Teacher Aboard Logs

You there! Bend that sheet! Hoist those barrels of rum! Quick 'n lively now! Oh! Uh, hi! I've been out here long enough that I was starting to imagine we were pirates sailing the Caribbean! So here we are in the middle of the ocean and the only company we seem to find are all these flying fish! We've had them from one end of the boat to the other. They've dropped down the hatches into the focs'l and into the saloon, as well. We've resorted to putting screens in the hatches!

Maintenance Our trek continues as we make our way west and southward. The "future machine" (GPS) tells us we still have 10 days to go. It wouldn't be so bad, except it's said that for three days now! We're still on the rotating watch system, so a great deal of maintenance gets done. Lots of sanding and varnishing goes on. Everything that's covered with shiny varnish gets sanded and re-varnished twice a year. Quite a job!

Another duty that takes place quite often is polishing the brass on the boat. I've been doing quite a bit of polishing lately and I can tell you, it's the most frustrating job on the boat! The day after I've polished something to a nice shine, it's already starting to corrode from the salt air. Two days later, you can't tell it had ever been polished in the first place. The deck gets scrubbed every day or so to clean up any mess we may have left from maintenance, or eating or drinking. We also rinse the deck off several times a day whether we've scrubbed it or not. This keeps the planks swollen, which, in effect, seals the boat. Another by-product is that it cools off the areas down below. As we've moved south, the temperature has gradually risen. I may just start sleeping on deck when we get to Puerto Rico! Where's my hammock?

Again, chafe on the lines, the sails, and the rigging is the problem that demands our full-time attention. The crew uses pieces of leather, old fire hose, or bits of cloth as protection from the constant chafing. With several sails, and the ongoing sail adjustments we make during the day, we have to constantly be on the lookout for areas that need "chafe gear."

Ship Lessons Speaking of sails, I'd like to start adding some information about this vessel to each of my logs from here on in. Let's start with the sails, our primary method of locomotion. We have two masts on board, so we'll start with the aft mast (located toward the "aft" or back end) and its sails.

1. We have our largest sail, the Mains'l, and above it we can fly the Main Gaff Tops'l. On a rare occasion, we can slide an extension out and fly what's called a Ringtail located aft of the Mains'l.

2. Moving forward to the next mast, we fly the Fores'l. It's flown like the Mains'l, except its on the foremast. Above that, we fly the Foretops'l, and directly above that, we fly the Top Gallant, or T'Gallant, my favorite sail! One other sail we can fly is called the Stunts'l and it's flown on its own special spar that's right beside the Foretops'l. Still with me?

3. Moving forward to the headrig, we find our three headsails. The closest to the deck is the Stays'l. The next is the Jib, and the Jib Tops'l flies from the forwardmost point of the headrig. Now, are you ready for a quiz in the morning?! See if you can find and identify all the sails in the photo.

Pastimes

Photo by astrophotographer Stan Richard

Several crewmembers are learning Celestial Navigation (navigating by the stars), so I've tried to learn something about the constellations from them. Tonight, for example, I was able to see Pleiades. Then through the binoculars, I saw Jupiter and three of her moons! Venus appeared early on, and soon we hope to see the Southern Cross! So watching the heavens has become an exciting pastime.

Today we had an impromptu fire drill, and the crew responded extremely well. I was impressed at how each person knew exactly for what they are responsible and wasted no time getting it done! Again, this crew proved to be remarkably efficient and productive.

Guest Crewmembers

We have four "passenger crewmembers" sailing with us to Puerto Rico. (If you recall, I've mentioned that the boat can take up to six passengers who pay for the privilege and experience of sailing a tall ship.) Mac is retired and from the Eastern Shore of Maryland; Stan works as a Park Ranger for the National Park Service; Friedrich is from Germany; and Fernando is from Italy! Each one brings a new bit of diversity to the population of the boat. Lately, our German passenger has provided us with lots of entertainment. Friedrich is an architect, but his passion is film and he uses somewhat antiquated, but high-quality 16mm film equipment. In fact, he brought several movie cameras and professional sound equipment in multiple cases. We've joked with him that there was no room for clothing, so he has to keep washing his clothes every other day! "Fred," as he has the crew calling him, has filmed this boat from one end to the other! He's also done a few interviews, namely with Captain Parrott and one or two of the crewmembers. I hope that I have the chance to see the final product someday!

Happy Halloween!

Yesterday was Halloween, and yes, we celebrated with a party! There were wild costumes, punch, snacks, and entertainment from several guitar-playing crewmembers! I have some great pictures for you, but you'll have to wait for me to send them from Puerto Rico (as our picture sending machine is in the hospital). It'll be worth the wait though, I promise!

Pamela Coughlin

I'd like to introduce you to another crewmember before I sign off. Her name is Pamela Coughlin and she is the 3rd Mate & Bosun. (You might remember that the Bosun is responsible for all the rigging on the ship.) Her family is comprised of her parents and two older brothers. Pamela is 35 years old, and although she was born and grew up in Pennsylvania, she now calls San Francisco her home. By the way, NEVER call it "'Frisco!" Only easterners do that, according to Pamela who very promptly put me in my place! Pamela is married and her husband, Drew, works in the field of Information Technology. They used to live aboard a sailboat in the Sausolito area, but then moved ashore. Together, they have traveled all around the globe, even spending two years in Tokyo.

Pamela never had any sailing experience, but had been exposed to the water while growing up. In high school she decided she wanted to work on ships. She finished a two year specialized school for nursing and is now a Registered Nurse, something that every ship is glad to have aboard! She had the opportunity to read the book, Two Years Before The Mast, and knew immediately what she wanted to do. She heard that the brig, Niagara, had been refitted and she went aboard as a volunteer crewmember for three months. She was so capable that after two months she was hired on as Ordinary Seaman! She spent two seasons there and rose to the rank of Able Bodied Seaman.

Interestingly, it was on Niagara in 1996 when she first met Dayle Tognoni - a volunteer crewmember. (If you've read my past logs, you know Dayle from the crew.) During the off seasons, Pamela worked for the National Maritime Museum on the rigging of the ship, Balclutha. Pamela has sailed as a working crewmember on three ships now, Niagara, Pride of Baltimore II, and Harvey Gamage. She mentioned that none is her favorite; she enjoys the learning experience from each.

Her first experience aboard Pride of Baltimore II was in 1997 when the ship sailed the Great Lakes and the Chesapeake Bay. She then signed on again in Korea and sailed to Japan, across the Pacific, and down the West Coast of the U.S. Pamela's future will definitely remain entwined with the marine field. She currently has a job back home in California as captain of a ferryboat, and a standing offer to captain a research vessel. Her current certification is 100 Ton Near Coastal Master, and 200 Ton Near Coastal Mate. She is always in the process of not only sharpening her skills, but also upgrading her licensing by taking all the required courses. She believes that the most enjoyable facet of her occupation, is the constant mental and physical challenge she faces when working. When asked what the first thing is that she'll do when she gets home, she responded, "I'd like to have a nice quiet dinner with Drew." Sounds like a plan, Pamela. Sounds like a plan!

I think I'll sign off now and leave you with this thought and some questions. I've been aboard just over two months now. I've reported back to you about schools, students, customs, scenery, ships, weather, and even solar systems. But never forget that when you break everything down into its elements, the one constant you'll find is "people." Everywhere I've traveled, I've had the opportunity to see society at its best and its worst. I can tell you without a doubt in my mind, that people are at their best when they are together with someone they love, or beside someone with whom they share a common passion or goal. That might be husband/wife, parent/child, boyfriend/girlfriend, or co-workers. I've watched the crew on this ship very closely. I've seen their reactions when they receive mail from someone they hold dear. I've watched the sparkle in their eyes when they laughingly tell anecdotes about their loved ones. In each face, the sparkle is the same.

It is that part of our humanity that makes us great. As for me, I have a ten-year-old daughter, Stephanie, whom I love dearly. Each night I look at the picture of her at the foot of my bunk, and my face lights up thinking of her. I make the time to do things with her - things that she wants to do, not just things I want to do. I want her to grow up remembering all the good times we had and how we enjoyed each other's company. That's what being family is all about. That sparkle is inside each of us; we just need to exercise it a little! It is also that part in each of us that can make the distance across the ocean shrink away, so we keep the new friends we've made in Europe a part of our ongoing lives. Each time we communicate with somebody new, our lives change and we learn something. I encourage you to create your own sparkle by making friends over the Internet and through the postal system with your peers in Europe! Also, the next time you have the opportunity to do something with your brother, sister, son or daughter...do it! You only have one family; work to make it sparkle!

Your Teacher Aboard,
Lee Vogtman

YOUR THOUGHTS

1. If flying fish are found in the ocean, why do they have wings?
2. There is a phrase that says, "Water, water everywhere and nary a drop to drink." What do you think that means, and can you explain it?
3. How many moons does Jupiter have?
4. Is Pleiades in our solar system? What is special about its appearance in the sky? (What does it resemble?)