Today we woke up at seven, ate breakfast, then changed; we all got ready and put swimsuits on under our clothes. We then took small groups on the small boat onto the island, Santa Cruz.

On Santa Cruz we learned about how there were certain animals that were only on this island. MJ also told us about how there was a ranch on the island and how it messed up the plants and animals that were indigenous to that particular island.

Once we were done looking around the island as much as we could since they were currently trying to restore it to its natural form, we went down to Prisoner’s Bay to begin our snorkel session for the day. While we were in the ocean we examined some kelp plants and the animals that live in the kelp.

We all finished snorkeling and took trips back to the tall ship. when we all got onto the ship we all began the long, tiring process of raising the anchor. After we got the anchor up we started to head back to the harbor. We arrived to the Harbor at about six o’clock, and everyone bombarded the showers. We had three long days in the ocean but I think it’s safe to say everybody was glad to be back on land.

— Watch Group A

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This morning we woke up to the crashing waves of Smuggler’s Cove. A few of us slept on deck, and we were surrounded by cold wind and fog. It was amazing to wake up to the view of the ocean.

After that we had a fortifying breakfast of oatmeal (with raisins, brown sugar, and bananas), cereal, and orange juice. We all ate, and then rallied together to complete the difficult task of raising the anchor. To raise it, four people (two on each side) pulled back and forth on the windlass (a ‘T’-shaped bar) fifty times, then we would switch with a different group of four.

We then slept, read books, or anything else thought of to relax as the tall ship made its way to Prisoner’s Harbor. It was a gentle three hour ride. We did not raise the sails, and instead used the motors.

Once we made it to Prisoner’s Harbor we lowered the anchor again. We made lunch, which was a simple sandwich with fruit and chips. Afterwards, we began the long process of putting on wetsuits.

Abbey and Nathan had gone out and grabbed some very interesting sea animals for us to check out. We got to take a close look at sea kelp, red and purple sea urchins, a sea cucumber, a sea hare, seas star, and two crabs. We learned what types of specimen we would see while snorkeling, and what type of animals lived on the islands. It was very cool!

We were more than ready to go snorkeling after seeing all the interesting sea creatures. So we took small groups of five people to the dive flag where we would be. When we got to the flag, we put on our snorkeling gear and hopped in. The water was super cold, but after your body got used to the water it was okay. We saw so many sea stars and urchins, it was unbelievable. It was colorful and we also saw these orange fish called garibaldi, which are the state fish of California. It was like a beautiful, alienated  world underwater.

Once we were back on the ship we set out our wet gear and got changed. The rest of the day just consisted of eating dinner, reading books, talking, and sleeping. Such a wonderful, fun-filled day out on the Pacific.

— Watch Group C

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Today we woke up to the pale lights of the Channel Island Harbor, still tired from the exhausting day we had before. After eating a delicious breakfast we were all put into different ‘watch groups’ and did our first role call. We did a quick safety lesson and then we were off on our journey to the islands.

After leaving the harbor, everyone on the ship joined together to raise the sails, which most of us were unfamiliar with. It was nice seeing how everybody from different parts of the United States worked together. Once the sails filled with wind, the engine turned off and we were gone!

The salty spray covered the dock as we began to hit the waves of the open sea, and the morning air propelled us forward. As the sea sickness set in for a few of us, the weather picked up and it got very chilly.

We made it out to the first island, Anna Cappa, and as the wind died down we were able to distinguish a sunfish alongside the ship. Because of the wind dying down the sials were no longer able to move the ship in a timely manner, so we had to turn on the engine for some help. Once we made it to our destination, Santa Cruz Island, we anchored the ship and learned how to “strike sails” (let them down).

After we had finished striking the sails, we realized that it was fairly hot and everybody decided to take a swim in the open Pacific. The water was a little chilly but it felt good to be in the water.

Once everybody got cleaned up, we had stir-fry for dinner, which was great. For the rest of the night, we just kicked back and got in a good night’s rest for the long day we had ahead of us.

—Watch Group B

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In the morning everyone worked like clockwork to get ready to head out to Molasses Reef. Since our first dives last Friday we’ve finally fallen into a normal routine in the morning. The previous evening everyone would prepare measuring gear and scuba equipment so no one had to rush in the morning. By the time Dr. Sheli arrived everyone was all set for another great day of data collection!

Today was Garrett and Eric’s turn to head off with our Diving Safety Officer Patrick in an attempt to find the stern of the Slobodna. Since there were only two members of Team Green, Charles was asked to come along with them for the day. The rest of the students headed off with Dr. Sheli to buoy thirteen to continue work on the artifacts inside their triangulations. Joe and Liz worked on several sections of the mast that were relatively large in diameter. David and Reilly recorded the numerous artifacts scattered in their area of the coral reef. Dr. Sheli and Kim headed out to do some exploring and found more of the keel of the ship after swimming over a nearby coral head.

Although Team Green was valiant in their efforts they were unable to find the stern after snorkeling for most of the morning. It seems an important piece of the puzzle remains illusive to our entire group. When we returned to headquarters everyone went their separate ways. Some went to take a nap, others recorded their data, and a few worked on collecting all of our NOAA artifact data together for our future publication. Dr. Shelli informed us we did not have an evening lecture, however, we still have plenty of work to keep us busy before our Thursday deadline.

Today was our third day diving. David, Reilly, and Kim went with Patrick to search for the ever-elusive stern; however, they were unsuccessful. The rest of the group went back to buoy 13 to continue plotting out and describing artifacts for the main mast site. Dr. Sheli was swimming around shooting video of all of us hard at work. Overall, we described many artifacts including one of Slobodna’s capstans. The map of the site we are sketching is starting to come together, as we have added all the datum points, and begin plotting out more and more artifacts onto it.

Tonight Dr. Sheli gave a presentation to Key Largo’s historical society over the site and our research questions for this field season. There were many questions afterwards, regarding why the ship sank and how some of the artifacts’ located elsewhere on Molasses Reef might and might not relate to Slobodna. The talk was insightful and educated the locals on a part of the local history that occurred right in their own backyard some 120 years ago.

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After a hard week of work, we had a much needed day off today. We all slept in to our hearts’ desire and had a relaxing morning. Around midday, we finally got going and went out to Harry Harris Beach. Dr. Sheli, the saint she is, drove us all, with the exception of Charles who drove up to Miami, there in the rental van. We got some sun, swam a little, and played frisbee for a few hours until Dr. Sheli came to pick us up.

She then prepared yet another delicious dinner and left us to map out all our datum points. We all pitched in and made a very large map with all of our datums which were tied into buoy 13, that way our datums exist in real time and space. It was a fun day, but we’re all ready to get back to work tomorrow!

— Kim, Reilly, and David

Today was our first dive day. The original plan to snorkel over the site was abandoned when we learned that there were strong surges resulting in 4-5 foot waves. Consequently, when we got out to the site many members of the crew got seasick, including Dr. Sheli. The new plan was to skip to our check-out dive and then proceed with the goals of the day. Despite the weather, both dives were a success, and it was a blast to finally get to diving. First, we went to the winch site for our check-out dives, and then headed out to the foremast site to set up datum buoys. Once we established these, we took measurements by triangulating the datums, a process commonly referred to as triangulation. After this was accomplished, we packed up our gear and headed back to shore where we docked and washed out our gear. Everyone returned fatigued and proceeded to take a mid-day nap for a couple hours due to fighting the exhausting strong surges during our morning dives.

After dinner, we received a lecture from Dr. Sheli over diagnostic artifacts that we may see during our next week’s worth of dives. Once the lecture was over we finished our NOAA artifact reports by consolidating every group’s excel worksheets and labeling all the photos. Everyone hit the hay early because tomorrow promises to be another fun but tiring day of diving.

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Today the field-school took a field-trip to Key West, Florida, to visit the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum. There, we wandered through various exhibits on display, including the finds from the Atocha. Most exhibits concentrated on displaying artifacts salvaged and excavated from historical shipwrecks in the region. One prominent exhibit was the display of the contents from the Henrietta Marie, an English merchant slave ship that wrecked during the 1700’s. This exhibit provided information about the lives of African slaves being taken to the Americas during this time, and was a fascinating, if not somber, exhibit to see.

Dr. Sheli was kind enough to organize a private tour of the conservation lab and museum storage facilities, led by Corey Malcom, the Director of Archaeology at the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum. Here, Corey gave us a good look at the applied science utilized by underwater archaeologists in conservation and restoration. We learned that artifacts claimed by coral growth and other deposits can be salvaged through casting plastic molds, and that salt residues can be electrocuted off of waterlogged iron artifacts.

Needless to say, the trip was enlightening and informative. Dr. Sheli also had a story for every artifact, from cauldrons and spoons, to onion jars.

For lunch, we ate at Ernest Hemingway’s favorite haunt (also the original home of the Sloppy Joe). Afterwards, our party split up for some individual adventuring around the keys, before driving back to the dive-shop.

We had some excellent spaghetti for dinner, and then Brenda from NOAA gave us a presentation on litigation and conservation issues in the field. After this, Patrick gave us a lecture on life support safety and SCUBA diving (where we learned that he’s certified in everything!). We are all looking forward to our first dive tomorrow morning, bright and early.

— Reilly Jensen

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On this lovely Wednesday morning in Key Largo we arrived at the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary for one last time to finish recording and cataloging one of NOAA’s collections of artifacts. Not only were we able to finish up the artifacts that we had currently been working on but we also had a chance to analyze and catalog several artifacts that had never been looked at. Around noon we said our goodbyes and head back to the ranch for lunch and to prepare for our afternoon snorkeling session at John Pennekamp Coral Reef National Park.

At Pennekamp Nation Park we had our first attempt at trying out our new surveying skills underwater. Our task included measuring 15 cannons and one quite large anchor in 5 to 6 feet of water. We were all thrilled to finally be getting in the water. The beach and cannons were crowded with tourists and the water was a bit cloudy from the algae and sediment being stirred up by everyone. There were all kinds of fish hanging around the site. Balloon fish, parrotfish, blue-stripped grunts, a small school of silver jacks and several other fish were seen by all of us swimming on the site. As all three teams were diligently working Patrick was swimming around observing us while Dr. Sheli was alternating between helping a team with only two members and relaxing on her noodles.

— Joe, Liz, Charles

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The first day of our field school went great. We started off the day by heading over to the NOAA Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary headquarters where we began cataloging artifacts from the Queen of Nassau, a vessel believed to have scuttled in the early 1900s. We sketched, measured, described, and photographed all the artifacts. There were old plates and cups, a lantern, a running light, a taff log, and a piece of cannon equipment. All the teams were dying to get their hands on the old rifle that sat in the display case.

We returned to Quiescence in the afternoon to enter our data in the computer and scan our sketches to form an online database. All this information is to be published in the end. We also wrote short descriptions of the artifacts for the display case. Tomorrow we will be heading back to the FKNMS to finished cataloging the rest of the artifacts.

After a delicious dinner made by Dr. Sheli and Patrick, Laurie McLaughlin came to give us a lecture on coral. This lecture was given to help us in identifying the coral that might be next to or on the Slobodna shipwreck. She also showed us some other creatures that might be around the wreck including the yellowtail snapper, lionfish, turtle seagrass, queen conch, and flamingo tongue snail. At the end of her lecture, she showed us a film she created called “Spawn-taneous Coral”. This was twenty minutes of footage of different types of coral spawning. A few days after the full moon in July and August, the coral swell up and release their gametes. This only happens twice a year, at dusk, and for a very short period of time so it is amazing that footage is available. Laurie’s team collected some of the gametes by placing tents over the coral so they could perform experiments. This was very interesting to view, but some students felt they would not want to swim in the area when it is happening. We thanked Laurie for her presentation and after her departure, the students could finally relax for the night. We are all ready for day two of artifacts at FKNMS!

— Kim, Rielly, David

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