Girls Take the Helm

By Elizabeth Becker

In late July, an enthusiastic group of 16 young women, average age 13, boarded Adventuress in Friday Harbor for 3 days of sailing, learning, and exploring.  Except for one group of five Girl Scouts who had journeyed all the way from central Oregon, the girls didn’t know one another.  But any hesitance quickly evaporated during the opening circle, lunch, and Watch Group orientations.  A sunny afternoon of sailing kept everyone busy hauling on lines, tacking, and taking turns at the helm.  At anchor in McKay Harbor off Lopez Island, preparations began for the evening program, which would include resource reports and game night.

One of the unique aspects of Girls at the Helm is having a group of women mentors aboard to share their passions and expertise with the participants.  On this trip, the five mentors shared their interests in wildlife biology, teamwork, photography, tall ships, and water quality.  The crew, which was mostly female for this trip, added plankton and sail theory to the mix.

Furling the jib in windy weather

On day 2, the ship headed south and east into the Strait of Juan de Fuca, heading up Rosario Strait.  The sun and calm seas of the day before had given way to cooler temperatures, stronger winds, and sizable swells, giving all aboard a taste of saltier sailing.  Heading back through Thatcher Pass brought smoother waters along with a bit of rain. But once at anchor in Blind Bay off Shaw Island, the sun came out and there was plenty of time for climbing aloft, sailing Ayashe, and doing some fancy knotwork.

During dinner, the participants had an opportunity for some one-on-one time with the mentors, with an assignment to ask them questions and then share the answers with the whole group during the evening program. The girls did an awesome job with their presentations, which were followed up with skits by each Watch Group.

The trip ended far too soon. Day 3 brought Adventuress back to Friday Harbor under sunny skies. The girls left with great memories, a better sense of their abilities, and a new window into what’s possible.
“I learned that I’m stronger than I thought.” ---participant

Studying plankton

The Intrepid Mentors

Hauling up the mainsail

Studying the charts

Learning Adventuress' sails

Preparing to go up Adventuress' mainmast!

Road Scholar Day 1 of 6 day voyage – Anchoring in Dacatur Bay

June 26, 2011 - 

Submitted by Catherine Collins

Evening program has just ended, and the light on Mount Baker is golden red.  Four boys, ages 10-12, are creeping along the deck, walking like ninjas the way they were taught by crew member Dan Dan.  It’s the first day of the first Road Scholar (formerly Elder Hostel) Intergenerational trip of the season. 

I’m excited to be out of the office this week as “guest crew” and experiencing the magic of a program aboard Adventuress.  It’s sheer joy to have my mother, Ann, aboard.  She turned 75 this year, and is the real sailor in our family growing up on wooden boats on the coast of Maine.  My nephew, Ben, is aboard too, and quickly signed us up for anchor watch – enthusiastically jumping in at every turn.

We boarded yesterday afternoon, on a gorgeous Friday Harbor day.  Grandparents and grandkids – renewing and strengthening their relationships across generations, and of course, having fun.  Though most were a bit road-weary after traveling from all parts of the country, they were ready for adventure. 

After nearly 12 miles under sail, we settled down off Decatur Head, Decatur Island, which Ben helped the captain choose for our anchorage.  And a quiet night was had by all with much-needed rest and renewal – and delicious, healthy food from the galley.  Time to slow down, take in spectacular views of our Northwest waterways…and become part of the life of Puget Sound.  

Catherine

Getaway for Grown-Ups: A Participant's Perspective

By Dan Adams, Get Away for Grown-ups Participant

Growing up around the water and being an avid sailor for the past 35 years I have always been drawn to tall ships. After seeing the schooner Adventuress while sailing on Elliott Bay this past May I checked into this beautiful ship and went for a day sail a month later. I was hooked. It was then that I found out about the Get-Away for Grown-Ups weekend.

Not really knowing what we were getting ourselves into, Diane and I decided to give it a shot. After all, a weekend in the San Juans aboard an historic schooner sounded like fun. We had some reservations; dorm style sleeping with people we don’t know, getting up in the middle of the night to stand watch, no shower for three days etc. In need of an adventure, we walked onto the ferry in Anacortes on Aug. 27th bound for Friday Harbor.

Once aboard the Adventuress we were greeted by Program Coordinator Emilee Monson and then divided up into “watches." Our watch consisted of 4 adults and 3 crew. We then went to pick out our bunks, women in the main cabin, men in the forward cabin. OK, this makes sense, it was like being back at scout camp. After a meeting with our watch, we set about learning how to sail Adventuress, hoisting sail, trimming sheets, tying lines and safety rules. This is what I was hoping for, not being one to sit around and watch others, we became working members of the crew.

Our first day at sea was exciting, once under sail and learning about the islands around us, we were treated to pods of dolphins and then the call “Orca off the starboard bow." Diane and I were down below helping Jane with the evening meal when we dropped what we were doing and bolted up the ladder to the main deck.....our first Orca sighting. Other Orca were playing over by the shore and their blow spray was backlit by the afternoon sun. It was a magical moment.

After dropping anchor in Prevost Harbor on Stuart Island, a delicious meal on deck and an informative evening muster in the main cabin we all bedded down at 10 o’clock wondering what the night watch would be like. Sleep was a little hard to find the first night but we were awakened at 2am for our night watch. Meeting Diane on deck, we were delighted to discover a beautiful evening of stars, sounds and rhythms of the night watch. The hour watch seemed to fly by and was more fun than we thought, checking the anchor, ships position, water in the bilge and just hanging out and taking in the beautiful surroundings.

A 7:00am wake up call on Saturday morning, coffee, a wonderful breakfast and the morning duties began with a good ole swabbing of the decks. Each watch group (A, B & C) had different duties and ours was the deck wash that morning. We sailed off the anchor into a nice morning blow followed by a short tacking duel with the schooner Zodiac, more Orca sightings including a nice breach and then anchored early in Westcott Bay on San Juan Island. Each watch group observed informative presentations on sea plankton, mammals of the sea, knot tying etc. It was then play time, each watch group took turns sailing the dingy Ayashi, climbing the rigging, sitting on the bow sprit, and just taking in the sights and sounds of the anchorage. Another fabulous dinner and the evening muster in the main cabin (what a hoot that was.)

We chose the 6am night watch so we could catch the sunrise and it was well worth it. The bay was coming alive with the sounds of the local wildlife and the ever changing morning light. Coffee, breakfast and a wonderful sail in the San Juan Channel with a reefed main (Capt. Daniel loved our reefing job) staysail, jib and no foresail. Each watch got a turn at the helm and what a thrill it was to sail the Adventuress with such a good wind. We finally arrived back in Friday Harbor at 3pm.

What a magical weekend, not only were the experiences incredible but we can’t say enough good things about the Captain and Crew of the Adventuress. They quickly integrated all of us strangers into a cohesive group of deck hands all the while carefully watching us as we learned the next skill. As an educator myself, I was very impressed with the passion our watch group leaders demonstrated in their ability to communicate and teach.

Emilee & Diane

They were very patient and knowledgeable and genuinely cared about our learning experience. We came away with many fond memories and many new friends. Thank you Sound Experience for what you do and the people you have assembled and thank you Emilee for a job well done. I highly recommend the Get-Away for Grown-Ups, or any other program, to anyone interested in a truly educational and thrilling adventure. We will be back.

Dan Adams

You can sign up for the 2011 Getaway for Grown-Ups by following this link: http://www.doubleknot.com/Registration/CalendarDetail.asp?ActivityKey=893078&OrgKey=2293

Dinner on deck in the evening sun

At the helm

Sheeting in the foresail

View from aloft

Sailing A-ya-she, Adventuress' small boat

Nathan's Adventuress Poem Caught on Video

By Zach Simonson-Bond

During the last night of the Fantastic Voyage, anchored in Shoal Bay, Lopez Island, we did an evening program called "Party Piece," a timeless classic aboard Adventuress. People can share anything they'd like whether it's a poem, music, skit, story, joke, and so on. The presentations range from serious to silly.

I had the pleasure of getting to know Nathan during this Fantastic Voyage. He was down to earth, had tremendous determination, and was simply hilarious. Listen to his poem!

Our Adventure on Adventuress

Lesley Reed and her 14-year old son Sage won People For Puget Sound's recent contest to spend a family weekend aboard the schooner Adventuress. Lesley describes each moment of that sail as 'a new adventure' and shares that adventure.

Our adventure of a lifetime began with a benevolent request from a friend of my son’s. For his 14th birthday, he asked that donations be made to an environmental organization. Sage chose People for Puget Sound and with that donation we became members.

Meanwhile, Sage was taking sailing lessons and finding he loved it. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect when we received the email from People For Puget Sound announcing the raffle for two spots on the Adventuress Family Sail. Sage and I eagerly answered each day’s questions and crossed our fingers. What joy when we won!

You can read the rest of their adventure by on People For Puget Sound's website! Thank you Lesley and Sage for coming aboard Adventuress and writing this article.

Some of the most unique and special moments that happen aboard Adventuress occur during the hour up on deck in the middle of the night. Whether stormy or clear, alone or with one or two others, the opportunity to experience the night in a whole new way can be magical. Not only that, but creative energy at 3AM can be quite spectacular! The following story was written during anchor watch by crew and participants on our Boy Scout trip last week...

On their 2^nd night of anchor watch, while reflecting on all of the activities of the day, the Adventuress sailors were startled by...a sea serpent as long as their boat who smelled peanut sauce from the Upright Channel, 6nanometers away. Suddenly...the horny head of the serpent thrust out of the quiet waters of Shoal Bay, sending a scintillating spray of phosphorescent dinoflagellates across the dewy deck of the ship in a living reflection of the night sky.

The monster’s head arched over the starboard lifelines. The night watch had fallen asleep in the deckhouse and was oblivious to the threat looming over them. Suddenly, there was a thunderous snore from the Captain’s Cabin! The monster was taken aback for the moment, not sure whether this snoring ship was a worthy opponent, or a creature to be romanced and seduced.

The ship tried to flee. For the lack of wind it used the motor and powered out of the bay. In hopes of losing the monster the crew sailed her into high water. Clear of the San Juan Islands the wind picked up and the ship sailed on.

The watch now applied as much sail as two deckhands could raise and sighting the sea serpent ahead – gave chase! The helmsman shouted “we are heading for the arctic” as Adventuress started back on the path of her original journey North. The wind rose and the ship thundered on – unbeknownst to the unsuspecting sleeping occupants below. What would happen about Breakfast?

As the crew and occupants began to rise for morning, they realized they were soaked from sweat! What was going on? Everyone gathered on deck and looked out to a beautiful island called Hawaii. The crew on deck were shocked, for they had been trying to navigate from the stars and thought for sure they were headed back to San Juan Island.

‘Alas!’ cried the crew, for the breakfast was a stew. And keeping a sharp eye for the danger of the rocks, the temporary cook had brewed up some soup of Elena’s stinky socks! ‘Arrg!’ cried the mate as the sailors cast their fate. They plotted a new course, while raising the main they shouted ‘Heave’ until their voices grew near hoarse.

Meanwhile, Jane relieved the temporary cook in the galley. The crew had hated their breakfast, but resourceful Jane quickly realized the perfect use for stinky sock stew. When they returned to the islands she could use it to pacify the sea serpent, which was lying in wait for them! The crew of Adventuress sailed up the coasts of California, Oregon, and Washington, enjoying sightings of sea lions along the way. When they returned to Shoal Bay, the sea serpent gratefully ate the stew – he’d only been hungry all this time! And Jane cooked a scrumptious celebratory breakfast for all hands. THE END

Girls Leadership Adventure

By Elizabeth Becker

What would you call a group of fourteen young women (ages 13 to 17), five mentors (ages 37 to 70), and a highly energetic and enthusiastic crew aboard a historic schooner in the San Juan Islands? The answer: PHENOMENAL!

Our newest program, focused on girls and leadership, took place the first week of August, under sunny skies, perfect breezes, and starry nights at anchor watch.

While those things were wonderful, they couldn’t hold a candle to the delight of heading south through Cattle Pass (at the southern tip of San Juan Island) to come upon a SUPER POD of Orcas. Breaching, spy hopping, and tail slapping elicited the appropriate “oohs” and “aahs” as the whales amazed us with their beauty and agility.

That morning set the stage for a fun-filled trip. Mentors Jean, Eileen, Kristin, Nancy, and me (Elizabeth) shared our enthusiasm for groundwater, coastal seabirds, effective communication, tall ships, and citizen science. Our crew led the girls in collecting and examining plankton, learning “the ropes” (halyards, actually!), talking about sustainable nutrition, and creating some highly memorable skits.

We all headed home tired and happy, a bit more knowledgeable about the environment, about ourselves, and about our community. In the words of a participant: “I learned a lot and had fun doing it, which is rare sometimes!”

A Story Made During Anchor Watch

By the Participants and Crew Aboard Adventuress
July 20 - 21, 2010

During anchor watch, each of our participants and crew stand guard over the sleeping ship. Well, we also like to have fun during anchor watch! Often we write stories or haikus as part of these one-hour rotations, with each watch adding a little bit to the tale! Here is one from our last trip:

While hiking on Sucia Island, the young sailors discovered...

a monol-bismol (a kind of pepto-bismal that does the opposite of pepto-bismal)

Adam thought that it was cranberry lemonade and drank it!

Once their stomachs recovered, they carried on and came upon an old smuggler's secret hiding place. In it they found not people, drugs or alcohol but rather...

purple sea lions singing shanties while turtles kept rhythm on their shells. On a large table were potentially explosive moose cupcakes... were the crew tempted?

They threw a cupcake out into the ocean to see if it would explode, and sure enough, it did. Everyone was pretty glad they hadn't eaten any. The young sailors spent the night on the island and were woken up by purple seals singing a new sea shanty. It went:

"Elijah has blue hair, oh my oh my!

Steve has cool glasses, oh my oh my"

And it went on, similar to that. It was midnight. The sailors were groggy, disoriented by the purple sea lions' song and managed to fall off one of the lovely sandstone bluffs.

With a splash and a splish they plummeted into the cold water! Then all of a sudden, out of nowhere, came something they never expected! A line! Thrown in the water by a hooded nudibranch!

Its watermelon-y smell captured the nostrils of (purple) sea lions everywhere, and the young sailors balked at their sudden company. And Kat was pleased to finally meet her sea lion friend. Soon the sea lions were all hauled up on the deck of Adventuress (along with the hooded nudibranch) and a wild bluegrass dance party erupted. Porpoises provided the decorations to Elijah's delight, and Elijah said "porpoise!"

They all stayed up through every anchor watch (checking bilges as the party raged on) and it was the best night they'd ever had. It had swaggerfullisticalness!!!

The End

Glimpses from a Road Scholar Intergenerational Voyage, Part I

By the Crew of the Schooner Adventuress

At the beginning of our trip, we divided into three watches, which is an old maritime tradition. During the day, one watch is on deck sailing the vessel, while the other two watches choose between education stations and/or down time (the sun and sailing can take it out of you!). In the evening, after Adventuress has found a cozy anchorage, rotations continue! One watch cooks dinner & does dishes, one watch takes on the natural history report--which is about what they saw that day, and the remaining watch prepares for the "Resource Report."

The Resource Watch goes throughout the ship finding:

• How much fuel we used
• How much water we drank
• Estimating the amount of compost made from cooking
• Estimating food waste made from uneaten morsels
• Estimating trash produced that day

The resource report has been presented in various ways. Sometimes it comes as a skit, sometimes a discussion, sometimes a game. This time however, the Bodacious BarbaRays Watch (B Watch) presented a Resource "Opereta," which included the following rap!

Yo
This is Big Papa Sailor and
I'm on a boat
yeah, yeah, yeah
I'm on a boat
and it can float
We be rockin' and rockin'
making distance and distance
So let me give you a little somethin' somethin'
We went 10 nautical miles
Wow it's all down in our nautical files
Yeah
I know the number's pretty big
Yeah
I said big just like our nautical rig
Wait, before we run out of time
Let me give you one more rhyme
Yeah
Man, our boat don't cower
We got 2.4 nautical miles per hour
So do me a favor and keep it dope
Cuz get ready, get set,
I'm on a boat!

Sailing Through Deception Pass

By the Crew of the schooner Adventuress

It is a highlight for all mariners – passing through the ever-so-narrow Deception Pass. We experienced this ourselves on June 25th with a group of young participants from the Treehouse organization (www.treehouse4kids.org) onboard. We were travelling from Everett to the San Juan Islands.

The pass is known for its majestic towering cliffs on both sides and turbulent currents. We timed our passage at slack tide to avoid the worst of the currents. Additionally, we paid tribute to Ko Kwal Al Woot (aka the Maiden of Deception Pass) by sharing her story and paying tribute with a sacrificial brownie to ensure our safe passage. Our timing and sacrifice paid off as we motored safely through the narrow passageway. (Maiden photo comes from: http://www.stonebard.com/carving_the_maiden_of_deception.htm)

The story of the Ko Kwal Al Woot dates back to the time the Samish people lived in this area where they found plenty of food from the sea. The “Maiden” (as she is known) makes the ultimate sacrifice for her people by agreeing to marry a man living in the sea who had power over their food and water sources. The man used his power to persuade this beautiful maiden, who he had fallen in love with while watching her gather clams along the shore, to marry him. Initially, she returned to her village once each year to see her people. But in a short matter of time, she no longer wanted to leave her husband or the sea. So, she stopped coming back to the village. She had fallen in love with the sea. (A more complete story of Ko Kwal Al Woot can be found at exhibits.pacsci.org/puget_sound/Maiden.html.)

There was one additional highlight of our passage through Deception Pass. A couple of our newest Shipboard Volunteers were standing on the towering bluffs waving us on. One of them played the bagpipes as we passed by. We could feel their presence on the deck of the ship. It is always wonderful to see this kind of community support. Thanks Chiara, Rob and Danaan!

Fair winds,

The Crew of the schooner Adventuress

Haikus From Anchor Watch on the Waldorf Trip

Recently, two Waldorf schools joined us for a four-day overnight trip out of Bellingham and through the San Juan Islands.

On our overnight trips, everyone aboard stands a one-hour anchor watch to keep the ship and their slumbering shipmates safe!

Anchor watches are magical hours. Participants are roused gently from sleep by whispering their names and tugging at their pillows. They don their anchor watch garb--which was thoughtfully laid out the night before--and make their way gingerly to deck.

Always there are things to do on anchor watch. Careful not to make a noise, we sneak around checking and rechecking the ship. How high is the bilgewater? Is the anchor light still on? Are our bearings still within an acceptable range? Check, check and check!

As the nights progress, our participants learn the ropes and we finish with time to spare. Sometimes, like on this trip, we write haikus. Here are the haikus written by the Waldorf students:

Night is very dark

Chuckanut Bay is awesome

We love it here

Ripples on water

Rain pats softly on the deck

Clouds cover the stars

The water is smooth

Glossy like a mirror's face

Quiet like the moon

Tomorrow is now

The water is calm and clear

All is sound and safe

Campfire on the shore

Joyful music and singing

As we guarded home

Calculating Speed Without GPS!

By Monica, Program Coordinator aboard Adventuress

We're back up sailing in the beautiful San Juan Islands! This recent group was very interested in really learning how to sail, so we accommodated. We incorporated something from the "old" days of sailing. We calculated our speed using something other than a GPS. Here's what we did: Our deck is 101 feet in length. A nautical mile is 6,076 feet. Rounding these two figures off (for ease of calculations) to 100 and 6,000 respectively allows for a very simple (and fun) way to approximate our speed. Mathmeticians will immediately see the formula which is 60 divided by the number of seconds it takes for an object in the water to travel from the bow to the stern of the ship. This simple formula results in our speed expressed in knots. For those non-mathmeticians, here is how you get there... x = the number of seconds it takes an object in the water to travel from the bow to the stern of the ship which is 1/60 of a nautical mile y = x(60) = the number of seconds it takes that object to travel one nautical mile y / 60 = the number of minutes it takes that object to travel one nautical mile z = y / 3600 = the number of hours it takes that object to travel one nautical mile To convert the number of hours to travel one nautical mile into knots (nautical miles per hour) take 1 divided by z. The mathematical laws of cancellation when multiplying and dividing result in the very simple, final formula of 60 divided by x. So any time we see an object drifting towards the ship, we can easily approximate our speed by timing the object as it passes from bow to stern and divide that time into 60. So who needs a GPS to measure speed? Students at the bow would signal students at the stern who were holding a stop watch when they saw something drifting by. As the object reached the bow, the lookouts would lower their arms signalling the ones at the stern to begin timing. When the object reached the stern, they would stop the watch and announce the length of time. We could then very quickly approximate our speed. Pretty cool. Monica

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."