Orientation-at-Sea 2009 Off to a Great Start

Another summer means another Orientation-at-Sea program! The first week got the program off to a great start up in Camden, Maine despite some less-than-ideal weather. The students spent the week getting to know one another, getting acclimated to the school and learning some basic sailhandling as we made our way downeast from Camden. We were blessed with a great sailing breeze on Monday and got to show the students what the Tabor Boy can do! On the academic side of things, we are very lucky this year to have Emily Chandler (TA '05, Bates '09) aboard to introduce the students to the basics of Marine Science. The students partake in exercises ranging from exploring the rocky intertidal zones, learning about glaciology during hikes in Acadia National Park, and examining zooplankton under the schooner's compound microscopes. The first group of students had a great time and learned a lot! We have an awesome crew this summer with myself and Trevor Poole, both Tabor '08 alums, joining Ty Pennypacker (TA '98), Cap and the student crew (Spencer Ash '10, Scott Lauermann '11). Thanks to Cap's incredible dedication to the schooner and the Orientation program, another eighty students will enter Tabor having had the unique experience of being aboard and being a part of Tabor's maritime tradition.

We post a brief blog daily which outlines the events of each day of the Orientation program along with some pictures of the students as they go through their week aboard, posted at: http://web.me.com/ssvtaborboy/Site/Welcome.html