Journal entry for week April 30 to May 6                

April 30, 2006
Underway to Charleston

It was slow sailing on one of the last days underway on the boat. There was hardly any wind, making it hot and uncomfortable. Many of us, after having passed our tests, were allowed to go aloft (climb the shrouds on the side of the boat to the top). Usually we had to climb with a crew member but sometimes we got to go alone. Between our man overboard and our heave to until the wind was more favorable yesterday, today seemed pretty slow and relaxing, even the seas and winds had calmed down. This being our longest leg, seeing nothing on the horizon but endless sea made it seem even longer, like we were never going to arrive in Charleston. This seemed to cause a lot of tension among the crew because we have a plane to catch early on the third. We were all getting anxious because it was the first time we began to consider the idea of missing our flight. Our speed had dropped below 4 knots and even with the motor on, we could barely make 5 knots. Like the day before, today seemed to have its own Twilight Zone and was a slow, dragging day that never seemed to end. It was also a combination of everyone’s impatience to arrive and the urge to stay on the boat that made it strange as well. I was anticipating getting to Charleston but at the same time dreading it because I knew that that meant leaving the boat.

There are so many aspects about the boat that just make it seem like home to us now. Life on board is so different from anything we’ve ever experienced before. It’s just going to be so weird to wake up and not see the same 22 other faces. I just want to know what’s going to happen when I am no longer living, working and going to school with everyone. At this moment, going home and returning to what my life used to be on land just isn’t something I can wrap my brain around. I push it out and put off thinking about it as much as I can. As much as we have looked forward to and anticipated going home and finally seeing our loved ones, without talking about it, we all know how hard it is going to be to leave.

Written by Angel and Christina

May 1
Underway for Charleston, South Carolina

Today was our last day at sea on the Spirit of the Massachusetts. Most of the day was spent motoring, as the wind was against us or nonexistent, which made for grumblings amongst the crew. As we barreled along towards our destination of Charleston at a breakneck speed of 3 knots, we were allowed the luxury of thoroughly enjoying the oceanic scenery. This being the last day, many of us, got in as much privileged stuff as we could. Jane and Mesha went out on the head rig, and were soon visited by a group of dolphins that frolicked in the waves below the safety net. Later on that day Mesha told me that she could have reached out and touched them they were so close to them. Aside from that amazing experience, Ryan and I went aloft to check for chafing. She went up the main mast and I went up the foremast. May I say that that the foremast shrouds, the black tarred rope that we climb when going aloft, get narrower faster and stay narrower longer than the ones on the main mast. It was the most amazing feeling in the world. Even though I was sharing the experience with Ryan not 25 feet away from me, I felt utterly alone up on the top of the world 80 feet above the ship, which looked like the size of my fist from where I was. It is such an indescribable feeling, but I shall try anyway. When you are up there, you are utterly alone; you are looking out on the horizon where the ocean blue meets the azure sky in a beautiful blend of textures. You are looking at the sun on its trek down the sky, to the horizon and you are Queen of the world. You feel like you suddenly understand how the Olympian gods must feel, looking down on the world from the very top. You look down at the ship and realize how insignificant we are, a miniscule speck on the wide and wild ocean and it puts everything into perspective for you. Being up there on the foremast, gave me ample time to reflect on things and clear my head with the fresh sea breeze buffeting me as I clung to the shrouds. I return to what I call “solid ground, though it is hardly solid, as it is rocking back and forth with the motion of the waves and currents. I decide to go out onto the head rig, and get some more time for clearing my head.

When out on the head rig, it feels like you are moving across the ocean, just you, because the ship is behind you it almost seems as if you are skimming across the water much like action heroes can often do in movies. Once again returned to the solid ground, I come onto watch where we have our “lasts”. Our last dinner setup, our last freshening the nip, our last bow watch – boat check – helm. Once I was put on helm, I didn’t want to leave. I love steering the boat so much, I was standing there with the chilling wind whipping around me, while I was wearing a tank top and shorts, and didn’t care how cold I got, as long as I was on helm.

After eating our last meal on board, we have a special closing ceremony that we have bee preparing a little sumtin sumtin for two weeks, just for the crew. We perform our skit, acting out the roles of the crew, teaching us the basic skills on the first couple days in a humorous portrayal of all. We then presented our awards for the crew, which varied from “saltiest sailor [curses the most]” to the more serious, “most likely to remain calm during a stressful situation.” They were touching but we were in for a surprise, the crew gave us awards as well! Theirs were just as silly as ours. I got the Woman and the Sea Award for several things and not least of all catching the great and mighty Wahoo fish, which, by the way, was delicious. The Captain then gave a little anecdote, which touched us all, in its simple sincerity and truth. She spoke of how we had all shown enormous growth and would always remember this experience and be able to draw form it core lessons that would help u through out life. She then also gave out award, only three. Ife Cook, marvelous girl that she is, had persevered through tumultuous times and learned all there was to learn, and won the Best Sailor Award. I was awarded Best Shipmate Award for always lending a helping hand, and being available for anyone who needed me to the point where, as quoth from the Captain, “we all thought she was probably insane!” Christina was awarded Captains Award, for showing her amazing leadership skills and keeping everyone on the same page throughout the journey.

“All hands on deck to strike sail!” We are here! We all get up on deck and are split up into our different watches to furl the jib, jumbo, and foresail. It all went fairly well. Then we all went back aft to furl the main sail. What began as a disorganized chaotic mess of students grumbling while Ms. Falby attempted to call sail turned into the most amazing team effort and efficient furling of the mainsail we had ever done. The one calling sail, was left in the dust as we simultaneously pulled “Up, Aft, Down!” in perfect unison. It was the fastest and neatest the sail had ever been furled on our trip and we all had to take a step back after finishing, in amazement at how well it had went. We arrive at the dock; Christine Nettie and I are put on shore to catch dock lines for Spirit to tie up with. Thrown over with remarkable efficiency from the crew, Christine, Nettie, and I manage to secure all the dock lines with a little help form some people standing at the docks watching the boat come in.

Being docked meant a totally different schedule. It was much like anchor watch but with more things to look out for You had to check the dock lines to make sure they had equal tension, you had to make sure the chafe gear was secure and doing its job by not allowing the dock lines to rub against anything sharp, you have to make sure the fenders were properly blocking the boat form crashing into the dock with the ebb and flow of the tide. It was a bit longer than anchor watch was, an hour and a half, though I was hardly bored. I barely even sat down as I was checking the boat at all times. Being docked meant that we were finally here, that our journey was finally over, that we would be getting on the plane the day after next to return to our ordinary lives in San Francisco and probably never experience anything quite like this again. The thought to me is bittersweet for I know I will never forget this but I really didn’t want the trip to end. It seemed like time flew by; rain or shine seasickness or able bodies, it felt good to be aboard Spirit and I know I will miss her very much. I wonder how our feelings will be tomorrow, when we leave the ship forever.

-Mercedes

May 2, 2006
Docked in Charleston, South Carolina

My watch started at 5:30am and ended at 7:30am.I had forgotten we were no longer underway but docked in Charleston, South Carolina. We made it safe and sound and all in one piece with minor scratches and bruises.

Our day started off with a late cold breakfast and after that, we jumped right into a massive field day. In others words, we cleaned the whole boat from top to bottom. This took around 3 hours and during that time Customs officials came to check our bags and the boat. They brought a drug dog with them that sniffed around the entire ship and dock. Once we were cleared back into the United States, we were just about done with field day and it was getting close to lunch time. Guess what was waiting for us on the dock? Eight boxes of pizzas! Everyone was so anxious to get a slice, people were already doing the math trying to figure out how many slices each person would get. Needless to say, lunch wrapped up quick.

It was now time to go explore the city of Charleston and everyone was so excited. We went to a nice market place where they sold all types of things like jewelry, bags, t-shirts, and so much other stuff. I can honestly say that Charleston is a beautiful city and the people are so nice.

After our free time to look around, it was time to head for the BBQ that the crew from the Spirit of South Carolina organized for us and the crew. The Spirit of South Carolina is a tall ship that is being built and is supposed to be launched next February. We got there and it was really cool to see that the boat being built. It was also cool to learn that like the Spirit of Massachusetts, the Spirit of South Carolina is going to be a sail training vessel. When we got there we got to meet the people who were building the boat. It was also really cool because we got to meet a lot of sailors who told us about their stories and we told them ours. It was a really fun time and went by fast. Before we knew it, it was time to leave. We said our last goodbyes to the crew. Some people ended the BBQ in tears and others were anxious for our departure.

After we left the BBQ, we headed straight to the hotel. Everyone, including myself, felt weird not going back to Spirit that night. When we finally got to the hotel and into our rooms, we crashed right away because we had to get up at 4:45am to get to the airport.

We've come a long way and it’s sad to say that the trip has ended. But better things are going to come because of this amazing experience that we've had together.

Written by Ife Cook

May 3
Returning to San Francisco

When we woke up at 4:45 AM, it was still dark. We were all tired from the night before because we had stayed up until 3 AM watching movies and going in the hotel’s hot tubs and showers. We took a van to the airport and on the way there it hit me like a rod that that epic adventure that had been my home and life for the last six weeks was coming to an end. Most of us had mixed feelings about going home.

When we got to the airport it took a long time to check in. Time was ticking away and as we approached the security gate our names were announced over the intercom to come immediately to the gate. In a panic, we all rushed to our gate and made it just in time for our departure. Whew. When we got on the plane we were all psyched that we could listen to music. Marcos was thrilled when leaned over him and yelled across the plane what airplane station had the best music; especially when he was trying to sleep. On the last hour of our flight, I began to get really nervous, which I didn’t expect to feel. I realized that the life I had gotten so used to aboard the ship would be so different to the life I have lived all seventeen years of my life. I felt totally unprepared to go home. When we got off the plane we all walked huddled together until we saw our parents. I was glad to see my parents, but it felt odd. I had so much to say and I didn’t even know where to begin. They were so interested in everything I had to say and I sat there telling them story after story. Just like when we left for the voyage, being home was bittersweet. I felt like a princess in my castle; no pumping toilets or taking bucket showers. In fact, most of us had planned to take five hour showers but it just so happened that none of us did. We all were content with the showers we took the night before. All the privacy was overwhelming and I couldn’t be alone for more than ten minutes. Without spending even a day away from my girls, we were all homesick for each other and ready to go back to class the next day.

Written by Jane Marque

May 4, 2005

Today was the second day we were back. Everyone was excited to see each other and exchanged hugs. We had class with our communications teacher, Vincent, for the last time until graduation to bring closure to our experiences on the ship. We talked about so much. Each person had such different experiences. We talked about our experiences with the crew and who exactly was our favorite, our experiences on the islands and the issues we faced such as the language barriers and directions to places. We even talked about our most memorable experiences both on the islands and on the ship. My most memorable experience on the islands was when we went to Dominican Republic and went to a school. We went to a Spanish class and the students did a play for us. It was a funny version of Romeo and Juliet. Even though there was a language barrier, I could still understand exactly what was going on. My memorable moment comes in when we all split into groups and talked to the students. When we broke up into smaller groups some of the students sang for us. It was so amazing to see how together they were and how well we interacted with them. I will never forget that experience. I felt that was the best school I went to on the whole trip mainly because of the students I was grouped with.

After our class with Vincent was over and we ate lunch, we headed the Maritime Park at the Hyde Street Pier to talk about different internship sites. An internship is the next phase of this program. We visited two sites, but were given many different options. We were given tours of the different sites and were shown exactly what we would do in each site. One internship was called the Pelican Project and we would build small boats and possibly sail them during our free time. The other site was working on the Balclutha which is a 325 foot historic schooner permanently docked at the park. We would work on board and help with in any repairs needed. After getting our tours, we left with different ideas on what we want to do at hand.

Written by Mamesha Drew