7/2-3/11

On Saturday we went to the Calvert Marine Museum on Solomon's Island. They had otters, sting rays, and other wildlife. We got to explore an old lighthouse and examine boats. After, we went to Jerry's for pizza.

The next day, we ate breakfast in the rain and then went sailing to Point Lookout. During the trip, we used the otter trawl net to catch around 250 comb jellies. They were a few inches long and bioluminescent. When we arrived at the campsite, we ate dinner and roasted marshmallows. Half an hour after lights out, it started to storm. We all piled into the van and played games and sang songs until 11:30pm. We went to bed an when we woke up we got to take showers in nice bathrooms!!

7/1/11

The young, talented explorers prepared themselves for a new day, while reflecting on the previous events. All had improved on knots, coils, and working as a team. The trawl was fruitful, bringing in a variety of animals and learning experiences. One explorer wondered how many oyster spat were added to the reef each year. How many oysters did the reef itself produce each year? As well, at this rate, when could the Bay be nearly as healthy as the Bay was originally.

6/30/11

Port watch examined the anatomy of an oyster. It was interesting to learn how an animal that can not move can still survive. I also liked to imagine how high the oyster reefs used to be. Later, we went trawling and caught blue crabs, a hogchoaker, and a croaker. Then, we swam in the Choptank River. I enjoyed getting wet and (sort of) taking a shower. Dinner was large and after we started designing the game boards for the final project.

6/29/11

This trip has been excellent so far! We have gotten familiar with the Sigsbee. Soon we will be masters. When we went out for crabbing it was so peaceful and I caught so many crabs. Today our Sigsbee was faster than any of the other times we have been sailing!

6/29/11

Up at 6:00am! We left for Tilghman Island, hearing of the story of the Privateer Captain Steve and a lecture on sail theory. We also trawled and did an exercise dealing with pollution. After arriving at Tilghman Island, we went to a small environmental center. I watched a turtle show off, then ate chili.

6/27-28/11

After we left Baltimore, we put up the sails. Then, we did some cool activities such as seeing which water was heavier, salt or fresh water. We also dredged for oysters and caught some empty shells. After lunch we split up into two groups, and one group did navigation and the other group did water quality tests and learned knots. When we got to Rock Hall, we set up the tents and ate tacos for dinner.

Today we got up at 4:30am!! We went on a crabbing boat and caught almost two bushels of crabs! That was almost $400 of crabs. It didn't feel like work at all!

Welcome to the summer of 2011!!

Sigsbee pulled away from Pier 5 this morning bound for the open Bay with smiles and excitement all around. After an action packed night at College of Notre Dame the campers were bright eyed and bushy tailed when the Living Classrooms staff picked them up. We hope all the families had a safe trip home from CND and we'll be in touch as soon as we can.