0700 hours

Current Position: Docked at Rondout Creek, Kingston, NY.

Day Four of the second leg of our Voyage of Discovery.

We once again begin our day docked at the Hudson River Maritime Museum on Rondout Creek.

0900 hours

After breakfast and our daily reading from Juet's journal, the students return to a busy schedule of data collection. Since yesterday morning's overcast skies delayed Katie and Sarah's ability to collect data, they're both hard at work bright and early to take readings on the quadrant throughout the morning.

The students also continue assisting each other as best they can.

0930 hours

Mr. Colley leads a few Zodiac expeditions up the Rondout this morning as well. Grant and Michael (as well as Kristian and Dr. Jacobs) have just returned from a trip into a dense, marshy area to collect water samples for their dissolved oxygen project.

0945 hours

While exploring the wetlands, they also discovered a recently deceased fish, which they brought back to the ship for our natural history exhibit.

Mouse over to see where the Zodiac is going.

1000 hours

Mr. Dawson heads out on another Zodiac expedition. This time, Ashley, Emma, and Ms. O'Leary are venturing forth to collect water samples for additional salinity testing.

1015 hours

We plan to leave the dock in a few more hours, so in preparation for that we take some time this morning to replenish some basic supplies. Santino helps haul bottles of drinking water down the dock so they can be loaded on board and stored in the galley.

Meanwhile, Michael, Grant, and Dr. Jacobs settle in on the Quarter deck to perform their first titration test.

1130 hours

In between data samples, Mr. Colley gathers Sarah, Katies, and Joli on the fore deck for additional knot-tying lessons.

Mouse over for a closer look at the racers.

The big event, however, is happening on the weather deck. Kristian and Joli's current speed experiments have inspired a bit of fun: we're going to have a race! The contestants are Johnny Appleseed, Full Moon, and Grant's Tomb, all competing against the current champ, Chip the wooden biscuit. If you mouse over you can see who our crew members are betting on.

By the way, where are all these apple cores coming from?

Mr. Morency is put in charge of the starting gate. Ready, set...

Mouse over for the photo finish.

...and they're off! Crew members young and old line the starboard rail, cheering for their favorite as the flood current sends them floating up the river. But at the finish line it's... Chip by a mile! The underdog maintains its title and a position in our current speed experiments.

1145 hours

As the festivities wind down, Mrs. Laufler dons the "Wonder Woman" tiara and bracelets student crew members have made for her from surplus galley supplies.

1215 hours

Ms. Wegman serves lunch on the weather deck as we begin to wrap up our data collection layover. Today we have a selection of wraps and soup to choose from.

1330 hours

The time has come for us to depart. Mr. Colley and Ms. Wegman rig a tagline to mooring Line Three. This way, Mr. Colley can release our other three moorning lines from the dock, then hop on board before Ms. Wegman pulls Line Three free from the port shrouds.

Mr. Hansen and Dr. Jacobs carefully fake Line Three. In the event that the mooring line somehow snags and can't be freed from the ship, we'll just let it run out, leave it on the dock, and send a volunteer back down to Kingston to recover it later.

Mouse over to motor down Rondout Creek.

That's a rare event, however, and today our docking procedures go off without a hitch. Bidding our hosts farewell, we motor back down Rondout Creek, leaving Kingston behind us.

1345 hours

The Rondout 2 Lighthouse marks the mouth of Rondout Creek. As we round the lighthouse, we once again enter the Hudson River and continue our journey upriver. The Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge, our next major landmark, is already visible to the north.

As we leave Kingston, we also bid adieu to some of the kayakers who've stopped alongside us to chat and visit during our stay.

1400 hours

As we continue northward, most students have wrapped up their data collection. However, Sarah and Katie continue faithfully recording the arc of the sun and its solar energy output throughout the day.

1415 hours

Our natural history exhibits have spent enough time on board. However, when we picked up our eel and crabs, we were in salt water, and now we've moved inland to fresh water. Before we can return our aquatic friends to the Hudson, we need to slowly acclimate them to the new conditions. These species can exist in varying degrees of salinity found in their estuary habitat, but a sudden switch from one to the other would be a dangerous shock to their system. Later in the afternoon, we return our living specimens to the river. No report as to whether they "called to us in scorne," however.

Meanwhile, the students' English Language Arts project has entered its next phase. First, the students collect all of the one-word titles ascribed to their artwork yesterday afternoon.

Over the course of the day today, each student will now write a poem incorporating all of those words.

1500 hours

We're now passing the Saugherties Lighthouse, which was built in 1869. As a note, this view through the hawsehole also shows the immense weight and strength of the anchor rode -- all of the uneven grooves you see around the wood have been slowly eroded by the anchor's line and chain as they pass through.

1545 hours

Down on the orlop, the students' poems are starting to take shape. We'll see if we can't grab a few by the end of the voyage to share with you.

Meanwhile, one deck up, Ashley and Emma are working with Dr. Jacobs. They've started graphing their salinity data.

1600 hours

The students have now collected all of the data they need, so it's time to enter the final stage of their projects: preparing for the presentation itself. Our educators convene the students in the orlop deck to brief them on what will be required.

1830 hours

Over the course of the afternoon, temperatures have markedly dropped, leaving us with a rather cool evening. It's actually starting to feel like Autumn!

Down on the orlop deck, which is still relatively warm, the students have started preparing their graphs for the big presentations.

Mouse over to take a humidity reading.

Meanwhile, Mr. Bamberger continues to man the Weather Station, all too aware that his sling psychrometer technique is once again being captured for posterity.

1900 hours

As the sun sets behind Castleton, we enjoy dinner on the weather deck. Tonight, we dine on chicken pot pie, rice pudding, and mashed potatoes.

1930 hours

After dinner, the crew retreats below decks; the evening is turning from cool to chilly. Having completed their data collection, the students spend some time relaxing and making home videos.

Below them, the senior crew huddles in the galley, chatting and planning out the rest of the voyage.

2000 hours

Down on the orlop deck, the student crew holds a "mock presentation" -- a dress rehearsal, if you will, to prepare themselves for the big show tomorrow afternoon. No photos to show you, though -- senior crew were explicitly banned from attendance!

2200 hours

Anchor watch begins and we all snuggle into our sleeping bags as temperatures continue to dip through the night.

On this date in 1609:

The sixteenth, faire and very hot weather. In the morning our Boat went againe to fishing, but could catch but few, by reason their Canoes had beene there all night. This morning the people came aboord, and brought us eares of Indian Corne, and Pompions, and Tobacco: which wee bought for trifles. Wee rode still all day, and filled fresh water; at night wee weighed and went two leagues higher, and had shoald water: so wee anchored till day.

-- Robert Juet's Journal.