Fall 2002 SEAmester East Journal
Sent weekly from sea by students on-board SEAmester ...
SEAmester Log, Part 2
Off the Coast of St. Mary's Ga.
November 2, 2002
by Cristina Olson
We made it to Beaufort, N.C. with some trouble trying to dock. The sailing
from Mystic to N.C. was an awesome adventure. While Beaufort doesn't have
much to offer for fun, the science classes got their fill of excitement.
Chris had his plankton class on a midnight tow followed by work in the lab.
He also had his Geology and Bio Survey classes on the mud flats exploring
what the terrain had to offer. Those not in the class got to explore the
flats on their own. While many of us had fun with the animals on the island
(wild horses, foxes, rabbits, various birds), our medical officer, Sarah,
is right: "Shore can be more dangerous than the boat." Most of us came back
with minor injuries on our feet caused by oyster shells or burrs (little
spiny seeds).
When it was time to leave Beaufort the weather wasn't too favorable to get
to Cumberland Island. We had to motor a good majority of the way there.
Trying to drive the "bus" (as Mr. P. our 2nd mate calls it) was a difficult
task. On the upside some Atlantic Spotted Dolphins and a few Bottle-nose
Dolphins kept us company. Everyone who was idle lined the rail and watched
as they played in our bow wake. The flying fish became a site for amusement
during the early morning hours. About a day from Cumberland Island we had a
special guest which we decided was good luck. A Peregrine Falcon hung out
on the top mast and would occasionally circle the ship. I think he hung
around trying to eat our little stow away migrating birds running around the
deck. As we got closer to our destination the bugs began to attack.
We anchored off of Cumberland Island late in the afternoon. The bugs
started getting really bad on board and were even worse on shore. We took a
historic mini hike through the island to the Carnegie Mansion ruins. More
injuries occurred by a couple more of us but at least we were having fun.
Prof. Sarah tried giving background history on the mansion while we all sat
around an old fountain. Of course with the bug factor the lesson didn't
last long before we all started circling the fountain trying to escape our
predators. When the lesson was done some went exploring to chase the
armadillos while a couple of us went for what probably would have been our
last shower.
The next day it was decided we were going to do the death march.
Unfortunately, plans were changed and we had a scientific transect of the
island followed by free time to explore the beach, cemetery and wherever we
decided. While at the beach most of us decided to swim. Interesting chicken
fights broke out between a few of us. Adam P., Jim and I managed to make a
people tower while in the water. Dolphins were spotted close to us at one
point but they quickly left in the opposite direction. We succeeded at the
beach with all the chicken fights, attacks on people, and ultimate water
frisbee to walk away with only one person injured. At mid afternoon we
headed for the little town of St. Mary's Ga.
St. Mary's is a small little town that time forgot where everyone knows
each other. We met some nice people while out the first night, eating ice
cream, who helped us find out about places in the area. That night and the
next day were a kind of sad day for all because we had to say good-bye to
our first mate, Ms. Cleary. Our first whole day in port was designated
"Field Day". We washed, scrapped, prepped for painting, got covered in
paint chip dust, got dirty, sweaty and provisioned the boat for the rest of
the trip. We won the war and defeated the mung.
Our field day fell on Halloween and we had plans to go find some costumes.
Thanks to one lady in town and her Suburban, we crammed 14 of us into the
car and headed to the Salvation Army. Most of us made successful costume
from the clothes there but needed to run other errands. We split to CVS and
Good Will in two different car trips. Thanks to one person we were able to
successfully pull off Halloween in about 3 hours. That night we dressed up
and paraded around town to the Saloon where we met some interesting drunk
townspeople. Some of the best costumes of the group were: Tom- big baby (a
diaper, bib, blanket, bear, bottle and bonnet), Charlie- a nerd, Adam M &
Adam P- women (later renamed Tanqueray and Chardonnay by a drunk pimp and
sold to the highest bidder), John- Minnie Mouse. We had some female
gangsters, a bloody race car driver, an angel and a fairy. Everyone had a
blast and some of us partied into the late hours.
The next day was our trip to the Okeefenokee Swamp. Most of us had a hard
time getting up and ready to go so early in the morning because of the fun
we had the night before. Once there and after a brief history of the area
we set off in pairs, canoeing down the swamp. Many of us started off a
little rocky. Those of us off first got to look behind and witness a bumper
boat traffic jam. Once everyone separated we were off to battle the
alligators and whatever else the swamp had to offer. Some of us got to see
interesting wildlife and many alligators while others didn't see as much.
We left the swamp and headed on a mini field trip to the post office so we
could mail home winter clothing.
Our trip has been fun and interesting so far and is going to get so much
more interesting. Georgia was our last U.S. stop, our last shower, our last
grocery stop. We were able to accomplish a lot in this port with the help
of the town. Thanks to Angie and her Suburban, Gaila and Jerry from the
Riverview Hotel and their Volvo, the local townspeople, Mrs. Kelly in the
bookstore, the drunks in the saloon and the guys off the submarine for
keeping us entertained on Halloween. This stop was awesome but it's time to
move on to a bigger adventure. This next venture is going to be one of our
longer ones out at sea. Each day we all grow closer together, have more fun
and keep everyone entertained. Every day is a learning experienced not only
in class but in general. It's going to be sad when we finally have to say
good bye to the new friends we've met that won't return with us for the
Spring Semester. Good luck to all those back on campus with Midterms and
Finals and best wishes from all of us headed for warmer weather. See y'all
soon.
Log 1: Danielle Thibault, Log 2: Aaron Cahall
Prof. Hamilton's Journal Archive
Spring 2001
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Spring 2001
Fall 2000
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