海上一学期-电子游戏软件

难得从船上看到陆地 罗伯特C级潜艇. 希孟斯. 所有照片由S-302学生提供.

In a blog post published from the middle of the Pacific Ocean on March 19, Lavinia Clarke ’23 shared an example of her new favorite pastime aboard the 罗伯特C级潜艇. 希孟斯写“痛苦的初级”俳句.

浪大，云高
话语从舱口溢出
我的衣服有股臭味

She went on to describe her day as a student and crew member aboard the 134-foot sailing vessel: 6 a.m. wake-up (followed by five minutes spent searching for the aforementioned clothes in the dark), 早餐, 6小时实验室观察, lunch (a “glorious” peanut butter and jelly), 深层清洁职责, 最后, 急需的淋浴.

“Each of these events have brought me to now, writing to you while looking at our electronic chart that shows us within spitting distance (take with a grain of salt) of the Big Island,她写道。. “Our time is coming to a close and I can’t help but spend the five seconds a day I have to sit down thinking about each of the wonderful people I’ve had the privilege to share this experience with, the beautiful ship I’ve called home…and what the future holds for me as a person learning to navigate what comes next.”

Study abroad experiences usually take place on land, but SEA Semester—run by the nonprofit 航海教育协会—offers high school and college students a chance to spend an extended period of time sailing the open ocean. Participants work as part of their ship’s crew—charting courses and cleaning the galley—while collecting data and conducting research projects on topics like climate change and marine biodiversity.

罗伯特C号SSV的鸟瞰图. 希孟斯.

对克拉克, who spent her fall semester studying abroad in Norway, SEA Semester seemed like the ideal opportunity to gain hands-on experience that complemented her environmental studies major.

“如果我在电子游戏正规平台环境, 我需要了解海洋是如何运作的, and I need to understand how the science is being done,她解释道. “Learning that stuff in a classroom isn’t necessarily the easiest thing for me, but with SEA Semester you’re seeing it and experiencing it.”

Clarke chose the 全球 Ocean voyage for its focus on the interaction between oceans and climate change, and arrived at Woods Hole in January for six weeks of courses on topics like marine environmental history, 保育及管理, 领导, 和海洋学. In February, she and 20 other students flew to Honolulu to begin a five-week voyage aboard the 罗伯特C级潜艇. 希孟斯.

Adjusting to life on the water proved difficult for Clarke, mainly because there was never any stillness. As they traveled north towards the island of Kauai, 船严重地向一边倾斜, and the constant rocking motion made it a challenge to stay upright, whether she was processing water samples or brushing her teeth.

“你躺在床上打滚, you try to put your shoes on and you're thrown against the wall,她回忆道。. “I struggled with that a lot at the beginning because there was never a time I could just feel calm and secure.”

Clarke (second from left) and her team presenting their research findings.

Being confined to a ship hundreds of miles from land was also isolating (at one point, the closest humans were the astronauts on the space station) and Clarke longed to see or smell something other than saltwater. “It really is always the same shade of blue,” she joked.

学生 were assigned six-hour shifts to collect and process samples, which they used to complete their research projects. Clarke’s team studied the El Nino-Southern Oscillation, a climate phenomenon involving the ocean and atmospheric circulation in the Pacific, which required temperature readings at different depths. Other projects required the students to measure the levels of pH alkalinity, 叶绿素A, 磷酸, 水样中的硝酸盐, or to cast nets and analyze their contents (mini squids, 龙虾仔, 水母, and Portuguese man o’ wars were just a few of the specimens Clarke identified.)

Other shifts were dedicated to the ship itself. 学生们见到了队长, 进行船只检查, 操纵风帆, and assumed lookout duty from a post at the bow. They learned the ins and outs of the engine room as well as food production in the cramped galley. 他们在业余时间睡觉, 做家庭作业, 日志, 或者在船舱顶上喝茶, watching the big dipper rise on the horizon or flying fish skate over the waves, without phones or an internet connection to distract them.

“Those were the moments when you could be so present with the people around you, 这里面有很多神奇的东西,克拉克说。. “It was great to learn and to develop skills but I definitely think the biggest thing I got out of the experience was the connection—with people, 和船员在一起, 和我自己.”

The voyage also made Clarke more open-minded about her post-BC life. She’s still passionate about environmental studies, and the disproportionate impact of climate change on marginalized populations, 但她也喜欢在户外工作, 可能还有孩子. 她将来可能会去读研. Her only certainty is that she never wants to stop learning.

“This experience helped me grow in a way that I feel like I understand the world better and I understand my place in the world better,”她说。. “I feel a sense of ownership and security in myself that I didn’t feel a year ago.”

Alix Hackett | University Communications | May 2022

资源

海上一学期

航行场景