Leaving Tilghman Island

We've just set sail from Tilghman Island where we stayed after a long, hot sail. We spent the day before yesterday on Solomon's Island where the students visited the Calvert Marine Museum. The museum was filled with various marine animals including 2 albino blue crabs, dozens of unique species of fish, nettle jellyfish and sting rays, among others. During their museum visit, the students were given a scavenger hunt. They searched the museum for the answers to questions they were given and did a great job finding the answers. They learned about a lighthouse at the museum, several boat makers and famous older ships, as well as tools used for catching crabs and oysters. That night, a strong storm hit the camp, which was quite an experience. We were told that there would be a 50% chance of rain, so we decided to put the rain flies up, just in case. What actually happened were strong winds and a downpour. At about 11:30, things got a little crazy as everyone left their tents and moved into the safety of a building. It was quite a storm that had the left parts of Maryland and the surrounding states with some pretty serious damage, but thankfully our little part of the world was left mostly intact and we were all safe. Some of the students' things got wet, including clothes and sleeping bags, so we spread everything out and dried it off which didn't take long in the very warm summer temperatures we've been having.

Yesterday, the students' spent the day on the boat and docked at Tilghman Island at around 4. We set up camp, had some dinner, and decided to give the students a break from the heat by taking them to see the movie Brave. The heat has been pretty intense the last few days, but the rain cooled things off quite a bit. Today is supposed to be much cooler with a chance of thunderstorms in the evening, so the students got up a bit earlier than normal so we could dock before the thunderstorms hit. They're getting faster at setting up and tearing down the campsite, but improvements can still be made. Overall, however, we're hitting our goal times for when we want to get things done, which is great. We only have 2 days left of sailing, but I know we'll make the most of it.