Fall 2000 SEAmester Journal
Sent weekly from sea by on-board SEAmester coordinator and professor Chris Hamilton ...
SEAmester Log, Part 5 November 15, 2000
Off the NE coast of Cuba
Again, I'm overjoyed to start this entry with fishing success stories! A wahoo was caught just past the Gulf Stream and one Bahamian morning we brought aboard a 40lb. white marlin and three 10lb mahi mahi (two on one line with two hooks!). Good eatin!
Our voyage took on a whole new tone during the five day passage from the U.S. to the Bahamas. The water and air got warmer and spirits higher as students absorbed the sun and took on their new responsibility of Junior Watch Officers. This was our longest passage and we spent our days with classes and other academic activities. One particularly hot and calm day, we hove to and had a wonderful swim call in the middle of nowhere over 4000' of water.
Our approach to the low lying Bahamian island of San Salvador (actually a fossilized dune) greeted us with a drastic change in water color from the rich blue of the deep to an electric turquoise as the white sediments became visible through the crystal clear water. We anchored in 30' of water and could see every coral head and fish on the bottom. After customs, a swim call and dinner we all went ashore to enjoy our first night in this small town in a new country, with no drinking age. Use your imaginations. The next morning we hiked to a good snorkeling spot and spent hours in the water exploring a coral reef system with its beautiful tropical fish. A bus took us around the island to visit other parts of the coast, grab sediment samples, coconuts and conch shells, climb a hand powered kerosene lighthouse and crawl and swim our way through the legendary Cave of Indescribable Horrors, from which we all survived. We finished off the day with a BBQ on the beach and went to bed early, wiped out and happy.
Several students went scuba diving the next morning while others went to Bahamian churches or studied. The divers returned with great stories including petting a friendly grouper. We set sail that afternoon and arrived in East Plana Cay the next day. We went ashore, set up camp for the night, went snorkeling, explored the island, cooked dinner over a small fire, built up a huge fire with tons of driftwood, had a good sweat in a home made sauna on the beach heated with chunks of fossil coral from the fire, had a night swim then went off in search of the feared Bahamian hutia, a guinea pig sized rodent that either scampered or paralyzed with fear when approached with a flashlight. The next morning we awoke to breakfast around the rekindled fire, snorkeled some more, did a coral reef plankton tow, then set sail for Cuba. We are all deliriously excited about our next port of call, and I look forward to bringing you exciting stories of great old cars and hand-rolled cigars.
Fair winds,
Chris HamiltonBy the way, have you guys decided who our next president is going to be? Our own shipboard vote results: 39% Gore, 32% Nader, 15% Bush, 12% No Vote.
