Sigsbee: Day 4: Going Fishing and Dredging

Today we sailed from Horn Point to Tilghman Island. The boat ride was shorter than the one to Horn Point, so we got to go fishing along the way. We used a trawl net that we dragged along with us to catch a bunch of sea life. We caught perch, spot, oyster toadfish, blue crab, gobies, bay anchovy, and over a hundred jellyfish. We got a chance to hold a comb jelly, which does not have any stinging cells and is bioluminescent. As our captain Nick said, it was probably the best biodiversity he had seen. After finishing lunch, we got a chance to dredge for oysters on a real oyster dredging boat- our skipjack! We caught a lot of oyster shells along with some live oysters, baby blue crabs, and one goby in a dead oyster shell. We were very surprised when we pried open an oyster shell and a fish jumped out! On science watch we began our final projects and learned about birds and how to identify them. While on deck watch, we raised the sails, and more of the student crew got a chance to steer.

When we reached Tilghman Island, we docked in Knapps Narrows. It was pretty cool because people were taking pictures and waving at us, which made us feel like minor celebrities. After docking, we toured the Phillips Wharf Environmental Center and the Tilghman Waterman's Museum. We learned about the history of watermen and viewed may sea animals, which included oysters, rays, and Atlantic sturgeon. We also learned about oyster aquaculture using an upwelling-downwelling system, which helps the baby oysters grow while purifying the bay.

At night, we set up our tents in the environmental interns' yard, which they graciously let us use. We also got to hang out in an AIR-CONDITIONED ROOM for most of the night and use a flush toilet, which was amazing!!! Overall it was a pretty good day, except for the fact that almost half the crew got sick.