By Shawn Rosenheim, Williams-Mystic Spring 2018 Faculty Fellow
February 2
The Cramer spent yesterday off the western edge of Puerto Rico, with the second and third crew teams taking their turns at plankton collection and analysis. The seas were quiet. After dinner, though, as we turned east to continue circumnavigating the island, the wind and waves picked up substantially.
Around 2100 my stomach felt a strong need to go on deck.
“Leeward side,” said Rebecca Johnson, the Chief Mate, when I got there. “And clip in.”
Stumbling to the rail, I found that I wasn’t alone. Five or six others were there, crouched in fetal positions, or leaning their heads mutely against the hull. “Welcome to the party,” said one, who helped me clip in. It was Brianna Buckley (SUNY Maritime College ‘20), from the Bronx. She’d been OK, she said, until she had to do a larval count in the science center. With that, we returned to our private miseries.
But here’s the thing: it wasn’t just miserable. In fact, it was also glorious, as the Cramer plunged into the swells, throwing off huge milky curls of whitewater to either side. The rising moon, only a day past full, lit the glinting water. Soft misting sprays broke over us on deck.
Jason, the captain, consulted with Rebecca. Shelby Hoogland (Bryn Mawr ‘19) and A.J. Rush (University of Rhode Island ‘19) were in the galley, cleaning up from dinner. Shelby was at lookout. She asked Brianna how she was feeling.
“Much better,” she said.
“So, do you think you can take the tiller?”
Instantly, she took up her position, in which she would now be in no small part responsible for the well-being, not to say the comfort, of thirty people.
“Come up twenty degrees, Brianna. Good. Steady as she goes.”
And Brianna was steady, standing there face forward with both hands on the tiller, one foot placed ahead to prop her, 160 tons of ship bucking and plunging at her direction. And I thought: how lucky for her, sick as she was, to have this chance. And how wonderful of her to take it, with such gusto, as the ship cut its way in the night.
TRACK OUR PROGRESS!
You can follow the Cramer‘s journey at this link: https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:426493/mmsi:366724450/imo:8617445/vessel:CORWITH_CRAMER
Please note: The information on the location of the vessel is not always updated regularly. If you notice the vessel staying in the same location for extended periods of time, it simply means the website has not updated recently.
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