Meadowdale Middle School – Day 3

The students and crew were greeted to another calm, spectacular morning .. this time from Stuart Island. The Watch Group on shore in their tents could sense it was going to be a warm day as the morning sun striking their tents was already warming things.
For the Watch Group waking on the motionless boat in the harbor, the air in the fos’cle was still and bordering on stale.

There was every indication sailing today was going to be difficult, but the schedule was full for science deployments.

The extreme spring tides over the last couple days created some interesting features and dynamics in the water. The students and crew witnessed first hand the strength of the tides and the currents. Many times along the way they came across tide fronts separating two water masses and found the tidelines full of wood and other debris.

Due to the extreme tides and strong currents, the destination for the day was planned for either James Island, Cyprus Island or Spencer Spit.
As part of the navigation plan for the day was a stop-over on Orcas Island (Deer Harbor) to refill the water tanks.