2016 Schooner Bowdoin

Life on the water

Posted on: August 5, 2016

Dear Friends,

Foggy today off the coast! With about 18 hours until we arrive to Lunenburg, the call has been made to turn around and head back, while we make a new plan of where to go. With seas and wind against us on the way here, as well as a forecast for the same if we continued and made our way back, we are pointed for the PBA Bouy off of Rockland.

The students were able to take many local apparent noon sights using the sextants, as well as a few star sights for those on night watch. As we make our way back we must keep in mind the work needed to be done for the course, and choose our next waypoints to ensure that the visibility of such things is still good enough to make accurate measurements.

Such is the life on the water, and especially on board a sailing vessel. Some voyages are cut short or diverted because of weather or lack of wind, and it is a good learning experience. Before changing course plans, each student was asked to look at the weather and decide for themselves.

Capt. Hathaway