Open Enrollment – sailing and science in the main basin

Dateline; Day 3 morning. The snow-capped Olympics are sunrise pinkas the campers awaken to the new day. The surf laps easily along the shoreline and the calm, cool air is a nice change from the windy conditions of the last couple days.

The student sailing scientist and the crew of the S/V Carlyn made their way to Manchester State Park last evening to set up camp and settle in for the night, but let’s go back a few days to track on the adventure and hear from the student crew.

The first day found the adventure looking at small craft advisories with winds and water condition that kept the intrepid Salish crew on the docks. The inventive and flexible crew delivered a more land-based program of science and watershed learning with the generosity of club space provided by the Seattle Yacht Club.

The next day the program departed Elliott Bay Marina after lunch and launched into setting sails and deploying science gear in the afternoon. The adventure crossed the main basin of Puget Sound and eventually made its way partway into Rich Passage where they stopped for the evening.

The Afternoon Report from Mariah and Cora for Day 2.

Describe the anchorage or moorage where Carlyn is right now.
We are by Bainbridge Island, on our port side is the Kitsap Pennisula. The water is calm and it’s sunny, a nice spot to kayak and anchor a large sailboat for the evening. Land has an evergreen forest with visible trails to hike on. There is a nice looking grassy spot that the boys are camping on (Manchester State Park) and the girls are staying on the Carlyn.
Today’s weather.
This morning, the weather was sunny, but chilly. Early afternoon the wind picked up and the sky changed to a 100% cloud cover with periods of slight rain. After lunch, the sun started shining, but late afternoon we left the dock, and sailed into heavy rain with fast winds. Currently (6:00 P.M.) there is sun and minimal clouds.
Describe highlights from today’s science and sailing watches.
The Wind Watch crew first learned how to tie knots including a figure eight knot and a square knot. After that they learned how to set the sails and also how to use the winches to help pull the halyard and the sheet lines as well as winch safety. Wind Watch also got to set the Mizzen and the Jib sails while docked. Water Watch went out to the break water and took another sample of the water to help with our experiment. After lunch the Carlyn set sail and Water Watch set the Mizzen and Jib sails. Both watches looked at plankton under microscopes and tested the water samples for copper using the colorimeter.
The Carlyn was supposed to dock at Blake Island, however there wasn’t enough room at the docks so we made alternate plans to dock in Manchester Cove instead.
Any questions, concerns, or expectations for tomorrow?
The weather is on our minds considering the wind and rain over the last couple days, and we hope that we have blue skies and calm water tomorrow. We hope that the experiment comes to a good conclusion and we can’t wait to share our thoughts, ideas, and conclusion with you tomorrow.

Fairwell from the Carlyn! 🙂