After chores this morning The UMASS-Boston group headed up to the Connecticut College Campus for the NMEA—some joined a few carloads going up, and the rest of us hiked the 2 miles to campus. Students and trip leaders attended a plenary session on archaeology in Connecticut, and then chose workshop sessions on a really wide variety of topics (see below).

We were fortunate to catch a bus as we headed back to the boat for lunch—the ride was welcome in today’s heat! Our afternoon sail in company with the other vessels (Amistad and the schooner AJ Meerwald had joined us at a neighboring dock this morning) was called off due to the high winds and approaching thunderstorms. Instead we opened the ship at dockside and educators from the conference stepped aboard to learn about mechanical advantage, Ernestina’s history, and navigation. All told, approximately 36 educators came onboard ~ about the same number that would have joined us for the sail. UMASS students attended these sessions as well, in their watch groups, then took some time to visit the other schooners.

Before dinner, as the thunderstorms passed overhead, our UMASS group huddled below in the fishhold and shared what they’d learned at the conference. Many had learned quite a bit about penguins, teaching about fish to 5^th-graders, and the technical and political challenges in ocean dredging. Some expressed dismay at how short each presentation had to be (the nature of the conference-scheduling beast) and were eager to hear more from each presenter.

After dinner (we started up on deck, then got chased below by another rainfall passing through), some took to their bunks early; others strolled around the docks to check out the other boats; and others enjoyed some personal time ashore in town. Given the fullness of our day, it was not too surprising that the ship was all quiet by around 2130. We’ll be up at dawn to pull away from the dock by 0500 and get underway for our next stop: Nantucket.

Here is what one of our participants wrote about the day:

This morning we woke up to a clear blue sky; however, the weather forecast for the day stated that we were in for some pretty severe weather.

Docked at New London, Connecticut, we looked forward to the National Marine Science Conference that was scheduled for the day. Most of us took a two-mile hike to Connecticut College for the conference. They had some great presentations prepared for us and we took full advantage of the program with the time we had allotted. The topics ranged from the conservation of penguins in Africa, Chile and Antarctica to the ABC’s of fish anatomy. Many of us wished we could have stayed longer. We discussed the logistics of time management at a conference.

We returned to the Ernestina to prepare to welcome some of the conference attendees for some hands-on programs at dockside. Some of us were able to visit other schooners and sloops tied up at the same dock as the Ernestina. The sky turned threatening and the forecasts looked like it would be coming through. Before dinner, passing rainshowers caused us to meet below decks to discuss all the things we’d learned today.

Captain: Sophie Morse
Program Coordinator: MaryHelen Gunn

Ernestina (MA) in company with Clearwater (NY), Quinnipiac (CT), and AJ Meerwald (NJ). Amistad came in later in the day.