During their late October passage south through the Sargasso Sea toward St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Ocean Classroom students aboard the SSV Corwith Cramer settled into the rhythms that define life at sea. Days were shaped by watch rotations, science deployments, and the constant work of sailing a 134-foot vessel – taking helm in the pre-dawn darkness, standing lookout beneath a canopy of stars, processing neuston tows and measuring eel larvae in the lab. But beyond the routines, students stepped into new levels of responsibility. As Junior Watch Officers, they directed sail handling, managed watch rotations, and briefed the captain. Students even found themselves giving orders to the Mate and Captain – instructing professional crew on sail adjustments and helm positions – learning what it means to lead on a working tall ship. They “shot stars” with sextants at celestial twilight, refining their celestial navigation skills with each attempt, worked through challenges in their research projects, and, in between watches, found moments of joy in the small things – dressing up for Halloween, catching the first fish of the voyage, and taking saltwater showers with fire hoses on the science deck.
Read reflections from Avery '27, Kai '27, Danny '27, Mary '27, Sam '27, and Will D. '27 below!
Cruising South
Avery ’27
Saturday, 25 October 2025
Noon Position: 31° 30.8’ N x 057° 52.5’ W
Ship Heading: 195°
Ship Speed: 7 knots
Log: 1724 nautical miles
Weather: Motor sailing on a port tack under shallow reefed main sail and stays’ls. Wind SExE, force 4 winds, and seas of 2-3 feet coming from ESE.
Description of location: 300nm SE of Bermuda!
Today I started my day by hearing the breakfast “alarm” from the galley, meaning it was time for breakfast. I didn’t have an official wake-up since my watch had evening watch (7:00 PM - 1:00 AM) the previous night. I was pretty tired from our watch, so after breakfast I went right back to my bunk and fell asleep. While to everyone reading this it might sound a bit lazy and odd to have gone back to bed after breakfast, but with our watch schedule, fitting in even a few hours of sleep is key to being alert and effective while on watch. Watch is a 6-hour time period at least once a day, sometimes twice, where your watch is steering, on lookout, doing boat checks, helping in the galley, and science during those hours. Every day during watch we get to learn new things, whether you’re in the lab with your marine tech or on deck with your mate. Every day is filled with new information and details about the ship itself, navigation, and science.
Once I woke up around 11:00 AM, I got ready for the day and had a little more time before lunch, so I decided to read on deck where my watch-mates, Claire and Sam Z., were already reading. I joined them and enjoyed the clear blue sky and very clear blue Sargasso Sea. We have been recently sailing east to avoid Hurricane Melissa, but today we started our journey south towards St John! We all went down to the main salon for lunch and then headed up for watch. I got put on helm for the first hour, meaning I was steering the ship. Craig soon took over because all the watches and watch officers had field day! While one may think that this is a series of games like tug-of-war and one-legged race played in a field, this is not the case on a ship! Field Day is when all the watches get assigned a part of the ship to clean; this was our second field day of the voyage, so we were all prepared for what was to come. My watch, C Watch, cleaned the aft part of the ship. I did a deep clean of the aft bathroom while also sweeping and wiping down high-touch surfaces. This took us about two hours to complete, but in return, the ship was looking very clean! After, Captain announced we all got to have an on-deck outdoor shower with the fire hose. To save fresh water, we have all rerouted to saltwater showers on deck. We all got our bathing suits on and went to the science deck, where Lila and Ben sat up on the science lab top and sprayed us all down. It was AWESOME. Not a lot of people can say they have showered in the Sargasso Sea, but we sure can!!
As C watch was still currently standing watch, I had to go on to lookout for the last stretch of watch. But, the sunset made it all worth it, it was a mix of pink and purple on the port side of the ship, and then starboard it was red and orange. This was one of the best days of the trip so far! After that, we had watch turnover to A watch who was standing watch for the evening. Although this wasn’t an average day aboard the ship with field day and everything, it was still one of the best days so far onboard the Corwith Cramer! We as a group are slowly becoming more adjusted to the tall ship life and loving every part about it!
~ Avery ’27, C Watch
Kai and Danny’s Double Blog
Kai ’27 and Danny ’27
Tuesday, October 28th, 2025
Noon Position: 25°13.4’ N x 055°28.2’ W
Ship Heading: 240°
Ship Speed: (knots): 7 knts
Log (nm): 2200
Weather: SE Wind Force 3, sailing under Deep Reef Mains’l, mainstays’l, forestays’l, jib, jib tops’l, and fisherman
Description of location: South Sargasso Sea (heading to St. John!)
Today I woke up to an amazing breakfast of a few different kinds of cereal. We had Lucky Charms, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and Raisin Bran. Then I had watch from 0700 to 1300. During watch, we used the hydro wire to do a deployment of a Secchi disk, which is a piece of equipment that we use to figure out the visibility of the water. Every time we deploy the Secchi disk, somebody walks around the ship with a whiteboard, taking guesses on what everyone thinks the visibility is. Today I guessed 34m and the actual visibility was 34.5m. Tucker guessed 35m, but we use “Price is Right” rules, so if you go over, you are eliminated, which meant I was the closest. Then, right before we had our ship’s meeting, I walked up on deck and noticed that the fishing line was out of the clip that we use to tell if there is a fish on. So I started to pull the line in, and I didn’t really feel like there was a fish on, but when I got it closer, I saw that there was a Mahi Mahi on the hook. This was cool because it was the first Mahi I have ever caught, and it was on a hand line in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. The fish wasn’t that big, but it was the first fish that we had caught so far.
~ Kai ’27, B Watch
Today was one of my best days on the ship so far. First, I woke up to a breakfast of Lucky Charms, and it was delicious. Then, I went off to morning watch. I was in the lab with Kai, Tucker, and Eliza. We did not do any processing during the watch, we did a wire deployment of a Secchi disk. Unfortunately, I didn’t win the Secchi disk bet, and I haven’t won one yet. Then we did a Phyto net, a Neuston, and three dip nets. Those dip nets were very exciting. Eliza and Tucker both netted two separate kinds of sargassum, which we hadn’t seen once on our cruise track, and for a couple hours, we thought might’ve been new species of sargassum. Eliza and Tucker named them Zatans (Eliza-tans) and Tucketans (Tucker-tans). We were all convinced they were new species. Then, about 20 minutes ago, I was informed they were probably just Natans II and Fluitans X, which was disappointing, but is still very exciting because those are very rare types of sargassum. After watch, however, my day really started to get good.
A few days ago, I discovered that I had accidentally brought a chocolate bar onto the ship, possibly the only chocolate bar on the ship, and it wasn’t just any chocolate bar, it was a Milka and Chips Ahoy collab chocolate bar. One of the best chocolate bars I’d ever had. That same day, Wells told me that she had two seltzer water cans. The two of us agreed to split the chocolate bar and the seltzer water. We then refrigerated everything and waited. Finally, today, during a delicious lunch of some sort of chicken and veggie stir fry, Wells suggested we have our seltzer water. I agreed. I went into the fridge and got my chocolate bar. But the seltzer water cans? Nowhere to be found. For ten minutes I searched. I moved everything, and still nothing; neither Wells nor I had any idea where they could be. We were worried that they might have been taken out of the refrigerator, or even worse, somebody else had already taken them to drink. Then Will ’27, thank goodness, saw what was going on, and I told him he could have some chocolate if he found the seltzer waters. Five minutes later, he climbed out of the refrigerator with those two spindrifts. My day was saved. I then went up on deck on this blistering hot 85-degree day and enjoyed the best seltzer water and the best chocolate bar I’ve ever had.
After Seltzer water, I was hanging out on the bow of the ship, and then I heard Kai yell he had a fish on. We had had a hand line out most every day for hours a day for a week, and hadn’t caught a single thing. So, I ran up and saw him pulling in a super cool and colorful Mahi Mahi. I think we are going to eat it tomorrow, or at least a couple of us will. To round out my day, my group, B watch won the science charades game, and I just had a delicious dinner of pork chops, sweet potatoes, and salad. All this happened, and I’m on a sailboat. I can’t imagine a better day.
~ Danny ’27, B Watch
Retrospective Blog: Mary’s Crayon Day
Mary ’27
Noon Position: 23°38.4’ N x 057°40.1’ W
Ship Heading: 240°
Ship Speed: 7 kts
Log: 2298nm
Weather: SE Wind Force 3, sailing under Deep Reef Mains’l, mainstays’l, forestays’l, and jib
Description of location: 430 nm Northeast of BVIs (En route to St. John)
My day started a little earlier than normal as my watch (B Watch) had dawn watch, which begins at 01:00 and ends at 07:00, going from a sky full of stars to a gorgeous sunrise. Although it's abnormal, dawn watch is my favorite. I crept out of my bunk, careful not to make noise in the silent vessel, but I was forced to rush as it took two people and ten minutes to wake me up, leaving me with little to no time to get ready for the shift. I dressed in an all-orange outfit to match the plans my fellow shipmates had made previously that night to all dress as crayons for a little pre-Halloween celebration. We even crafted our very own hats that looked like the tip of a crayon, equipped with chin straps to keep them put as we worked. It added energy and laughter to the morning. I was on deck, getting the opportunity to go through the normal cycle of Helm, Boatcheck, Dish, and Lookout. During this shift, I was also the shadow watch officer, the second stage in our journey for three hours. This means I was taken out of the normal rotation to learn how to lead a watch.
The night was nice, clear, and very hot. Lookout was spectacular, gazing up at millions of stars. On this watch, Karen taught us a lot about celestial navigation, even showing us the Lebron-stellation (Perseus, really, but we all think it looks like Lebron James going for a power dunk). As the sun rose, celestial twilight hit, Eliza and I grabbed our sextants and began shooting the stars Sirius and Canopus. A sextant is a tool used to find the position of the ship using the stars. It’s quite cool. Our points came out to be around 30 NM off, which is not too bad for two people just learning! Each time we have used the sextant, our points get more and more accurate. My personal best is being 12 NM off.
~ Mary '27
We completed the watch turnover, heading to “breaky.” After dawn watch the whole day was free until night watch (19:00-01:00), followed by galley cleanup, which is not as fun. During the day, I worked on my eel larvae project with my partner, Colin. We spent the afternoon measuring leptocephali (eel larvae) from four samples we collected in Neuston net tows along our cruise track. We ran into a slight roadblock as we measured 30 eels that were shrunk because of the ethanol used to preserve the samples before figuring out that we could return the eels back to their normal size by holding them in DI water (De-ionized), leading us to restart. We spent the next few hours, with help from Eliza, tediously grabbing eel larvae stretching them out and measuring them, each one incredibly fragile.
As we finished, we gathered up on the Elephant Table to watch the sunset. I don’t think I can ever get used to the stunning sunsets/sunrises that happen practically every day here. For dinner, the Mahi Mahi fish Kai caught the day earlier was served. I have never tried fish before, but seeing the full thing get caught, chopped, and cooked, led me to be a little curious about the taste. I told Kai, who also had never eaten fish, if he did it, I would too. So it led to both of us at the same time taking one bite. I can’t say I hated it, but I didn’t love it. Night watch soon rolled around, this time I was in lab. We spent the night processing a Neuston Net tow filled with tons of zooplankton, which we then did a 100ct with. The 100 counts are challenging, trying to use a microscope on a moving vessel, seeing all the little creatures makes it worth it. I was happy after such a jam-packed day to climb into my bunk to sleep.
Each day here feels so long in the moment, but looking back on it, it really goes by like a flash of light. We only have a few more days until we anchor in St. John, and I’m looking forward to trying to soak up as much as possible.
Sam’s Day In The Life of a Watchstander
Sam ’27
Tuesday, October 29th, 2025
Noon Position: 23°38.4’ N x 057°40.1’ W
Ship Heading: SWxW
Ship Speed: 7 kts
Log: 2298
Weather: SE Wind Force 3, sailing under Deep Reef Mains’l, mainstays’l, forestays’l, and jib
Description of location: 430 nm off the BVIs (En route to St. John)
Today was a great day. It started nice and early for me at 00:30 because I had dawn watch, which starts at 01:00. Lucky for me, I got a full four hours of sleep beforehand, but also a few hours of sleep during the day. When I got up on deck to do my deck walk before the watch turnover, I was surprised by how crisp the stars were. We have seen some amazing stars throughout our trip, but right then the moon was hidden by a dark rain cloud, which made the night much darker and the stars much more vivid. As I did my deck walk, I saw three shooting stars, which made me very excited for the next six hours standing watch under the stars. When I finished my walk and got to the turnover, I was sent to relieve the lookout. In my hour on lookout, I saw many shooting stars, including a few that lit up the whole sky, and I even spotted another ship that I reported to my watch officer. Shortly after seeing the ship, I was relieved from lookout and sent to relieve the helm.
~ Sam '27
Neuston tow
On the helm, I continued to watch the stars and I listened to Sara, my watch officer, communicate with the passing ship whose watch was clearly very bored and were happy to talk to someone. After the helm, I did a boat check and got a few minutes to stand on the quarter deck and talk to the helmsman and look for constellations in the sky. The rest of watch went pretty fast, and I cycled through the same three positions once more. I got to be on the helm as the sun came up, which was really nice. As watch ended and other people started to wake up, I was starting to look forward to getting into my bunk and sleeping for the first few hours of daylight.
When I woke up from my nap, I was really hot and I grabbed my book and went on deck to try to find a shady and breezy spot to read. I ended up sitting on the lab-top under the shade of the main stays’l using the furled fisherman sail as a cushion. It felt great and I had a view of everything that was happening on deck which included some science deployments, sail handling, and a few fellow readers scattered around. After a few hours reading and milling around deck, I had lunch and then we had class where I worked on my project. Partway through my work, I got interrupted by our steward Brooke, asking if I wanted to help her throw old fruit overboard. After that was done, I finished up my project and went to take a saltwater shower. It felt amazing, and I stood on the bow rinsing myself with seawater and watched the sun start to set. I then hung out on the quarterdeck with everyone else to watch the sun sink below the horizon. I just finished dinner and I have evening watch about to start, and I can’t wait to spend some more time looking at the stars with my friends.
Davidge’s Delightful Blog!
Will D. ’27
Thursday, October 30th, 2025
Noon Position: 22°14.1’ N x 059°21.5’ W
Ship Heading: 222°
Ship Speed: 6 knts
Log: 2429 nm
Weather: SSE Wind Force 3, sailing under Deep Reef Mains’l, mainstays’l, forestays’l, Jib.
Description of location: 300 NM away from the BVI’s
Today I was politely woken up by Magnus at 06:00 for my breakfast in 20 minutes and my watch in 1 hour. This morning we had crepes prepared by our “stu stew”, Colin. I then met with Captain for a briefing on being a JWO (Junior Watch Officer). We are now in the third phase of standing watch, where 2 student crew, each taking half of the 6-hour watch, are Junior Watch Officers. This morning it was Brooke and me. Being a JWO means you take up the responsibilities of the mate, but you don’t have the con (in charge of directing the ship's course, speed, and maneuvers) or the legal responsibilities. For those of you reading at home, I was practically (but not quite) second to only the captain of the SSV Corwith Cramer for 3 hours! I must say this was pretty stressful, and although I felt prepared, I soon became very overwhelmed. While the mate is still on deck with you, they are not supposed to tell you what to do unless there is a safety issue. Later in the watch, we had a science station where the A watch lab team deployed a Secchi disc, Phyto net, Neuston tow, and the deepest CTD deployment of the trip to 1000 meters. At that depth, they were getting readings from water that is over 900 years old.
Nate, Raechel, Caroline, and Danny getting ready for the deep CTD deployment.
We were down two people to help with lines after science station, which made my job a little more difficult in covering the rotations and wakeups. So, I recruited Captain and Jeremy (A watch’s Mate) to fill in. I felt very weird to tell Jeremy to run around the ship and sheet out the stays’ls and sheet out the main, but even more weird to tell Captain to relieve helm and to mark her head. While Captain is the Captain at all times, she was now listening to my commands.
~ Will D. '27
Although this was fun, it did not last forever, and we later transitioned into turnover, where I led the turnover to explain what tack we were on, what sails we were using, wind and sea state, vessel traffic, and more. After turnover, we had lunch, which I ate on deck with Sam Z. We had ship’s meeting at 14:30, which also included a test fire drill. We have practiced these before, and it went smoothly. Each watch has a different responsibility for certain emergencies. A watch's responsibility during a fire drill is to man the saltwater fire hoses. Since it has been so hot recently and the hoses were already primed Captain called a fire hose shower after the drill, and everyone got changed and went to the science deck to “shower.” After the shower, I felt clean and relaxed and happy to be off watch. I chose to use my free time to read a book, which I got about 6 pages into before I decided I’d rather take a nap.
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