fantastic Voyage, courtesy of Aubrey:

"We spent the day on the ship, going through 2 watch group rotations, sailing, learning, hanging out, and being entertained by several crew skits. We saw baby porpoises and what we think was resident Orca K-22. Each apprentice taught a class on how to prepare for and navigate a 5-day trip aboard Adventuress. This evening, we anchored in Park Bay, joined in the same anchorage by the vessels Odyssey and Zodiac. The evening program was "Party Piece," with guitar playing, card tricks, an epic 3-act skit, and the Yarn of the Nancy Belle puppet show. All in all, a wonderful day."

Fantastic Voyage Grades 7 to 9 on Adventuress

Ahoy from Adventuress!

This week we've been sailing with the Fantastic Voyagers in grades 7 to 9 in the San Juan Islands. We also have a couple of apprentices aboard, as well as one of our very favorite Galley Coordinators, Tom Weiner. Here's what we've been up to:

Wednesday, August 12

From Watch Group Leader Alissa: "This is a great group of high-energy kids. Many have come with sailing experience and they're ready and eager to learn more. We started off sailing right away, then took time to get to know one another, set goals for the trip, and have line-handling orientation. My Watch Group is called the Alpha Anemones, so we made name tags using the flag symbol for "alpha." Here are some of our group's comment about today:

Will listed hoisting the main sail as a highlight. Alex and Adrian enjoyed the African Stew prepared by Tom. Alex discovered that sweating the lines to the 'two-six-heave' was tough! Cassidy liked raising the sails. And Watch Leader Zach thought that 'Will's line handling skills were fantastic!'

This evening we had a gettting-to-know-you scavenger hunt game for our program. One of the anchor watches was delighted to see a blue heron land on the boom."

Thursday, August 13

From Aubrey: "It was a full day today. Sailing in the morning with Watch Group rotations for classes, including plankton tows and using the microscope TV. We anchored early and had a fun afternoon climbing aloft, sailing Ayashe, and hanging out on the bowsprit. We had delicious burritos for dinner. This group has set a record for this summer for the least food waste...we've only had 0.75 gallons on this trip so far, which is really impressive! Tom's great food has been gobbled up like crazy. For our evening program we played a game and got everybody singing."

From Apprentice Ashlyn: "Today I learned the names of almost all of the lines on the boat. After the lesson, I had to label them all on a picture of Adventuress. It took a lot of hints from the crew, but I got it done. Now I have a reference in case I forget any of the lines, even though that won't happen! I also got to climb aloft for the second time this afternoon and this time I brought my camera along with me and took some awesome pictures. As an apprentice, I'm learning a lot of navigation. I got to work with the other apprentice to plan the route of our five-day trip. I never knew how much planning it takes for a trip like this. I'm really enjoying the trip so far and looking forward to learning more about sailing and navigation."

Friday, August 14

From C Watch: "Today we went for a shore hike on Jones Island. We spent time looking in the tidepools and saw crabs, sea snails, limpets, hermit crabs, small fish, and seaweed. We also saw purple and red Lion's Mane jellies in the water. We did a scavenger hunt on the beach, and we picked up trash. Then we took solo hikes, where we were spaced apart for some quiet contemplation. Placed along the path were inspirational quotes on cards printed by Hannah. A highlights was our afternoon snack of chocolate chip oatmeal cookies."

Fun fact from C Watch: "Last night, the moon was at the farthest point north of the equator that it will be all year."

Fantastic Voyagers Grades 9 to 12

2009 Fantastic Voyage Grades 9 to 12

les Anemone Apocolyptique,

Barnacalugas,

and Chinookies

Thanks to Cameron for the photo!

Family Sail aboard Adventuress--Part 3

Journal Entries: Sunday, August 9th

Early morning anchor watch (6:15 a.m.), Parks Bay:

"I came on deck and saw a patch about 10 feet around that looks like raindrops on the water. It moves close, within 5 feet of the boat, and I could see scores of small silvery fish about 3 to 5 inches, dancing under the water and occasionally skimming just under the surface, flashing with their sides or bellies. This action caused the raindrop effect. It did not appear as thought their mouths touched the water, nor were they jumping out of the water. I saw no bugs on the water. The air was still, slightly foggy. It was before the sun showed. I wonder if their schooling motion stirs up the plankton in a way that makes it easier for them to feed on it. Maybe hitting the surface of the water feels good on their skin. Any ideas or knowledge?"

Later that morning (10:30 a.m.):

"Cleanliness chores over, now the fun begins! Sailing the skiff, hanging out on the bowsprit, going aloft."

Here is an adaptation of the poem Sea Fever (adapted by "Popeye"):

I must go down to the sea again
To the floats and strewn beads of white
With wondrous shell treasures
That make a beachcomber's delight.
I must go down to the sea again
To the jetsom-strewn beaches of light
With sweet children's faces and warm embraces
That make Popeye sleep well at night.

Family Sail aboard Adventuress--Part 2

Journal Entries: August 7th

The Agile Albatrosses of the Family Sail learned a lot about sailing, plankton, and sail names.

Daniel helped "festival-furl" the jib, and it was beautiful. Charlie enjoyed walking the "widow strainer." Lauren is pleased by how wonderful and comfortable the sailing has been so far.

There was a skit put on by the crew for dinner: County Fair Whack-a-Potato to announce root fritters and au gratin...and delicious it was.

We all learned how to raise the sails. It's hard work, but fun.

Family Sail aboard Adventuress--Part 1

Family Sail Anchor Watch Poem

2200 8/8/2009-0700 8/9/2009

Seals and porpoises
night our stillness brings peace, dreams reeled in by the sea.
Wind slowly musters
Washes in from crooks unknown
Wakened by the night.
Midnight discussions in the calm,
Moon peeking out from the clouds,
honks and quacks somehow add to the silence; Gentle mist makes us all sea creatures.
Form, function, and beauty.
A thousand reminders of those gone before, Driven on, ceaselessly by the music.
Driven on by the waves
Riding the current
Stuff floating in the water.
Is it glowing?
The surface erupting in a carpet of ripples.
Fish feeding,
Glassy waters reflect the trees, the sky Mirrors our dreams back to us And to our children Who carry them into the future.
Minnows jump and show their shining
silver sides bidding
the sun to come and rise.
Etherial islands drift,
Billow, bunch, then shift
Within, darkness dulls all senses
The sun to come and rise.

More from the Fantastic Voyageers!

(top) Puppet show: Yarn of the Nancy Belle (middle) Stuart Island view (top) Climbing aloft

The phone signals were tricky during the trip, but now that everyone's back ashore, we thought we'd share a few of the journal entries:

From the participants:

"We anchored early on the third day and got to climb aloft, row in Ayashe, sit on the bowsprit, throw heaving lines, and just hang out. We met Nicole, the lighthouse tender. She came aboard Adventuress for the evening program and shared stories with us."

"On day four we took a shore hike on Stuart Island to the lighthouse and the schoolhouse. We had lunch in the field and played games like Ultimate Frisbee in the park."

"On the fifth day, we had Schooner Olympics. We had three teams: "Team One," "Canada," and "Bjorkland." There was immense spirit and teamwork from all. We competed in fender racing, the human knot, pair knotting, and line heaving. The ultimate victor was Bjorkland, followed by Team One, and lastly Canada. Jessup and Jordan commentated splendidly."

"Also on day five, we finished three baggywrinkles, and completed a Silent Set, where we raised all four sails without any verbal input from the crew!"

"Favorite meals were peanut butter chocolate chip muffins and zuccini muffins for breakfast, sauteed zuccini, black bean burgers, and spaghetti for dinner. We came close to breaking the record for least food waste on the trip, with only 2.5 gallons (a half bucket) of compost collected from 35 people over five days. One day there was ZERO food waste."

From the apprentices:

"On the fourth day, we took a shore hike to one of the most beautiful lighthouses in the San Juans. We had a nice wind and sailed fairly well with a little motoring. I wish we would not have had to motor, but it had to be done."

"I finished a Turk's Head for my wrist. I'm extremely stoked to wear one and I hope it stays on until I die! I still need to make a lanyard for my apprentice knife, which I hope to do tomorrow."

San Juan Islands Sunset

It doesn't get much better!

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Watch Group Les anemone apocolyptique reports that they learned about bioluminessence in the dinoflagellate noctiluca as well as in other organisms. Bioluminessence is one of the highlights of anchor watch, when a rope or boat hook drawn through the water creates ripples of sparkling light.

The Fantastic Voyagers went on a shorehike on Stuart Island, a favorite stopping point of Adventuress crew. The 2.881 square-mile island is north of San Juan Island and west of Waldron. The group's natural-history journal entry from the hike included spotting a herd of what looked to be Mouflon sheep lying in the grass in front of the lighthouse and also observing large amounts of bull kelp.

Fantastic Voyage aboard Adventuress

The Fantastic Voyagers (grades 9 to 12) set sail on Sunday aboard the schooner Adventuress in the San Juan Islands. The weather was gorgeous and the energy was high as crew and participants stowed luggage, picked bunks, learned names, joined Watch Groups, and left the dock for five days of new experiences.

We'll be sharing participants' entries to the Watch Log...daily if possible, but always at the mercy of finding a phone signal amidst the Islands.

Monday, August 3, 2009

Anchor Watch Poem

The night started with a big bang

Fireworks of different colors lit up the night

But they came nowhere near the light of the moon

And in its glory it did shine

It's such a shame it can't be mine

If I could I'd gift it to you

But none can match the color of the moon

The moon has set

The sun is rising

The stars dissappear

Good morning, sunshine

The earth says hello.

"One memory I have about yesterday is Anchor Watch. I've been on Adventuress twice already, so it was kind of neat to teach others about what to do."

"Yesterday we had an idea to have Natural History Watch on the bowsprit. A wonderful idea until we realized it was hard to have a conversation with someone's back!"

"Yesterday, the Mission of Peace Watch Group discovered their name and had fun putting on many skits for the whole boat's crew family. We've had a good time and lots of laughs so far. I hope to learn lots more before going home."

"(1) Learned how to set sails. (2) Met a lot of cool new people. (3) Had fun learning new things. (4) The views of the landscapes were awesome."