Monday, October 6, 2008
Hello from the Henry Bigelow
I made it to Newport and am writing this from the ship. It was an int
eresting trip. Can you find Newport, Rhode Island on the map?
Remember its' Columbus Day next Monday and we are going to spend some time on this cruise comparing this ship to the one Columbus was on. I stopped off to see an old Square Rigger Sailing Ship run by the Coast Guard. It is called the Eagle and it is based in New London, Connecticut. Here is what the bridge of the Eagle looks like.
How do the crew of the Eagle know where they are? They use the sun and the stars. In fact, it is the only Coast Guard Base where Celestial Navigation is still taught. Here a friendly Coast Guard Officer, Lieutenant Lally, shows us how to use a sextant. See the tables below? He needs those to convert his sextant sighting to a latitude.
Thanks to Lieutenant Lally and to the entire crew of the Eagle for their hospitality. Fourth graders tomorrow should work in pairs and post 4 ways the Eagle and the Bigelow are the same and 4 ways they are differ
ent to the blog. Then you can work on the navigation part of this website. Don't miss the simulation of the tool you just saw demonstrated.
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Oh, and to everyone who asked, If I get sick, I'll tell you that too! I promise! Thanks for writing.
J from TZE, I'll show you about the cups in a few days. We are going to do an experiment with them. Keep watching!!
eresting trip. Can you find Newport, Rhode Island on the map?Remember its' Columbus Day next Monday and we are going to spend some time on this cruise comparing this ship to the one Columbus was on. I stopped off to see an old Square Rigger Sailing Ship run by the Coast Guard. It is called the Eagle and it is based in New London, Connecticut. Here is what the bridge of the Eagle looks like.
Now here is a view of the bridge of NOAA Ship HENRY B. BIGELOW.
How do the crew of the Eagle know where they are? They use the sun and the stars. In fact, it is the only Coast Guard Base where Celestial Navigation is still taught. Here a friendly Coast Guard Officer, Lieutenant Lally, shows us how to use a sextant. See the tables below? He needs those to convert his sextant sighting to a latitude. Thanks to Lieutenant Lally and to the entire crew of the Eagle for their hospitality. Fourth graders tomorrow should work in pairs and post 4 ways the Eagle and the Bigelow are the same and 4 ways they are differ
ent to the blog. Then you can work on the navigation part of this website. Don't miss the simulation of the tool you just saw demonstrated.---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Newport is also famous for mansions an beautiful sea coast. Here are a few photos of the mansions. Thank you to Harle Tinney and her wonderful staff at Belcourt Castle for letting me take photos of the inside for you. She told me something else about the Castle. The weather vane at the top of the castle was marked on the maps sea captains used back in the old-days. From that weather vane, they could calculate their position and avoid crashing on the rocks nearby.
See you tomorrow.
See you tomorrow.
Response to your questions and comments: Thanks to all for your good wishes. MAB – I will tell you all about what we catch. OG, we are not permitted on deck while work is going on unless we have a life jacket. Everyone here cares about safety. CB, the ship holds about 36 peop
le. I'm not sure how many are sailing on this cruise. About half the crew are scientists. Several of you asked how long I would be gone for. I'll be gone for about two weeks. We come back on the 17th of October. Many of you suggested I bring warm clothes. Yes I did. I brought just one suitcase (there is not a lot of room on a ship for extra stuff), but it is full of clothes. I brought lots of layers as well.
le. I'm not sure how many are sailing on this cruise. About half the crew are scientists. Several of you asked how long I would be gone for. I'll be gone for about two weeks. We come back on the 17th of October. Many of you suggested I bring warm clothes. Yes I did. I brought just one suitcase (there is not a lot of room on a ship for extra stuff), but it is full of clothes. I brought lots of layers as well.Hello to Miss. William's Class: I am very excited to be going to sea again. I love it. I'll be back in two weeks, but while I'm away, I'll tell you all about what we catch and what we do while I am out.
Oh, and to everyone who asked, If I get sick, I'll tell you that too! I promise! Thanks for writing.
J from TZE, I'll show you about the cups in a few days. We are going to do an experiment with them. Keep watching!!
MH you asked a lot of great questions. Thanks for writing. I'll try to answer all of them over the next few days. As for where I've been. Well, I spent the last two voyages in Alaska, so this will be very different. And much warmer.
Oh, and I did bring a few things to read. Most of them are on my computer to save space. There are a few books.
Keep watching the blog and keep writing! I'll respond to your comments as best I can either personally or in the text of the blog now and in the days ahead. Remember, students should just use their initials when commenting.
