Next week at this time, Proctor’s Ocean Classroom 2023 will be at sea aboard the SSV Corwith Cramer on their way across the Gulf of Maine to Nova Scotia. This first leg of their journey at sea comes after a three week intensive shore component of the program on the Sea Education Association campus in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.
Over the past two weeks, students have been immersed in Oceanography, Navigational Science, and Maritime Studies courses. These courses are working to prepare students for the at sea component of the program by teaching them how to plot courses, account for tidal changes, and correct for magnetic declination depending on one's latitude and longitude. They have also been learning the lines on the ship and this week they have been onboard the Corwith Cramer making preparations for the voyage by working with the professional crew who conducted survival training drills and going through emergency procedures.
Balancing their time in the classroom with excursions to relevant local museums and natural landscapes, the group visited New Bedford Whaling Museum and the Cape Cod National Seashore. During the latter visit they learned about the formation of Cape Cod thanks to the last ice age, climbed atop the largest glacial erratic in all of New England, observed gray seals feeding along the shore, cleaned up a one mile stretch of the beach in honor of the International Coastal Clean-Up event organized by Ocean Conservancy, and climbed to the top of Pilgrim Tower and learned about Wampanoag culture during a visit to Provincetown.
With several assignments due this week before departing for Nova Scotia, students are busily working to finalize their oceanography project proposals due Thursday morning and finalizing their reports on Maritime History due Friday. Students are also learning to identify different marine zooplankton in the lab and have been busy drawing and painting plankton in their sheets anchors.
Students have spent their free time riding bikes on the rail trail, swimming, and playing ultimate frisbee and soccer as they bond as a group and prepare to drop lines. This weekend SEA will conduct a gear check and pack bags and board the ship on Monday with the plan of casting lines on Tuesday. Ocean Classroom Director Brooks Bicknell ‘77 will join the crew on Sunday, board with them and serve on a watch group alongside students as they set sail to Nantucket and then Nova Scotia.
Be sure to check out Instagram feed for updates in the coming days and weeks as Ocean Classroom 2023 sets sail and continues their adventure!
Check out more photos from Ocean Classroom 2023!
- Ocean Classroom
- Off-Campus Program