Six weeks before the mast
By Michael Schrimpf, ’06
Lawrence
Today magazine, Spring 2006
Very, very early on Friday, May 27, 2005, while most Lawrence students were
either going to bed or already fast asleep, I was awakened by the sound of
a friendly
voice
saying: “Michael … Michael ….”
“Uh-huh,” I muttered, gradually realizing where I was: in the vicinity
of 41° N x 62° W, the middle of the North Atlantic, sailing NW at
about 7 knots, aboard the Sailing School Vessel Corwith Cramer. The
fellow student standing next to my bunk continued with her morning greeting,
just to make sure that
I was fully awake: “It’s 2:40, and you’ve got watch in 20
minutes. We had some rain earlier, but it looks like we’ve passed it
all. It’s still pretty cold though.”
“Ok, thanks,” I replied. Knowing that I had only a few minutes
to make it onto the deck before the off-going watch gave us a report of all
the things
we needed to know, I forced myself to get up. By the end of the day, I had
spent some time at the helm, set and furled sails, seen a piece of oceanographic
gear sent down to a depth of 1,300 meters, gone aloft in the rigging to replace
a parted line, and watched dolphins leave wakes of bio-luminescence ahead of
the ship.
This was all part of a 12-week off-campus program run by the Sea Education
Association (SEA), called the Woods Hole SEA Semester. The program teaches
both oceanography and the operation of a sailing vessel on the open ocean.
Students spend six weeks at the SEA campus near Woods Hole, Mass., and then
six weeks aboard one of two vessels, the SSV Corwith Cramer, which sails in
the Atlantic and the Caribbean, or the SSV Robert C. Seamans, which sails in
the Pacific.
On shore
During the shore component, 19 other undergraduates and I prepared ourselves
for the six weeks that we would spend on an oceanographic-research sailing
vessel. Most of this preparation came from our three classroom courses. We
learned the basics of piloting, celestial navigation, and sail theory in Nautical
Studies. In Oceanography, we prepared an independent research project that
would then be conducted at sea. Finally, Maritime Studies offered us a chance
to explore some ways in which the ocean has influenced the history and literature
of the world, particularly the region where we would be sailing. The shore
component also gave us an important chance to learn how to live and work together
as a team. We lived together in several small houses on the campus and prepared
all of our own meals.
Woods Hole presents a wonderful context for the classes. One of the premier
centers for oceanographic research in the world, it is situated on southwestern
Cape Cod, which has a very rich tradition in sailing and maritime history.
We would often visit the town to study at the world-class library or walk along
some of the miles of New England beaches.
At sea
We then traveled to St. Croix, in the U.S. Virgin Islands to begin the sea
component. As soon as we came aboard the vessel, we were considered members
of the crew and were expected to work. We began to analyze the ocean as scientists
and also experienced it as sailors. We learned how to deploy modern scientific
sampling equipment and used the collected data to complete our independent
research projects. We became proficient at sail handling, celestial navigation,
and even the operation of the main generator and auxiliary diesel engine. These
skills represent a mix of both traditional and modern seamanship, which provides
a unique point of view.
Daily life aboard ship was kept as organized and routine as possible. We were
divided into three watch groups. A mate and an assistant scientist, members
of the ship’s professional crew, led each of these watch groups, and
one of the watches was on duty at all times for the remainder of the voyage.
Being awakened at odd hours of the night became commonplace. When on watch,
we experienced every aspect of shipboard operations, including working in the
lab or on the deck crew, helping the engineer, or cooking in the galley. We
also were responsible for keeping the ship clean. Scrubbing became second nature
.
Throughout the course of the year, the SEA vessels visit many different areas
of the Caribbean, Western Pacific, and Northern Atlantic. My cruise track took
me north from St. Croix, with port stops in Bermuda and then Lunenburg, Nova
Scotia, before ending our 3,150 nautical mile journey in Woods Hole. We crossed
from the warm clear waters of the Caribbean, through the Gulf Stream, and into
the cold nutrient-rich waters near the Grand Banks. We were also lucky enough
to go ashore on Sable Island, an incredible stretch of sand dunes, inhabited
only by seals, wild horses, and five Canadian scientists. These are places
that most people only experience from the comfort of books.
The lessons
The SEA Semester provided me a fantastic opportunity to launch into the field
of oceanography. While I have long been interested in marine biology, this
was my first direct ocean-going experience. Other programs could have taught
me oceanography, but this one is unique in the way in which it teaches both
modern science and traditional sailing techniques.
Due to my enthusiasm for many independent disciplines, I have not had time
in my career at Lawrence to take any history classes. The SEA Semester not
only provided me with the chance to read about and study history but with the
chance to live as a traditional mariner would have lived. It is hard to explain
the appreciation for the ocean that one gets by using nothing but the wind
and stars to reach a destination and then analyzing what exists beneath the
waves using 21st-century technology. I plan to go to graduate school to study
marine birds, and that appreciation will help me immensely as I continue my
academic and professional career.
Some of the most valuable education the SEA Semester provided, however, had
nothing to do with books, calculations, or oceanographic equipment. Living
with 31 other people on a 134-foot vessel for six weeks is not always easy.
If two crew members do not get along, the furthest away from each other they
can get is 134 feet. We formed a very close bond as crew members and friends,
and we relied on each other to help us through difficult times. (Having a friend
is very comforting when you’re seasick!)
We were also required to lead our fellow crew. During the final two weeks of
the sea component, the professional crew expected us to take control of the
standard operations aboard the vessel as Junior Watch Officers (JWO). During
each watch, one of us functioned as the acting mate. He or she answered directly
to the captain and was expected to command the other members of the watch.
Having control of a 280-ton vessel in the middle of the ocean is a very humbling
experience and, at the same time, a great way to build confidence.
My 12 weeks in the SEA Semester taught me lessons that no classroom-based program
could have, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in
the ocean. Due to its interdisciplinary nature and its coordination with Lawrence’s
term calendar, the SEA Semester is a perfect program for Lawrentians. The lessons
in leadership, responsibility, and appreciation for the world that are such
important elements of the liberal arts education
become much more real aboard a ship.
Connections
Although there have not yet been many SEA students from Lawrence, there already
is a strong connection between the two institutions. My Maritime Studies professor
at Woods Hole was John Jensen, ’87, a Lawrence alumnus, and David Sunderlin,
a Lawrence postdoctoral fellow in geology, completed a SEA Semester as a Colgate
undergraduate in 1997.
I am thrilled that other Lawrentians are now applying to the program, and I
hope that they learn as much and have as much fun as I did.
Lawrence, Woods Hole, and the SEA Semester
One of the premier research institutions in the country, the Marine
Biological Laboratory (MBL) at Woods Hole, Massachusetts, was founded in
1888 and is the
oldest private marine laboratory in the Western Hemisphere.
In 1997, Lawrence became a partner institution in the MBL-sponsored “Semester
in Environmental Science” consortium, a program that has given, so
far, two Lawrence students the opportunity to work closely with world-class
scientists
who are studying issues related to how human activities change basic ecological
processes and the effect those changes have on the ability of ecosystems
to support life.
Bart de Stasio, ’82, associate professor of biology, spent the academic
year 2000-01 as a faculty fellow in environmental science at the MBL, continuing
his research on the impact of global warming on zoöplankton populations.
Since 2004, Lawrence has also been a participant in the Woods
Hole SEA Semester program, which gives undergraduates the opportunity
to study the ocean from
a multitude of academic perspectives and to do it from the platform of
a traditional sailing vessel. It is open to students in the sciences, humanities,
and social
sciences as well as to those who are “undecided.” Michael Schrimpf, ’06,
was the first Lawrence student to undertake the SEA Semester.
As mentioned in the accompanying article, John
Jensen, ’87, who teaches
in the SEA Semester program, is an alumnus of Lawrence, and David Sunderlin,
who teaches at Lawrence as a postdoctoral fellow in geoscience, is an alumnus
of the SEA Semester.
Jensen earned a B.A. in history from Lawrence, an M.A. in maritime history
and nautical archaeology from East Carolina University, and the M.S. in
history and policy and Ph.D. in social history from Carnegie Mellon University.
He
holds co-appointments as an adjunct professor of history at the University
of Rhode Island and as a member of the graduate faculty at the Frank C.
Munson Institute of American Maritime History.
Sunderlin, one of the first eight Lawrence University
Fellows in the Liberal Arts and Sciences, received his B.A. degree in biology and geology from
Colgate University and the Ph.D. in geology and paleontology from the University
of Chicago. His scholarly interests include paleobiology, paleoclimatology,
tectonics,
and environmental change.
Pictured, from left: David Sunderlin, Michael Schrimpf, ’06, John Jensen, ’87