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Daily Log: Monday, September 21st

0700 hours

Starting Position: Anchored on Schodack Creek, behind Houghtaling Island, opposite New Baltimore, NY.
Latitude: 42˚ 32.6' N
Longitude: 073˚ 45.5' W

Day Six of the second leg of our 2009 Fall Voyage of Discovery.

A quiet day for us here on the Half Moon. After another chilly night, we once again rose to greet a misty morning. As before, however, the fog soon burned away as the sun rose higher in the sky.

Before the Half Moon can reach the voyage's final destination tomorrow at the Corning Preserve in Albany, NY, we need to lower both of our topmasts -- fore and main. Otherwise we'd never clear the Dunn Memorial Bridge!

While the senior crew works on the capstan, the students finalize their presentation graphs and data tables.

In the afternoon, we weighed anchor once more, traveling a few miles upriver to anchor just off Henry Hudson Park, south of Albany.

As the sun set, the entire crew gathered on the weather deck to hear (and deliver) the students' presentations. First came Team M.AD., the duo of Sophie and Teresa, who discussed mechanical advantage in detail. Team Heavy Metal -- Christian, Eric-Jan, and Ethan -- were second to take second stage, presenting their analsysis of the water's depth over a full tidal cycle.

Team Disco Biscuit stepped up next to discuss the speed and direction of the current they have observed while at Athens.

Darkness had settled over the ship by the time Team Rock Star (Andrew, Jack, Joram, and José) literally claimed the spotlight to reveal the navigational data their celestial tracking had revealed.

After the presentation meeting, it was time for the crew to blow off some steam -- in more ways than one! While Captain Reynolds and Mr. Van Grondelle prepared cannon charges down in the hold, we kept the students up late playing games on the orlop deck.

Robert Juet's Journal

Captain Hudson has resolved to continue up the river, but for the moment the VOC Halve Maen remains anchored somewhere in the general vicinity of the modern-day Port of Albany. Meanwhile, the crew members engage in various activities. One team sails the sloep upriver to explore (spending the night away from the ship), while the ship's carpenter goes ashore to make repairs. Captain Hudson and his first mate invite a party of local chiefs on board to entertain them in the ship's cabin -- all to test the Mahicans' trustworthiness, in Juet's estimation. Even Juet is impressed by the manners of the wife of a visiting dignitary, likening her humble propriety to the women of his homeland in England. When one guest becomes drunk (likely having never before consumed alcohol), the rest of his comrades react with consternation, but are persuaded to leave their friend in the care of the Halve Maen's crew.

On September 21st, 1609:

The one and twentieth, was faire weather, and the wind all Southerly: we determined yet once more to goe farther vp into the Riuer, to trie what depth and breadth it did beare; but much people resorted abooard, so we went not this day. Our Carpenter went on land, and made a Fore-yard. And our Master and his Mate determined to trie some of the chiefe men of the Countrey, whether they had any treacherie in them. So they took them downe into the Cabbin, and gaue them so much Wine and Aqua vita, that they were all merrie: and one of them had his wife with him, which sate so modestly, as any of our Countrey women would doe in a strange place. In the end one of them was drunke, which had been aboord of our ship all the time that we had beene there; and that was strange to them; for they could not tell how to take it. The Canoes and folke went all on shoare: but some of them came againe, and brought stropes of Beades: some had sixe, seuen, eight, nine, ten, and gaue him. So he slept all night quietly.

-- Robert Juet's Journal.

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