TSSG 2008 Voyage Log

I have just returned from my short visit to the TSSG 2008 voyage. My only regret of the trip is that my time with the girls was too short. I would have loved to spend more time with them, accompanying them from island to island. My voyage log entry will just share several of the highlights of my trip.
On Saturday morning, March 22nd, I took a taxi ride across Vieques and arrived in the small town of Esperanza. Looking out across the sparkling blue water, I saw a beautiful sight - Westward had arrived, carrying the girls, Nettie and Molly whose arrival I had been excitedly awaiting. The day was occupied with a flurry of chores (laundry, showers, grocery store runs), but I was thrilled to find everyone in good spirits and excited to explore a new island. We spent our three days on Vieques relaxing on the white sand beaches, snorkeling over coral reefs, sampling local cuisine, like plantains, and rejoicing in familiar meals, like hamburgers!
Tuesday morning began with a blast - a pin chase on the boat, a game which tests the girls’ knowledge of the lines all over Westward. With much enthusiasm and coaching from Ellissia, Watch C emerged the winners! I am sure you will read more about this in someone’s entry soon…..
However, the highlight of my trip came next. Following the conclusion of the pin chase, the captain gave orders to make the ship ready to sail. Loose gear was stowed, breakfast dishes were cleaned, and the anchor was raised. Suddenly, as the main sail was being hoisted to the top of the mast, I looked around me and realized that I was no longer among the same group of girls that I had known in San Francisco. I was surrounded by confident, competent and strong SAILORS! They heard and understood the commands of the captain and crew ("Raise the jib"); they sang out their responses ("Aye, Hands to raise the jib"), and they worked as a team to sail off the anchor and out of the harbor. I had goose-bumps as I watched a group of 5 girls haul to the chant of the mate, “2-6 heave", and tighten the sails to a perfect trim. I turned in amazement to watch 3 other girls use their weight and strength to pull the fisherman sail to the correct height on the mast. They have learned so much in the time they have been gone, and the voyage is only half way over.
For two days, we sailed to Tortola under sunny skies with a lovely breeze. No one was very seasick for this leg of the trip, and we were pleased when the sun came up Thursday morning reveal the green shores of Roadtown. Here on Tortola, we hiked through the rainforest, conducted a scavenger hunt through the capital, and explored. On Friday afternoon, I sadly had to leave everyone to return to San Francisco. As I was departing, we took a group picture and exchanged hugs all around. Once on land, I hiked to a nearby hill and watched as these girls again made the ship ready to sail. Like magic from this far distance, I watched the sails go up, slowly fill, and carry the ship out of the harbor. A tourist beside me commented how pretty Westward looked under sail. I turned to him and explained that not only was that pretty, but also that it was being sailed by 12 high school girls. And at that moment, I could not have been any more proud of these young women….in whose journey and adventure I am honored to have been a participant.

Starting position: At anchor, Roadtown, Tortola

March 26th started out as a normal Wednesday and sea. Standing our normal 4 hour watches with our 1400 to 1600 Oceanography and English class. However things became chaotic at dinner time when it wasn’t prepared on time, so even though I was on watch from 1600-1800 the rest of my watch and I had to go down below eat dinner that was so good it became ok that it was late. Then we had to quickly rush back on watch so that everybody had the opportunity to eat. Ten minutes after eating dinner we had an all hands muster in order to anchor before it got dark. We rushed to take down all the sails in time and furl them so the captain was able to see where she was going. We got all the sails down and furled in record time of an hour. When we were finally ready to anchor the anchor got stuck on the way down so the crew had to go down below and fix it before the weather got any worse. We were anchored and safe in Norman Bay ready to go to bed in order to get up for our regular anchor watches in the middle of the night. I was lucky enough to get the last anchor watch at 0500-0600 so I got a full night of sleep. We then went into town and went on a beautiful hike on the Sage mountain rain forest. We saw gorgeous green plants and pretty colorful birds. It felt wonderful to be together, get off the boat and get to be outside in a spectacular place.

Written By: Ami Simpson

Starting position: 18 01.5’ N, 065 34.4’ W
At anchor Esperanza, Vieques, Puerto Rico
Rhumb Run in last 24 hrs: 68 nm
Day’s Run (last 24 hrs): 106 nm
Rumb Run from Miami: 953 nm

For Easter, the girls got a free day for rest and relaxation. After checking in with them at noon, Nettie, Christine, and I spent a few much needed hours on the public beach reading and napping under a partly cloudy sky. It was the perfect weather for falling asleep and not having to worry about extreme sun burn. It was quiet, breezy, and restorative. We met up with many of the girls at the outdoor showers and headed back to town to meet the small boat back to the ship.

Easter night, we filled our bellies with delicious lasagna and salad for dinner on the ship, and as we sat contentedly reflecting on the day of rest, we listened to the girls cleaning up the galley sing their favorite songs from home. Below decks became alive with their music and spread to the main salon where we were entertained by Ami’s rendition of the “Soldier Boy” dance. With the laughter, music, and dance, I saw for the first time Westward provide the comfort and companionship that we have in our kitchens and living rooms at home. It felt warm and supportive.

Then all hands were called for a special Easter Egg Hunt! Each student received an egg with sweets and a unique coupon. Some girls found a coupon for Nettie, Christine, or me to take an hour of their watch; Marzett will have an ice cream bought for her by Captain Smith; Sophia will get the chance to sail into Fernandina Beach while on watch aloft.

As a result of weather (especially wind), we will have to adjust our schedule for the next week and a half. Again keep in mind that we are at the mercy of the winds out here, and this schedule may change again if deemed necessary.
March 25- sail from Vieques to Tortola, British Virgin Islands
March 27-29- British Virgin Islands
March 30-31- sail to St. Croix, US Virgin Islands

Written by Molly Simmons

Starting position: 18 01.5’ N, 065 34.4’ W
At anchor off Esperanza, Vieques, Puerto Rico
Rhumb Run in last 24 hrs: 68 nm
Day’s Run (last 24 hrs): 106 nm
Rumb Run from Miami: 953 nm

Today we finally arrived at the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico, where we met up with our oceanography teacher Christine who had been waiting for us for 3 days. The teachers helped us to organize doing laundry and finding the grocery store. Later, most of the girls walked along the beach, went shopping, and took FRESH WATER SHOWERS. The ship’s cook Tu, Ashally, and I got a cab further into the island to do some shopping at the grocery store. Once we got there, I was quickly reminded of the large indoor market place on 22nd and Mission. It almost felt like home. As the shopping went on, I began to realize just how bad my Spanish was; trying to communicate with the butcher was extremely difficult. We walked out of the grocery store with two overflowing shopping carts. Two men from across the street assisted us in loading all the bags into the cab, then we went back to the dock and loaded the small boat with all the groceries and watched the shore shrink into the distance as in motored away to the ship.
Later that night, we all went to what’s called the Bio-Bay. The Bio-Bay is a small body of water that is mostly surrounded by land with millions of dinoflagelates. These dinoflagelates are plankton that glow like fire flies when they are disturbed. All of us had a little trouble kayaking out to the middle of the bio-bay, but once got there it was all fun and games. Everyone quickly jumped into the beautiful, warm, water under the full moon light. As soon as we began swimming we started to see the dinoflagelates create a bright greenish yellow glow all around us. They were beautiful. We all swam and played in the water for what seemed like hours. Some of us created a circle, holding hands and kicking violently to make a large glowing circle in the middle of us. It was a great way to end our day. As soon as we all got back to the ship, everyone got ready for bed and fell fast asleep.

Written by Christina Gomez

Starting position: 17 45.2N, 066 49.1W
Rhumb Run in last 24 hrs: 100nm
Day¡¦s Run (last 24 hrs): 135.1nm
Rumb Run from Miami: 885nm

Today was a celebration for many things, Good Friday, the start of spring, and Mr.Faust-Allnut¡¦s (2nd Mate) birthday. Today everyone just seemed to be in a very joyous and energetic mood, which put a lot of positive energy into the atmosphere. It probably had to do with the fact that we would soon be arriving in Vieques after a long upwind passage.
During class today, the students who studied Vieques gave their country report. The report included some very interesting history and cultural facts.
During lunch we had the lovely opportunity to see Angelina¡¦s shoe drop into the soup, what a funny site to see. The next morning we saw the beautiful scenery of Vieques. At last we are on land. We are all so excited to take showers and see what this beautiful island has to offer to the Tall Ship Semester for Girls 2008.

Bon Voyage ļ

Written by Ellissia Hill

Starting position: 18 43.3N, 068 10.9W
Rhumb Run in last 24 hrs: 113.8nm
Day’s Run in last 24 hrs: 125.9nm
Rumb Run from Miami: 798nm

The salty wind blowing against my face cooling down my warm brow, my face has the look of intense concentration keeping the boat on course. Watching the Westward crash against the offending waves was a sight to see. I never knew a boat could have so much strength and courage. Let me tell you that being on helm (the wheel with which you steer the ship) is not an easy task. You must concentrate on a compass in front of the helm at all times and you MUST steer directly as possible on the ordered course. At 14:00 (2:00 p.m.) all of the Tall Ship students report upstairs or as we say “All hands on deck for class” and have a two hour class. First thing we do is get the navigation report which tells us how far we’ve traveled and how long it’ll take to get to our next destination. Then comes the weather report which is pretty much self explanatory and lastly is the engineer report which gives us ranges of our fuel and water supply. After the reports we have our English discussion on the book we’re all reading called Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat. Its a very interesting book on a girl whose life is set in New York City and how she manages to identify herself as a Haitian. After class we all went our separate ways, I myself had to report back on watch and took over helm. A couple of minutes later there was a shout from Angelina (TSSG Student) we all looked over the rail on the port side (left side) and saw that our fish line caught a wahoo fish. We all looked in wonder at the fish. It was very long in length and had silver scales, the gill was enormous for it’s body and it had a distinct mouth that was very long like a swordfish with extra sharp little teeth. Finally we decided to put it back into the water because it was too small to fry.
When night began to fall some of us went to sleep to prepare for our next watch. Times are getting restless since we’re almost to our second stop which is the beautiful island of Vieques, Puerto Rico. All of us are filled with excitement and awaiting the wonders of the island. The question is, what will happen next?

Written by Ashally Park

Well, hola from Puerto Rico! I am here in Vieques on Thursday morning….still waiting for the arrival of the Westward. However, in a brief message from Nettie, I learned that the boat will be here several days late. Nothing is wrong - they are just taking more time to sail here than anticipated. So I just wanted to post a message to let everyone know about the change in schedule. I am sure everyone will check in once they get here!

Adios,

Christine

Starting position: 19 37.4N 069 49.3W
Rhumb Run in last 24 hrs: 85.2nm
Rumb Run from Miami: 740nm

Today began with a slow progression of bright light shining in the eyes of C watch. After soles and bowls, we put out breakfast cereal for the oncoming 8am-12pm watch, A watch. In the galley a cinnamon coffee cake was baking for mid-morning snacks. The smell filled the main salon and stomachs awaited a taste. The main salon meal talk has lately been about dreams we have been remembering. All this talk inspired a dream journal prompt from Molly for the day.
We spent today sailing along the coast of the Dominican Republic. We encountered 9 foot seas and the wind mostly from the east unfortunately. The helms-woman steered Full and By, meaning they sail by the way the wind is coming and filling the sails and we tacked along the coast.
Today, we witnessed a fire’s smoke on the hillside of the Dominican Republic and Christina, Ashally and Jessica taught Nora, a deck hand, the magic of cleaning her feet with baby wipes. Living on a ship is hard living, and showers are scare so baby wipes help to keep us as clean as possible.

P.S. A day late. Happy Birthday Christina. I love you.

Written By Angelina Zervas

Hi everyone - This is Christine, the land-based (for now!) oceanography instructor for TSSG 2008. I am writing from my living room in El Cerrito…..but am eagerly anticipating my trip tonight to join the TSSG girls! I leave from SFO at 11:30, fly overnight to Boston, then fly to San Juan, Puerto Rico, then switch airlines and fly to Vieques, Puerto Rico. Phew! On Thursday, March 29th, I will anxiously stand at the dock waiting for the site of the Westward’s sails and the arrival of these intrepid sailors. I am excited to see all that they have learned since I last saw everyone in San Francisco.

Their arrival is one day later than scheduled but will be a welcome stop on land for everyone, I am sure! Once in Vieques, internet access should be easier, and their voyage logs will be updated. Stay tuned.

Fair winds and following seas!

Christine

Starting position: 20 07.6N, 071 19.8W
Rhumb Run in last 24 hours: 88nm
Day¡¦s Run: 128nm

Thirteen days since we left home. We are still at sea. It has been almost a week since we left Great Inagua. The sound of the engine since we left Miami, FL is a constant. Being here so far has been ok I can say.
We just started reading a book called Breath, Eyes, and Memory about a girl who grew up in Haiti. Sailing past Haiti and reading the book the same time just made it more real.
Being here so far I have been stressed out. Lately I have been having these nightmares about my loved ones passing which makes me even miss home more; I try and not let that get to me. I hide my emotions with a smile. I know that if I let this kind of stuff get to me I¡¦m going to have negative actions towards the group and make me even want to go home more. I have found that the key is to keep myself motivated and know that my loved ones are ok. I keep myself busy and give my all to my groups and myself which is working so far.
Being a beginner at sailing seems really easy for some but I guess you really have to listen and look. Lately we have been sailing full and by, because we haven¡¦t been getting the wind we need. We are behind our schedule so Nettie and the Captain have decided to change the route. So we are currently sailing to Vieques, Puerto Rico but from there we will be going to 2 different islands instead of Dominica. Dominica lies even further east. We have to get home in time and if we were to sail to Dominica it will be another week out in the sea.
All the girls here so far are doing ok. The long days at sea are getting us a little moody and we talk about just trying to hurry and get back home. For the most part we¡¦ve been handling are problems like young adults (Thanks Vincent for Communication Class ƒº). We all can¡¦t wait to get to land so we can take a shower, wash our dirty laundry and call our parents and friends. Well, we are ending almost day 13, and tomorrow it will be 2 weeks since we left home.

Written by Myeshia Holmes

Starting position: 20 34.3N, 072 40.6W
Rhumb Run in last 24 hours: 50nm
Day’s Run: 133nm

After our short two day stop in Great Inagua we went straight back to heading upwind. The swells have gotten bigger and bigger throwing people out of their bunks and pans of bright orange squash clear across the main salon. Though these choppy swells have wrenched some of the girls with nausea yet again, I myself remain unaffected, loving the rhythmic motion of the ocean and falling soundly asleep comforted by the rocking.
Our 2 o’clock (1400) class is really the only time all 12 girls get to see each other, as we all have continually changing schedules. Some stay up until midnight, while others wake up at midnight and aren’t relieved until 4am when the last third of the girls are woken to watch the always breathtaking sunrise.
Unfortunately, the wind has not been in our favor coming from the exact direction we need to head to reach Vieques, Puerto Rico. And so, to not go backwards we’ve had the motor running to help give us that extra push along with our sails. The day-to-day chores, thrown off sleep schedule, annoying hum from the engine room and another long stretch of sailing has begun to take its toll on many of us. But despite these obstacles along with the ever present dirty cloths, hairy armpits, sticky skin, harsh sunburns, many mysterious bruises and the occasional regurgitation of a once delicious meal, we push on. We do what needs to be done and continue to learn more about the massive floatation device we have come to call our home. So to all our loved ones, it’s hard out here, it’s dirty and sometimes pretty scary, but we are surviving.

Written by Sofia DeNicola

Starting position: 20 29.5N, 073 33.2W
Rhumb Run (since Great Inagua): 27.5nm
Rumb Run from Miami: 590nm
Rhumb Run to Vieques: 540nm

We head towards our next destination, Vieques, Puerto Rico. Which is about 580NM (nautical miles) away, but because the weather hasn’t been in our favor we’ve had to tack four times to get the wind off of our faces, and more to the side so that we can continue moving forward.
But our days still keep going and at 1400 we have class that starts out with navigation, weather, and engineering report. Then Nettie and Molly asked us reflecting questions about Great Inagua, such as: Would we have liked to live there? Is there any poverty? What are the people like? Although we liked visiting, most of us didn’t find Great Inagua an ideal place to live because we miss our city homes too much. Others like the “simpler” life. In the middle of the discussion Sophia pointed out an animal in the water. A lot of us raced to the rail to see the visitor which turned out to be some type of whale.
After class everyone settled in to their schedule whether it was sleeping, on watch or reading our class book called Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat. This novel is set in Haiti and the student crew is lucky enough to read a book about Haiti while sailing by this beautiful, bittersweet island. It was an awesome sight, our eyes were so use to seeing flat Bahamian Islands and now to see such big mountains surprised us.
Like every other day the girls are brought together even closer, more personal stories are told and the love between one another grows even stronger. Our homes in the Bay Area are never forgotten because we mentioned them often in conversations. In Great Inagua we were short on internet access and I regret not e-mailing my family or my friends, I truly do miss them. It’s hard to know that I will have to wait 2 more weeks before I can even get a response from them. But during that time I’ll be having the greatest adventure which I can write about in the next letter.

Starting position: 24¢ª09.0N, 074¢ª47.2W, Anchored off Matthewtown, Great Inagua

Today is our first day of exploration of this island we have come so far to visit. Colin Ingraham is our guide, and he met us at the dock with his van. We all piled in the van and headed up the Great Inagua All Age school. The school is in the midst of the a multi-island basketball jamboree, so classes were suspended but the students were all there. A group of them gathered in a classroom at the direction of Mrs. Curry, the vice principal, and the tall ship students started talking with the students. The noise level in class was quiet at first, and then it quickly grew into a tangle of excited voices. After about an hour of chatting, we left with promises to return for the basketball tournament in the evening.
After a relaxing lunch on the beach (with COLD drinks!) we got back in the van and headed to the Morton Salt Facility. We drove around the miles of salt flat ponds that allow Morton Salt to create sea salt from ocean water using solar power for evaporation. Mrs. Debbie Farguharson gave us a tour of the facility.
Next we went back toward town and had some time to make phone calls home before heading back to the boat. We had a quick dinner and then went back to town to watch the basketball jamboree. Captain Fawkes met us at the dock, and gave us a warm Inaguan welcome and then we went up to the basketball Jamboree. Most of the kids that we had met earlier in the day were there, and the girls enjoyed ice slushy drinks, cotton candy and conch fritters. Unfortunately, we had to leave before the end of the first game (in which the Great Inagua Wild Boars were playing) to return to Westward for anchor watch duty.
Everyone seems to be in good spirits and enjoying this visit with the Inaguans. Because we had to leave Miami a bit late (due to weather), we are behind schedule and will have to leave Inagua for Vieques very early Sunday. The passage will take a few days, and we are looking forward to getting there and picking up Christine Whitcraft!

Written by Nettie Kelly

Starting position: 22¢ª17.5N, 074¢ª25.6W, Arriving in Great Inagaua, Bahamas

Coming Soon!

Starting position: 21¢ª01.5N, 073¢ª46.0W

I was feeling better today and as the heat rose, we continued to motor through the water. We hoped and prayed for wind to get us to Great Inagua faster but we were not granted that prayer. We celebrated Ellissia¡¯s seventeenth birthday with Tu¡¯s (our ship¡¯s cook) delicious cupcakes and a chorus of happy birthday song. Elissia wore her beautiful birthday sash and crown the entire day.
We had our first man overboard drill unexpectedly during class. We were all kind of scrambling around but managed to get through it. As a spotter, my job was to keep my eyes on the victim at all times. It was a little difficult because so many things were happening that I really wanted to see. These drills are important and taken seriously; I was yelled at a few times by the first mate because I was not doing my job correctly. The Great Inagua group gave their presentation and provided us with some very valuable information. After the presentation, Molly gave us our first reading assignments in the novel Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat.
It seems like the days get longer as we longed to finally touch land.

Written by Naiema Jackson

Starting position: 24¢ª09.9N, 074¢ª47.2W
Rhumb Run for last 24 hours: 127nm
Rhumb Run from Miami: 340nm

The third day at sea my seasickness got worse and I was told to get some rest and drink a lot of water. I was totally bummed that I couldn¡¯t continue to stay on deck and learn the lines, but my watch officer recognized my miserable state. I listened to her advice and took that long nap while everyone continued their jobs either steering at the helm, looking for traffic or cleaning the galley. The following morning the headache faded away, and I was able to eat more than I had eaten in the last two days. Naiema, Ericka, and Ellissia were also slowly getting better and our little puking group was able to move around and slowly recover together. Our highlight was the pre-celebration of Ellissia¡¯s 17th birthday that will continue on for the rest of the day

Written by Marleina Benavente

Starting position: 26 23.6N, 079 14.7W

Monday morning rolled around and the puke fest continued for most. I was lucky to be feeling much better, as long as I stayed on deck. Being at sea for less than a day, we started to get into a routine of our daily watches which are 2-4 hours, 2-3 times a day. The work of the watches, such as cleaning below deck, boat check, steering at the helm etc. showed no mercy to those who were still sea sick. Tuesday morning appeared at the sight of land, spotted for the first time in 2 days and I was so excited to feel that sense of accomplishment to be able to look at a map and say we¡¯ve made it here. Even though it wasn¡¯t the island of our destination, all of a sudden the sore hands, lack of sleep and empty stomachs from food that couldn¡¯t seem to stay down, didn¡¯t seem to matter anymore. By Tuesday afternoon the color in our green faces were returning to normal, most of us could even hold down a full meal and the light breeze with the warmth of the sun slowly started to return us to our normal selves.

Written by Ami Simpson

Starting position: 25¢ª51.9N, 079¢ª52.7W

Sunday we have been sailing for about 2-3 hours and most of the girls are leaned over the rail throwing up the whole time. We all feel very horrible and just want to give up but every time we start to think a new thought were back to throwing up our life away. 10 out of 12 girls are lying on the deck wishing this sea sickness would be over now. We sit up and look around and all we sea is water, water and more water we start talking to each other saying ¡° I can¡¯t this any longer, we need to get to some land now.¡± Then back over to the rail they all go. None of us ever thought that it would get this bad or feel like this. We all literally feel like we are dyeing and that are insides are going to come out of our mouth any second now.
Monday we have the same thing going on as we did yesterday, but some how some people are starting to feel better and can actually focus and they move in to there daily chorus but some are still feeling like this can¡¯t be happing still.

Written by Erika Monroe

Saturday morning we were still docked waiting for the weather to clear up and the tide to rise. That afternoon we were all getting settled into our new room which is a 2 foot by 6 foot bunk. My bunk is in what is called the saloon towards the stern of the boat with the rest of my watch group. Looking at my bunk and the watch schedule I was wondering how long it was going to take me to get used to this new way of living, hoping at the same time that it wasn’t going to take me the whole 6 weeks to do so. At 2:30, we got a chance to take a break and walk around the Bayshore Mall in Miami for 2 hours which allowed us to stop rocking for the that short period of time. Although it was nice to have that break, our work was waiting for us when we returned. That night we were woken up in pairs to do “dock watch”. For an hour, we stayed on deck and made sure everything went well. Sunday morning slowly rolled around and we were finally going to get under way for our destination. Before we set sail there was what will soon become a normal routine called soles and bowls at 7:00am which is cleaning all the floors and toilets. We were all so excited to get going that we rushed through our chores, and once the engine started to run and the view of Miami got further and further out of eyes’ reach, that excitement didn’t fade.

Written by Ami Simpson

When we boarded the ship we were all very nervous and scared, but we all were excited too. The girls and I didn’t know what to think of the crew because of things we heard about previous trips. Before we met the crew we had thoughts of what we thought they were going to be like. I thought the captain was going to be a little mean and have very high expectations. I found that she is a cool captain, and she cracks jokes and everything. I also thought the cook was going to be grumpy, because she had to cook for so many people. She actually turned out to be very nice and open; she even lets us play with her daughter Matilda.
Because of the weather, we did not leaving the dock in downtown Miami today.
Instead, we learned a lot on our first day like cleaning, things we can do to keep bugs and mice off the ship. I don’t think I’ve ever worked that hard in my life! At five A.M my first watch felt good. When Nena and I went on the deck the wind was very warm and I felt awake. We had watch for an hour than after we were released, we went in to catch an hour of sleep. We got up around seven A.M, to clean. I am not use to waking up that early to clean so the first time was kind of weird. We also learned all the emergency things we had to do in case of an emergency, like a fire on board. My job in this case, is to be a messenger between the mates. We had a drill about all the things we learned that was cool.

Written by Marzett Lee

All 12 girls were anxious to get to Miami, FL. This was my second time on a plane. When we got to Miami we were demanding to get off the plane. I think some of us girls were feeling a little famous because people were asking about why we were there. One of the girls explained what we were about and that if they wanted to keep in contact with us and see how the trip is going they can check us out on are tall ship website. After getting our luggage, we walked to the exit to wait for the van. The automatic doors open for us like we were superstars, but as soon as they opened, it felt like a big heat monster just attacked us. We didn’t see it coming our way.

The weather here in Miami is so HUMID that all of us felt like we were sweating within 15 seconds. Our bodies felt sticky. We never expected this kind of weather because we are so used to the Bay Area, but we have to deal with it.

At La Quinta hotel, we got three rooms, two on the 1st floor and one room on the third floor. We girls were assuming that the teachers would have the 3rd floor but we were wrong. Three other girls and I got the third floor which was okay but we mostly were downstairs. Around 6pm (Miami time) we all rounded up together in front of the hotel and went out to eat at Latin Restaurant near the hotel. As we were eating and had a guest, (Ami’s friend Alex who lives in Miami) we were comparing the Bay Area to Miami and the stores they have and the stores we have. I found out that they don’t have a Safeway, FoodMax, and some other common stores. After getting back to the hotel we got together and did some work. We did a little on are navigation, worked on are T.I.L.T projects, worked on are history projects, and went over are presentations that we are getting ready to present at some of the Caribbean Islands.

Being in a hotel and being away from my mom it was hard because I am really attached to my mom and it was hard not to be with her. When I felt without her, I thought that I could just catch the bus home like I do back home. I saw everyone talking to their parents when they got to the hotel and I was just wishing I could go home, because I’m never alone with out my mom or sister. I have to get used to it since we have 6 weeks on the boat. But I feel like I am already ready to go home, I hope that will change soon.

Waking up the next morning for some of us was easy because we wanted breakfast but for the others it was hard. They were cranky and I think they had missed breakfast. We all were supposed to meet in the front of the hotel but only two of us were on time and the others were still behind getting there bags.
On are way to the boat some of us were tired. For me, I have to get too used to the time because I’m still thinking of the California time. We finally got to the boat and we were all happy that we finally were there. We met the Captain, the crew and the 3yr old named Matilda. We got an introduction about the boat, and we got to settle in are bunks that we are assigned to for the rest of the six weeks. The bunks here are very small. I would think I’m claustrophobic because it’s small, smaller than a jail cell I would say. But to some of us it didn’t matter, but others it did. But what the heck were just excited to get the Caribbean.

Written by Myeshia Holmes

Saturday morning we were still docked waiting for the weather to clear up and the tide to rise. That afternoon we were all getting settled into our new room which is a 2 foot by 6 foot bunk. My bunk is in what is called the saloon towards the stern of the boat with the rest of my watch group. Looking at my bunk and the watch schedule I was wondering how long it was going to take me to get used to this new way of living, hoping at the same time that it wasn’t going to take me the whole 6 weeks to do so. At 2:30, we got a chance to take a break and walk around the Bayshore Mall in Miami for 2 hours which allowed us to stop rocking for the that short period of time. Although it was nice to have that break, our work was waiting for us when we returned. That night we were woken up in pairs to do “dock watch”. For an hour, we stayed on deck and made sure everything went well. Sunday morning slowly rolled around and we were finally going to get under way for our destination. Before we set sail there was what will soon become a normal routine called soles and bowls at 7:00am which is cleaning all the floors and toilets. We were all so excited to get going that we rushed through our chores, and once the engine started to run and the view of Miami got further and further out of eyes’ reach, that excitement didn’t fade.

Written by Ami Simpson

Sweat pouring down our faces, adrenaline pumping through our veins because of the anxiety and excitement for our departure. We all dreaded waking up at 3 in the morning and arriving in time at the airport at 5 a.m. but it didn’t matter. We were leaving for 6 weeks. In our minds we were all saying goodbye to our comfortable, spacious beds, and our clean freshwater showers and all our loved ones. It’s painful to leave everything you love so that you can enter a stage in your life that will help you grow as a human being, but the sacrifice will be worth it, as long as you come out of the experience with a full heart and strong goals. When we all finally met up at Terminal 3/ American Airlines we were all in a state of awe and wonder, we didn’t know what was ahead of us and that my reader, is the best part of the adventure.

From here on, we will be posting daily summaries of our activities that will be posted when we are in ports. Check back regularly!

Written by Ashally Park

These last three days we have had of regular classes were full of many mixed emotions. We were all very excited, nervous, stressed, scared and some what unprepared to leave for the adventure of our lives. Throughout the week we all had to prepare for the presentations we are going to perform to different schools on the islands. We also had our very last day of small boat sailing and boot camp. Small boat sailing was lots of fun! Everyone was happy and laughing; playing a catching game. Although boot camp was intense for all of us, we, like always, pushed ourselves and still laughed while doing it.

On the very last day before our departure, we had one last regular class at SF State University, with our communications teacher Vincent. This was the most emotional day for me, personally. Some of us cried, all of us laughed. Over all, the whole week was intense, but in the end, it was worth it.

Written by Christina Gomez

These last three days we have had of regular classes were full of many mixed emotions. We were all very excited, nervous, stressed, scared and some what unprepared to leave for the adventure of our lives. Throughout the week we all had to prepare for the presentations we are going to perform to different schools on the islands. We also had our very last day of small boat sailing and boot camp. Small boat sailing was lots of fun! Everyone was happy and laughing; playing a catching game. Although boot camp was intense for all of us, we, like always, pushed ourselves and still laughed while doing it.

On the very last day before our departure, we had one last regular class at SF State University, with our communications teacher Vincent. This was the most emotional day for me, personally. Some of us cried, all of us laughed. Over all, the whole week was intense, but in the end, it was worth it.

Written By: Christina Gomez

During the second to last week of our preparation to begin our voyage anticipation and stress were on the rise. We finished reading In the time of Butterflies which really had me on the edge of my seat waiting to find out what the next page would reveal. We were introduced to TILT (Teaching Intermedia Literacy Tools) which is a video production program that teaches you the fundamentals of making a video. This includes learning about different camera settings, angles and shots, and the different types of videos (i.e. documentary, short films, plays, musicals,etc.). Another thing we did this week was our wonderful communication class with the great Vince Chandler. We played a game called “My Girl to the Right", where you had to answer a series of questions about the person to your right and then we went around and saw how everyone did, which was quite interesting to see how much we really knew about each other. Also, during this class we anonymously wrote down three things people didn’t know about us and guessed which things belonged to who. I guess you could say that through all the downs and lows that we may have during the week we always seem to find one way or another to put all other things aside and realize the real reason that we are here. To build friendships and become better people.

Written by Ellissia Hill