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."