While aboard Proctor Academy’s Ocean Classroom program, students have limited contact with family and friends on the mainland. A few letters home and one phone call from Cumberland Island, Georgia are a drastic change from the normal day-to-day conversations students and parents have become accustomed to.
Student journals are a powerful window into the transformative nature of the Ocean Classroom experience. Below is a short entry from Andover’s Taylor Methven ‘16, shared with us by the crew aboard the schooner Roseway.
Taylor Methven ’16:
Caroline lovingly interrupted my dream at 0430. I opened my eyes expecting it to be 0600. I had been up three hours earlier for Anchor Watch. I insisted thPirates of the Caribbeanat I already did my anchor watch and that something must be wrong.
My shipmates calmly informed me that all of C Watch was to be awake at 0430 to help Roseway get underway at 0500. I grudgingly swung my legs out of my bunk and placed my warm feet on the damp sole of the fo’c’sle.
What used to be a clear, star-filled sky was now blanketed (or rather we were blanketed) by an intense fog, blinding our watch crew and Captain Pao from seeing 100 yards in front of the bow. After raising the anchor, Eliza and Cavo put five of the seven crew members on bow watch to try to increase visibility. We were as blind as if we had no one on bow watch.
JoJo and I stood on the starboard bow, trying to keep ourselves awake by singing the Pirates of the Caribbean theme, the Star Wars theme, and excerpts from other musical artistry.
The fog was thick. Our watch, now all on Bow Watch, were all hoping we would see whatever was lying ahead of us before it ran into Roseway. Jojo used the word “ominous” while staring intently ahead.
The fog was equally ominous as it was calming. Our watch was working hard to see any obstructions or ships, to no avail, and yet the fog graciously blocked any worries to be had by the crew or captain.
The fog allowed us to admire other, closer aspects that one does not normally notice while straining one’s eyes for the distant waves. C Watch observed bioluminescent jellyfish in the wake of the Roseway. Although the fog blocked the stars in the sky, it forced us to observe the stars in the sea.
The luminescence only appeared when water was moved. One of the many secrets of the sea was revealed to us because the fog blocked our view of the vast ocean ahead.
Moral of the story: look closely at what is close to you.
To follow Ocean Classroom’s journey, including former AE/MS Eagles Taylor Methven, Cope Makechnie, and Carl Hubbard, visit Blogs.ProctorAcademy.org/topic/ocean-classroom.