Current Position: Anchored off Beacon.

Day eight of the 2007 Schenectady-Nijkerk Voyage of Discovery.

0700 Hours

We rise this morning at our anchorage just south of the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge. We're lucky enough to have a southerly wind, so our plan is to set sail and head north, going as far as the winds will take us -- as far as Athens, NY, if possible.

Mouse over for the full line of Fashions By Nick.

But Wait!

Before we begin our day, we should mention a topic that came up during a mini-mail call last night. Nick's mother, who is apparently following these logs with an eagle eye, seems to have noticed something our lookouts didn't: young sailing master Nick hasn't changed his shirt in days!

Pshaw! To debunk this scandalous claim, we present a series of completely, utterly unretouched photos demonstrating the broad range of Nick's wardrobe. Just mouse over for the fashion show.

Now, back to today's log!

0800 Hours

A hearty breakfast of cereal, oatmeal, and toasted bagels is served on the weather deck.

0900 Hours

We explect to depart soon, so we send rig teams up to unfurl the sails. Becky slips up the main mast, chasing after Captain Reynolds...

...while Roeland and Rutger tend to the fore.

0930 Hours

We're now gathering the crew to weigh anchor.

Captain Reynolds is always looking to improve his Dutch vocabulary, so he has some of the resident experts among our capstan team take a look at his crib sheet.

Dank u wel!

Meanwhile, the orlop team keeps busy down below faking the line.

1000 Hours

Weighing anchor goes quickly and smoothly, and without the anchor chain tracking in much mud this time, fortunately. Just a touch of cleaning soon has the orlop back in prime condition.

1030 Hours

We are now underway and have set the fore and main sails. Our day is off to a promising start.

Captain Reynolds offers Anna a few tips as she takes the helm.

1045 Hours

All of our regular watch rotations are still in effect, of course. Belowdecks, Doreen gears up to take on maintenance duty.

Mouse over for a closeup.

1115 Hours

Let's check in with our top mast teams. Ms. Niehaus is working with Adrien in the main top as he learns the tasks needed of him...

...while Bobby has just climbed aloft to relieve Rutger in the foretop.

1200 Hours

Hanneke has spent most of her morning thoroughly cleaning our swivel guns, which haven't seen use since last autumn. It turns out that her father is a shipyard steelworker, and his experience seems to have rubbed off on her. Although Hanneke starts out by assisting Mr. Prime, he soon steps back and leaves the work in her able hands.

1215 Hours

The entire Gallant clan is hard at work in the galley. While Bobby conserves our vital, yet dwindling mayonaisse reserved, Nicole and Becky prepare a few dozen ham and cheese sandwiches.

1230 Hours

The morning's wind is staying with us as the afternoon begins. The Captain has also noted that since shifting the ballast last month during our rebuild project, the Half Moon glides much more smoothly through the water, allowing us to make excellent progress.

Meanwhile, Nick drops by to keep Roeland company during his time at helm.

Lunch is served! Along with the ham sandwiches, we're enjoying chips and coleslaw.

1345 Hours

During their downtime, Casey and Roeland take advantage of the faked anchor rode, one of the Half Moon's most coveted spots for afternoon naps.

Since our sail handlers are doing so well, Captain Reynolds decided to set the spritsail and the mizzen as well.

1430 Hours

We are now gliding past Poughkeepsie. A cameraman from the local newspaper is taking photos of the Half Moon as we sail by, so we temporarily issue official crew shirts to our students for the sake of the camera.

Admittedly, our crew members do look awfully good in orange.

1500 Hours

As we leave Poughkeepsie in our wake, it occurs to us that since we've already launced the Zodiac (to remove it from our shore photographer's shots), we might as well take it for a spin.

While the Zodiac is out and about, we decide to shoot a few Half Moon photos of our own.

Look out! They're shooting back!

It's always rewarding for crew members to get a little distance from our ship and see it in all its glory.

1600 Hours

After the Zodiac makes a few more laps around the ship, we haul it back up on its tackles and continue on our way.

The wind is starting to soften and shift, but Becky and Nicole don't seem to mind adjusting the sails.

1645 Hours

Our southerly wind has slacked off entirely, so we switch to the motor and dispatch rig teams to furl the sails.

As the wind's died down, the afternoon has turned hot and humid. We call for a deck wash, as much for the crew's benefit as for the ship's. Our orderly cleaning inevitably devolved into crew members spraying each other with the hose (at which point the guy with the camera retreats to the safety of the great cabin).

1800 Hours

Just for fun, we've also tattooed several members of the student and senior crew. Now that he's been inked, Mr. Bamberger is ready to take on all comers!

Admittedly, these are temporary tattoos, but it's the thought that counts.

Pasta dinner on the weatherdeck follows at 1830 hours.

We're approaching the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge. With our leisurely pace, we won't make it as far as Athens today, but we'll be comfortably close when we set anchor tonight.

1830 Hours

Nick has just finished reading all 800 pages of Harry Potter.

1900 Hours

As the student crew basks in the setting sun in their favorite hangout, we are closing in on our anchorage site for the night, just off Cementon.

On the forechannel, the anchor is unlashed and ready to be deployed.

Once the anchor is lowered to the waterline, all the crew member on the channel (most frequently Ms. Niehaus or Mr. den Besten on this leg of the voyage) needs to do to send it plunging to the bottom is yank out this wooden "carrot."

We set anchor without a hitch, and use the lead line to determine the water's depth: four fathoms (24 feet).

1930 Hours

Hanneke and Anna add a little Dutch culture to our anchorage at picturesque -- and aptly named -- Cementon, NY.

1945 Hours

We'd hoped that the deck wash would cool everyone off, but the afternoon's heat and humidity have not abated. Once again, our crew is itching to go swimming.

Mouse over for more high-octane splashing action.

Apparently we've stumbled across the Half Moon's true purpose: All-Swimming Voyages!

Meanwhile, the crew members who've opted not to swim get first crack at Mrs. Barton's cream puff dessert.

2015 Hours

Mr. Prime has brought two of his new replica muskets on the voyage -- a matchlock and an English lock -- and has been itching to try them out. Under his watchful guidance, several members of the senior and student crews load up the English lock musket with blackpower and give fire at the river.

Although we're just shooting at an empty expanse of water, we still somehow managed to tree this varmint.

21oo Hours

As the sun sets, Captain Reynolds calls for an early anchor watch briefing. We aren't expecting any inclement weather, though the humidity is likely to last through the night.

Tomorrow brings the final day of our Voyage of Discovery. Our plan is to rise and weigh early, then continue northward to our final destination: Peckham Materials in Athens, NY.