Day 1 - June 24th, 2013

Today is the day! Today is the day 12 CTY students, their R.A., Captain Joe of the skipjack Sigsbee and his crew, begin their journey along the Chesapeake Bay as apart of the CTY + Living Classroom Foundation Marine Sciences program. But you guys already knew that, so let’s begin! 

Once aboard the Sigsbee, the kids packed their day packs “down below” and the crew got them involved immediately. They were introduced to the different sails, the types of coils used to stow lines on board, the importance of fenders, how to remove and gather dock lines, and other terminology on the Sigsbee. They then got to assist with the actual setting the sails – the main sail and jib – and getting our journey on the way. 

Once the sails were set, and the engine turned off, the learning continued. The Sigsbee kids got their hands dirty early, as they were taught how to fish using an otter trawl line. They learned of the different parts of the otter trot line, the mechanism of how it works to catch fish, and the techniques used to cast the line. Once instructions were given, it was time for doing. All the kids were given a task to assist in casting the line and as a group they went fishing. When their otter trawl line was hauled in, the Sigsbee kids got to examine their prize – which consisted of white perch fish, a spot fish and a Maryland blue crab. The learning continued as students learned how to fill out a Marine Data Sheet to describe the fishing method they just used and the organisms they caught. As they were filling out their data sheet, they learned more about the fish they caught (including anatomy and physiology), and even got to handle a live crab – using proper techniques of course. Next they got to learn more about knots and their usage aboard the Sigsbee. 

Now, after a day of sailing, we arrived to our first site. The kids then got a chance to learn about the proper setup of tents and the camp site as a whole. Once camp was ready they were given some free time to relax, play and/or hangout. To close out their day, the entire group gathered in a circle and expressed things we enjoyed about the day and things we were looking forward to or wanted to improve on. Finally we discussed our plans for the next day and called it a night. Now I would tell you about the plans for tomorrow, but it would ruin the surprise – So until tomorrow, adieu!