HawkenProjects_2019_WEISS

My project questioned what it would be like to live on a boat. I had goals of learning how to sail and also gain comfortability and familiarity with living at sea. I had an amazing mentor who was really excited to teach Amelia and me. Vince was very engaged with us for the entire trip and I was able to learn so much from him about sailing itself, sea life, and the different islands that we visited throughout the Bahamas. While in the Bahamas I felt very engaged when I needed to be learning or focusing. We had a great balance of experiential learning and freedom to discover and explore this new lifestyle. Specifically, I learned a lot about how to sail a boat. Before the project, I wasn’t sure I even knew what a boom was. Through working with Vince I learned the names of parts on the boat, what their job is, and how to use them. I learned how to set up and take down sails, and when you should use each different type of sail. We learned about navigation and how routes are created t...

We have just completed our crossing from the Bahamas to Florida, and it was quite the adventure. We started the outing on Saturday morning as we sailed out of Grand Cay. I faced some pretty horrible seasickness quite quickly and sadly had to put the books away and take some Dramamine. Luckily this knocked me out for a while which allowed my body to acclimate to the bigger waves and turbulence without me having to deal with nausea and dizziness. Thankfully, I felt much better when I woke up and returned to my normal sailing ways. We all took turns taking watch throughout the day to keep our paths from intersecting with other boats and watching for wind changes. Besides that, we read a lot, listened to music, made it through a lot of podcasts, and took a few naps. Through the night we each took a shift so that no one had to stay up all night; however, I don’t think Vince slept soundly knowing his life was in the hands of two amateur sailors. I had the first shift from 9pm-12am. T...

Friday was our last day of sailing before we started our crossover back to the U.S. We only sailed a few miles from Double Breasted Cay to Grand Cay, but we used the opportunity to practice our new sailing skills and maneuvers. Amelia and I both practiced our jibes and tacks and then Vince challenged us both by having us perform circles. This consists of a tack and jibe back to back to the boat turn in a full 360. It was intimidating at first and quite intense to do so many things one after another, but after a few times, Amelia and I both completed the circles on our own successfully and confidently. After that, we learned how to do quick stops with the boat which are used in emergencies, like if there is a man overboard. Essentially we had to turn through the wind and then back into the wind which allows for the boat to essentially park in the middle of the water. It is able to stop the boat about 2 to 3 boat lengths from the hypothetical victim in the water, then you can throw...

We started yesterday with a morning snorkel session by our anchor spot. We first took the dingy to part of an island covered in mangroves where we saw sea slugs, tons of sea cucumbers, and new big fish. Then we took the dingy over to a small shipwreck for the most amazing swim. We saw lion fish, turtles, needlefish, and a huge school of fish with countless small silverfish and larger yellow fish. This was the most exciting snorkel so far. It was really amazing to see so many different types of animals in such a small area, especially around an interesting surface like an old ship. After snorkeling, we relaxed for a bit and then set up the boat to sail. We set up the mainsail and the screecher because of the more gentle winds. After practicing all of our sailing maneuvers successfully, Amelia and I made California rolls before Vince made us cracked conch for dinner. Today we spent most of our day sailing, as we had our longest sail yet. Over about 4 hours we traveled a little ...

Yesterday we woke up to the sound of chicken and pigs making their way to the beach of No Name Cay. After a morning coffee, we followed in suit and took the dingy to the beach to feed and make friends the pigs. Afterwards, we sailed to Green Turtle Cay to fill up on gas and water for the last time until we make it to the US. I was surprised to see that boating gas stations are just like car ones. We stopped at a Shell gas station where I learned how to set out the fenders, so the dock wouldn’t hurt our boat, and then we learned how to fill up the gas and water tank. Next, Amelia and sailed to Manjack Cay without the help of Vince! We first raised the mainsail by centering the traveler, unzipped the sail cover, and attached the main halyard to the headboard, and then using the halyards we pulled up the sail and trim it to catch the wind correctly. Then we set up the screecher for the first time, which is an only slightly curved front sail. After a lot of practice and hard work we to...

We started our second day by having a morning lesson on the basic of sailing. I reviewed the parts of the boat I knew and added on some new ones like the tack and clew, which are two different points on the foot of the sail. We also talked a lot about the wind in comparison to the boat. In sailing, you always orient yourself according to the wind direction. Broad Reach is when the wind is coming from behind the beam. Close Reach is when the wind is coming from in front of the beam. Beam Reach is when the wind is coming from the side, and Run is when the wind is coming from behind.   There is also a no-sail zone, which is right in front of the boat. You cannot sail with wind coming directly in front of you. The most exciting thing we learned was how to perform a jibe. We first have to tighten the main sheet to keep the boom from swinging dangerously. Then as the boat turns and the wind switches sides of the stern you use your hand as a break on the sheet and slowly release the lin...

Yesterday was our big travel day. We woke up bright and early at 3:50 and headed to the airport. We ran into a few issues starting at the check-in desk where the gate attendant wouldn’t let us through because of our sketchy appearance and a one-way ticket to another country. Luckily we had lots of papers and documents which got us through to the never-ending security line. We made it through with not much time to spare, but nonetheless, we made it to Atlanta Georgia. Our next leg of the trip worked much more smoothly. We landed in Marsh Harbor right on time and the security at the tiny airport of The Abacos was quite minimal, so we walked right through to meet Vince for the first time in person. As we met our taxi driver, Sandra, I knew this trip was going to be a fun adventure. She was quite the energetic woman who enthusiastically hugged us and showed us around her beautiful town. She took us to the port where we boarded Flight Plan , our home for the next week and a half. After ge...

Tomorrow is our final day in Cleveland. I can't speak for Vince, but I know Amelia and I are just counting down the minutes till we arrive in The Bahamas. During this last week, we have been in communication with Vince to make sure we are on top of everything and to plan the last details of our arrival. The main focus right now is packing and making sure we have everything we need to stay happy and healthy on the trip. Let’s just say I haven’t minded the shopping to pick up a new swimsuit and get some good polarized glasses to protect my eyes from the sun. That may be a little shocking to my eye balls, seeing how there has been a strong lack of sun here in Cleveland lately. We have to pack as lightly as possible because there is not much room on the boat. Although this does limit what we can bring along with us, it is a great challenge and reminder of how little we actually need to survive. I think this whole trip will be good for us to see how much we use on a daily basis compar...

As we get more and more excited about the upcoming adventure Amelia and I have been doing some research to get a better understanding of what we may be doing or what we may encounter in the next coming weeks. We have been having fun watching some sailing movies. The first one was called Abandoned, which was about four men that capsize their boat and work together to survive over 100 days on the ocean. Hopefully, we have no experiences like this, but it was still fun to see life at sea. For the past couple of weeks now I have been watching many vlogs from real sailors. My favorite has been La Vagabond which is a channel created by a young couple from Australia, that lives their entire life sailing around the world. They just had a baby and are raising on the boat, which really goes to show how a boat can become a true home. This gives me a realistic look into what I will be experiencing on my adventure without so much of the Hollywood drama.   In addition to watching films and vid...

The biggest component of our first week is getting our boating licensees to prepare for our sailing trip. Amelia and I spent a lot of time learning the material over the past week to pass our final test. We have learned about the types and parts of boats, navigation signs and lights, and anchoring. We also have learned so much about safety and regulations while on the water, including alcohol and drug regulations, personal flotation devices, environmental safety and care, and how to prevent and deal with emergency situations. I was most interested in learning how to protect separate bodies of water from invasive species. You don’t always think about how a small piece of algae in your propeller can be the cause of a massive overpopulation of those same algae in another body of water that you introduced it to. When speaking with our mentor about our trip, I remember him mentioning how we will have to avoid eating a few invasive species, as they are not safe. Although most of the info...

I started out planning my senior project around a camping and hiking adventure, either in the Grand Canyon or the in the Rocky Mountains. My passion for the outdoors and adventure sparked my interest in a more nature-focused project. I wanted to find a way to incorporate traveling with my learning in a way that was very experiential and hands on. As I worked on this idea an opportunity came up from a family friend to learn how to sail on his catamaran with him. This was the perfect balance between an adventure and an amazing learning opportunity. It is not often that you have the chance to take a complete break from your life and work to go learn a new skill, let alone to live on a boat and sail through the Bahamas. I have no past experience with sailing which both excites me and terrifies me for this trip. In the past, I have spent lots of time camping and being outside but never while stranded in the middle of the ocean. This will be really new for me and will be the perfect sett...