Fall 2003 SEAmester East Journal
Sent weekly from sea by students on-board SEAmester ...
Log entry 5
Bonjour le famille et les amis,
So much has happened since our last update! I believe that we left off at
Fernandina Beach in wonderful sunshiny Florida. Our journey began on
November 6, when we said, “Au Revior” to the good ole’ Etas Unis and sailed
into the wild blue yonder. The beginning of the journey was also the
beginning of a new phase of responsibility on board; Junior Watch Officers
were assigned and the students took charge of setting sails, maintaining
navigation, and keeping all the hooligans on board in line!
The seven day sail began with beautiful calm weather but soon turned into a
howling gale! For three days we sailed through driving wind and rain with
swells of 25-30 feet in height. To maintain contact with the deck we all
donned our harnesses and clipped into a jack line that was rigged from the
bow to the stern. When the sun finally shined through everything and
everyone on board was thoroughly soaked, clothes lines were rigged and damp
bunks were overhauled.
Instead of stopping at San Salvador we sailed straight for the deserted
Bahamian island, East Plana Cay. The weather treated us with the utmost
respect and everyone enjoyed a thrilling day of snorkeling, swimming,
beachcombing, and of course HUTIA HUNTING!!! The island is surrounded by\a
barrier reef and is home to an endemic creature called the HUTIA. These
little rodent like critters live in the limestone terrain behind the beach.
After setting up camp and eating over the bonfire, the whole crew headed up
into the unknown with flashlights to hunt them. Eric managed to round one
small hutia up with the help of Professor Hamilton and myself, (Brenna).
We all surrounded the little guy and cooed and took pictures then let him
go. Other wildlife we encountered included scorpions, ghost crabs, osprey,
curly tailed lizards, barracudas and a myriad of tropical fish.
The crew of the boat came back to yank us out of paradise on the 14th.
Reluctantly we picked up our gear and prepared to sail to Haiti. Haiti was
first sighted at about 9 am on the 15th. The rich terrain and jutting
mountains welcomed us into this confusing and shocking culture. When we
arrived on the dock at, Cape Haitian, Haitian people lined up all wanting
to, “help” and be our “friends”. Each student soon learned that once
engaged most citizens of Haiti are looking to do something for you to earn
money. The society is extremely poor and there is a gaping lack of
infrastructure in the city. Haitian people brought bags of goods to sell
and set up shop right along side of our boat. Chris and Cathy took us as a
large group on a tour of the city, however in Haiti it is “custom” that
every foreigner has a guide, so our group quickly multiplied.
The city is intense. It is filled with smells, sounds, and sites that are
nearly unexplainable. The buildings are all very colorful, but ramshackle.
Even public offices are in dilapidated structures. Beautiful Haitian
people walk, drive, and bike in a confused frenzy that is completely
foreign to many of us suburbanites. The people are all genuinely friendly
and want to show you their city, homes, friends, and family. Our tour
guides push away other people that are trying to be our guides; they know
all to well how easy it is to lose money when there are too many helpers.
The streets are filthy and not well maintained, trash and broken cars block
many walking areas. The American students were shocked to see people
relieving themselves in public areas, children playing unattended in the
streets, and people holding onto our bodies to claim us for their own. For
an evening event a few of the students went out to a disco where they
enjoyed dancing to authentic music and talking with their Haitian peers.
On Sunday we had an early wake up in order to make a trip to, “La Citadel”.
The Citadel is in the city of Milot. It was built by Henri Christophe and
under construction for about fifteen years between 1805-1820. During this
time over 200,000 Haitian citizens worked on it, 20,000 of which died.
Christophe killed himself in 1820 when the political emotion of the public
was no longer in his favor. In order to get to the Citadel we all piled
into a bus sitting five across squishing our bags into whatever space was
left, and proceeded to drive about 16km through the Haitian countryside.
We viewed the homes on the outskirts of town and saw Haitian life in
action. Sunday seemed to be laundry day, all through the town and country
people hung clothes along fences, bushes, even cactus plants. Men and
women sat outside their homes scrubbing clothes in colorful pots, managing
their gardens, and cooking food over small fire pits. Upon reaching the
Citadel our bus was surrounded again by tour guides, some of which had
followed us from Cape Haitian.
The seven mile hike uphill was not only challenging physically but mentally
as well. People live in straw huts with makeshift roofs, children playing
naked in dirty water, begging us all for food and money. Many students
brought extra food and school supplies to give out however there were more
needy hands than goods to give out. Our guides gave us the run down of
Haitian history as we ascended the mountainous terrain; they also
introduced us to the local fruits and plants from the flora that shaded our
hike. At rest stops it was common to buy fruit, oranges, mangos, avocados,
grapefruits, passion fruits, coffee beans, and a plethora of other tasty
treats surrounded us on all sides. Students and Haitians alike grew
frustrated when trying to make transactions. The Haitian dollar is a
non-existing idea, the base of their money is called “gourds” about six
gourds make one Haitian dollar and about 41 gourds make one U.S. dollar!
Between bartering, the language barrier, and the conversions, most of us
just wanted to sit down and cry. The people are often so desperate that
they will not leave your side until you buy something from them.
On the way down the mountain our group was taken into a VODOU temple. As
we rounded the corner our eyes laid onto a scene very foreign to us all. A
roof over a dirt patio contained a Haitian band of drummers and singers, in
the center of the floor a Vodou priestess, or Mambo, danced to the rhythm
of the drums. She wore brown satin clothes and gyrated her body in crazy
ways. A bottle of rum stood on a pedestal which she and others drank from.
The students mingled in with Haitians sitting around the edges of the
circle. The priestess encouraged us to dance with her and students joined
in. Those of us that remained on the sidelines got a surprise of our own
when she came and danced literally on top of us. The drumming and singing
intensified and the woman began to pass out, flopping dramatically into
Sarah’s unsuspecting arms. She was taken into a house nearby and we
filtered out of the service. The ceremony did not finish when we left,
they continued to beat their drums and sing. In vodou ceremonies it is
tradition for the priest or priestess to dance and drink and sing until
they enter and altered state of mind and possession.
After the long and exhausting hike we were all more than glad to share
sweaty space in the bus. Dinner was prepared for us by a Haitian family
that organizes and helps the SEAmester program annually. We feasted on
chicken wings, rice and beans, goat meat, and a fiery cabbage avocado
salad. The nightlife here is not very existent nor very safe so people
either stayed on the boat, or went to the hotel, Mont Joli. The owner of
the hotel let us swim in the pool and took good care of us by driving us to
and from the dock in private cars.
Monday was the day for shopping in the chaotic Haitian market. People line
the streets in a semi-designated manner. Goods are piled on crates and
makeshift tables, live chickens and turkeys are tied to their owners and
women hiss at you to get your attention. Everything is fast moving and
people grab at you, in order to make sense of anything you have to count
out the money and set aside what you want and then try and interpret their
reactions. If you have a guide it can be somewhat easier, however they
sometimes don’t understand the conversions any better than you do! All the
students made it back alive however without sanity for the most part. I am
sure that we will all have our own unique stories to tell when we come
home; it is a difficult scenario to describe without pictures. Haiti is
definitely the experience of a lifetime and from it we have gained new
perspectives on life. Traveling through Haiti has forced us to question
our society, politics, and international relations in a whole new light.
We sailed to Labadie which is a private cove owned by Royal Caribbean
Cruise line just around the corner from Cap Haitian. We were able to
anchor there until we broke the windlass (the machine we haul the anchor up
with). The cruise company let us come onto the beach to have our classes
there; we played volleyball and swam in the beautiful waters as well. We
sailed off the mooring around 5:30 pm on the 19th. A quick overnight sail
brought us to Luperon, Dominican Republic. Upon entering the harbor… the
rather shallow harbor the poor Spirit of Massachusetts ran aground… twice.
We had to swing the main boom out to port and had all hands walk out on the
boom in order to maneuver off the sand. It was a good lesson in physics!
We are all enjoying the sunshine and coping with the close quarters. This
said for all of us, “I love you guys!”
A little song that keeps a smile on our faces… (set to the music of Mexican
Cousin, Phish)
“Ohhhhh Bahamas, we sail towards you like a long lost friend, I wanna
kiss my Caribbean cousin once agggaaaiiin. I wanna sail every inch of your
ocean, from San Salvador to St. Thomas, and hunt little Hutia’s on all the
islands we traverse in between …. “ Au Revior!!!!
Okay folks, Haul your halyards and take up on your sheets!
Adios amigos!!!
Brenna Leveille
Log entry 4
Hello again from St. Mary’s, Georgia! (Yes we’re still here). After 10 days of reeking havoc on this poor southern town we’re getting ready to set sail and leave the good old U.S.A.
Our days here have been filled with activities both on and off the boat. A few days were spent on Cumberland Island. The first one allowed for geology and biosurvey field trips but the highlight of that day was climbing live oaks where some of us were reminded that we were never good tree climbers and that’s why our play houses were on the ground. The dunes on this barrier island are constantly being blown back burying the forest so that it looked like some of the branches were growing into the ground!
The second day spent on the island was the death march. Those of us who were sane opted for the 16 mile hike, but there were quite a few crazy ones who marched up to the First African Baptist Church where John F. Kennedy Jr. was married (28 miles roundtrip!). Will and Cindy finished in record time with 11hrs and 10 minutes, while others got lost on the island and still finished the 28 miles…with a few scrapes and bruises to show for it (GO GREG and ERIC). The wildlife was unique – we saw wild horses, armadillos, turtles, snakes, wild boars, and horseshoe crabs. By the time we left Cumberland Island everyone aboard the ship had experienced their first academic challenge (test), which allowed us to apply what we’ve learned so far.
While we were docked in St. Mary’s a lot of time was spent working on the boat to keep it in tip-top shape. Chris was forced to admit half way up the jib stay that he was afraid of heights, but still got the job done! Scraping, painting, oiling, tarring, scrubbing, baggy-wrinkling, provisioning, and ship laundry were tackled by both the students and crew.
Halloween was celebrated by all – karaoke in Trolley’s and a costume party in Seagull’s. Chantal (our cook) a.k.a. “bunny” won the costume contest and a bottle of Crown Royal. The “Cumberland Island Survivors” (Tim, Greg, Kristin, Missy, and Dana) dressed up as a risqué basketball team and had most of the town laughing.
After a night out, we had an early wake up (0600hrs!) to get up to the Okefenokee Swamp. We canoed 12 miles and some of us had a few close encounters with some alligators.
Yesterday we took a road trip to St. Augustine, Florida where we climbed the light house and learned about some marine archeological projects going on in the area. Half of us went to the beach and rented surf boards and boogie boards for the rest of the day and the other half went sightseeing downtown.
Today is hump day (the half way point of the trip)!!! We’re doing some last minute errands and putting the gaff back up onto the mainmast. After chores this morning, the shiny white gaff was a sight for sore eyes. The Captain proudly announced that we would be leaving for Fernandina this afternoon where we would refuel before heading out to sea. We’re anxious to get underway and regain our sea-legs.
A reminder to worried friends and family – once we leave the U.S. it gets harder to call home. Have no worries, we’ll stay safe and healthy and I’m sure the Caribbean will treat us well. Enjoy the chilly fall weather at home J.
~Kate Muldoon & Cindy Sexton~
Log entry 3
Greetings from the warm south!
Baltimore was fun. We made it to the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race (and all of the parties associated). For a good part of the race we remained close to our competition, The Pride of Baltimore II. However in the end they did beat us. We came in second in our division ending the race in about 33 hours. After Portsmouth, VA (where the race ended) we all hopped in vehicles and had a road trip to the Mariner’s Museum in Newport News, Colonial Williamsburg and ending in Jamestown, VA. Our ship “The Spirit of Massachusetts” met us in Jamestown and we spent a few days at the Jamestown Settlement where our second mate, Hank Moseley used to work. He gave us a great tour and depiction of how life was back then. That night in Jamestown we had a huge blue crab dinner for the ship and some of the people that worked in the settlement, we even had a limbo contest that Joz won. Our last day in Jamestown we went to VIMS (Virginia Institute of Marine Science), a part of William and Mary College, where we seined in the river and visited their teaching saltmarsh and labs, which were really nice. They had rainbow trout for people to do studies on and one of them jumped up out of its tank and tried to bite Terica’s nose.
After Jamestown we were underway for 4 days, for most of which we couldn’t even see land. After a few days of great sailing the main gaff broke in half due to an accidental gybe. However we got it under control and are going to repair it while in St. Mary’s. The rest of the trip went pretty smoothly although we couldn’t use our mainsail. The water was beautiful on the trip. We saw tons of dolphins, flying fish, and Portuguese-man-o-war’s. We are now in the St. Mary’s River, in between Florida and Georgia. Yesterday we went to Fort Clinch and walked around, everyone seemed to encounter some gnarly spiders, including me. Last night some of us slept up on deck because it was so nice out…it was so much nicer than our tiny bunks. I had dibs on Professor Chris’ hammock, so I was really lucky. Most of us on the boat are having our share of nightly nightmares or at least extremely interesting dreams, and we can always count on Brenna (the only non-Southamptoner) for her nightly commentary on her nightmares while she sleeps.
Overall things are going well; we are eternally dirty and longing for a shower. We are currently preparing for a science field trip and the “death march” on Cumberland Island and getting the ship ready for our long journey to the Caribbean. Also some students have been head-rig cleared. Congrats to Tim, the first of us students to be cleared. We all hope to be cleared by the time we leave Georgia. Only one more month to go, we’ll keep y’all posted.
Au Revoir,
Rachal Mickaliger
Entries 1 and 2
Prof. Hamilton's Journal Archive
Spring 2003
Fall 2002
Spring 2002
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Fall 2000
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