The Ship's Log

Nine Kids, Nine Crew, and a Course Set for St. John

Logged on Monday April 20, 2009

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Nine kids, nine crew, a lot of hot dogs and cookies, and we were off! Roseway left St. Croix Saturday morning for the even bluer waters of St. John, approximately 40 miles to our north. Our students represented all three junior high schools on St. Croix and were fully funded to attend this adventure by Hovensa, the local oil refinery on island. Oh and did I mention, the governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands, John DeJongh, came to the dock to wish us bon voyage? We all thought that was really cool.

While the wind was light, we did make the crossing in about six hours with lots of activities, food, and games on the way. We hoisted a hand-made flag describing the students’ values, we plotted our course and measured our speed, and we did bow-watch out on the bowsprit. Since most of our students had never been to St. John, nor many of our crew, it was a delight to arrive in beautiful Maho Bay in the early evening.

dory_rowing2We launched the rowing dory and the inflatable and got everyone to the beach for a sunset swim. And in fact, that is how we started Sunday morning as well after a night of anchor watches, homemade cinnamon rolls, and lots of sleepless excitement in the bunks!

With better wind on the way home we kicked up our speed a bit but still had time for making monkey’s fists, more bow-watch and navigation, and some good quality journaling time. We reached St. Croix Sunday evening and had a hard time saying goodbye to our new friends. It was an adventure to remember!

octaviaToday we are celebrating a great weekend even if it did mean giving up our days off and being slightly exhausted this Monday morning. A whole new batch of kids just arrived for a busy week so we’re off the dock and back at sea….

April 8: Water Oh So Blue…

Logged on Wednesday April 8, 2009

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Roseway has been sailing St. Croix for the last three years but somehow it seems like, today, the water is a color we’ve never seen before. Lessons on the bow sprit, at the helm, and on the rail all seem more magical against a backdrop of turqoiuse blue, so clear and vivid you can hardly believe it’s real. These days the island is hotter and more dry than it has been all season so working out in the breezes on  the cool clear water is  truely a gift for us and our students.

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