(SEE THE NEW BIT BELOW!)
I left Emma this morning on the long pier leading out to the A. J. Meerwald, a strong bristle brush broom in hand, she began her stint as the ship's cook, by scraping the muddy pier where high tides had clashed with historic preservation requirements to accurately restore this wharf at Bivalve near Port Norris, NJ. As though in a bout of motion sickness themselves, the federal and state historic preservation funders had prohibited the raising of the pier to match the ever rising seas.
But the staff of Bay Shore Discovery Project and Meerwald crew are very aware of rising seas, and totally committed to reducing their carbon footprint by eating local food, powering with wind and solar, and limiting all petroleum products with great determination. Even so, even for the cook, each day begins by scrubbing debris of early morning tides strewn across low lying piers in preparation for guests. Longing to cross over from the industrial age to the sustainable era, each guest must cross this muddy pier with duffel bags and nap sacks stuffed full of their own precious pasts.
The eager staff is ready. Each one greets one, learning names and calculating preparedness, assigning bunks below and tasks above. The ground rules are clear; the safety instructions in place, as my Simon starts his first excursion at sea with four other young teen boys with the first of many vocabulary building sessions. Aft, fore, jib, galley: all new to new comers. But Simon would argue that his experience on Ben's boat and just listening to his siblings talk, plus all he has read, built his vocabulary long ago! It is true. He has been readying himself for this day for what seems like ages. Sailor speak is fresh in the front of his sponge like mind.
And Simon exudes an aire of confidence, a feeling of "old hat." I wonder if it is more from having imagined this day so well for so long, or from the self-discipline of self-hypnosis practiced in moments of stress. Or maybe it is just that the crew knows him as the brother of Ian & Emma, who paved so well. Then again, he did set his own record straight by arriving early to help. He worked hard as a volunteer yesterday, since his trip was delayed by an accident of a crew member.
One, Tanya, from Florida, and her local friend, son of a faithful Meerwald volunteer, both died in a car accident the night before. This world stopped for a season, wondering how to carry on without them. Enter Emma: last minute replacement and sister of Simon, who, now with more confident than ever having a sister by his side, is also acutely aware that our joy rests on the back of another mother's sudden sorrow.
I drive slowly away after a lengthy farewell photo shoot. Passing through woodland wonders lined with friendly turkeys gleaming in morning light beside unnameable flowers dancing in a sparkling surges of inlet streams. These lands where my mother was born, were once considered the "high lands" of nesting woods and
Indian burial grounds well hidden from stormy sea's high tides. Now, unwillingly, like most of us, they expose their long lost treasures to anyone with eyes to see. Surfacing through flooded forests, all reveal what was once precious, in the cloudy covered eyes of many a forgone era. Crab pots and heirloom jewelry, sacred bones and healer's tools, hollow bowls and coin filled shells slosh along in pools of tidal woods, telling wordless tales of high seas and low lands, of loves and loss, and booms and busts galore.
May we cherish their stories, honor their humor, and leave well our own.
May we learn from many histories,
Even as our futures sail away.
READ ON TO HEAR MORE OF THEIR TRAVELS
or
See a slide show of the week by clicking on the following words:
Photos by RuthAnn Purchase
Painting by Ficcaglia http://mauriceriver.igc.org/
MORE STORIES OF THEIR WEEK @ SEA
On Thursday of that week I called a few friends to meet me in Lewes, Delaware. I was hoping to interest my friends in volunteering for the Bay Shore Discovery Project, and, of course, I wanted to share the joy of such adventurous children. We found Emma moseying along the streets of old city. She had just visited the Lewes version of Chautauqua! She was not impressed by the elderly "Lone Ranger" drawing much attention, but she was pleased to meet a former Meerwald crew member, now working in Lewes for the Historical Society who sponsored the events. We found her moseying back to the ship happy to have found a "real" bathroom and her land legs. She told me that when she first got off the boat, she continued to step as though the ground was rising and falling . . . until she realized it wasn't. Sea legs must grow on you after a while! Hum . . . that doesn't sound right!
Soon she had to go below and start supper, so my friends and I chatted with the crew who were waiting to take tourists on tours of the boat. They had laid out an historical account with photos and memorabilia lying a top the . . . what is that thing called where they sleep . .. the cabin? Anyway, it was lying on top of the roof at thigh level, like the counter of a shop. They also sold post cards, caps and tea shirts, a coloring book and few other momentous. But there were few takers. Lewes was slow at 4 in the afternoon after such a long, long rainy spell. It was not until nearly 5 when the boys and other crew members came back from the beach. They introduced us and we had a few fun laughs and off they went.
The best part though, is that I got to help shove off. I couldn't take photos during the process because I had to run up and down the 115 foot boat at the captains orders! But I did enjoy it. It went something like this:
First someone gets in a small rubber raft with a strong motor and comes around on the dock side of the boat. The Captain calls for everyone to do their assigned jobs. Everyone is alert and ready with hand signals confirming their responses to captains questions or orders. As the captain motors the boat slowly backwards, he requests certain of the ropes be let free from the dock, first one in the middle, then the back of the boat, helping her back out at an angle. Then the little raft starts to push her away from the dock before the long nose like mast sticking out the front hits any pilings. The little raft keeps pushing her out into the river at an angle. Every one is stationed in different places watching and calling out the number of feet from the dock at their position. Finally the front of the boat is freed from the dock and the huge heavy ropes are hauled in. The captain starts to move her forward and down the river she moves, then out into the bay where her sails can be set free.
It is a group effort. That is for sure.
Make sure you look at the slide show called "SAIL AWAY," I will keep adding photos and stories as they come in. And I promise to learn more sailing lingo & edit this story above, so the next time you read it, you will learn something new, too. I hope you enjoy learning with me and enjoying my adventuresome children!
More soon,
~ RuthAnn
PS
Click the arrow below message to see Emma below deck
wanting bandaids for blisters! this is my first attempt at
making a video with a cell phone and up loading it! Wow!
I am doing it!
(But keep reading there are more stories now!)
Emma's Essay
While spending lots of time in the gally alone, while all the other guests and crew were above deck, Emma was noodling over her college application essay. The following is one of many she will be writing this summer:
July 18th 2009
Canptain Jesse calls for Simon to join the crew now making berth at Liberty State Park!
See more photos!
July 25th 2009
Long Beech Island
Today I am with Emma on her day off and we are making friends with facinating people at the
the Museum of New Jersey Maritime History (click on the name and you can see the web page).
