S/V Denis Sullivan Students

High school students learn about pollution in the Great Lakes on a week-long biology sail on the schooner Denis Sullivan. Photo: Stacy Niedzwiecki

I wanted to take a moment and share a good article about the students who were traveling on board the S/V Denis Sullivan at the time of my voyage: http://www.mtu.edu/news/stories/2010/july/story29133.html

It was a great mix of folks on the ship – 11 students, regular crew, volunteer crew and student interns – each about as diverse in their experience, backgrounds and sailing experience as the very ecosystems we were exploring!

Once the Tall Ship Challenge concludes (the Parade of Sail in Chicago will take place August 24, 2010), I will have captured images of the ships from Lake Huron, Lake Superior and Lake Michigan!

A very small portion of Lake Erie also touches Michigan… but due to scheduling restrictions, it just wasn’t possible to get over and photograph in that region prior to ArtPrize.  The major “crunch time” has begun, since ArtPrize now is only a month away. There are so many images to review and decisions as to which ones will end up being enlarged for exhibit must be made quickly.

Yesterday, the Bark Europa and the Roald Amundsen came into Muskegon for a brief stop before they continue on to Chicago. Enjoy a slideshow of images captured as they came into port:

On July 19th, I boarded the S/V Denis Sullivan in Bay City, Michigan, for a lengthy trip. We traveled through Lake Huron, the Soo Locks and across the wide expanses of Lake Superior. Once I arrived in Duluth, Minnesota on July 29 – I then spent a day with a close friend in St. Paul before returning home via Amtrak train.

With the best of intentions prior to sail, I purchased a lovely journal. I thought it would be clever to record all my thoughts while traveling though the open waters. Quickly I discovered – writing in a journal daily just isn’t my cup of tea! My faithful camera served as my best record of memories.

There certainly won’t be a shortage of footage from this trip. If I had to “guess” approximately how many photos I may have captured – it could well be between 3500 to 4000 images!

Now that I’m back on land, I also find it hard to describe accurately how the day passes aboard a ship in great detail. After only about the second day, time began to meld into a blend of conversations, meals, knots learned, sail and lines memorized, and piles of dishes washed. Without internet access, phone usage, or even a glimpse of the daily news – life became a cycle of sunrise and sunsets – and the interesting photographs between the two.

What surprised me most? Time passes much more quickly than I could have imagined! Not at any moment did I ever find myself “bored” or wishing the day would end. When we finally docked in Duluth – I almost had to pinch myself to believe the whole trip had really happened. To quote the familiar Truckin song by the Grateful Dead – “Lately it occurs to me… what a long, strange trip it has been!”.

It will be a major race to the finish to set up the display for the ArtPrize venue. ArtPrize is only about 45 days away! However, I’m looking forward to the challenges of setting up the exhibit with the best images captured.

Meanwhile – please enjoy a few images captured during the Parade of Sail into Bay City, Michigan:

Much progress was made today in preparation for the trip on the S/V Denis Sullivan. Quite a number of forms were filled out, emails sent, media access passes requested, and I even managed some packing of clothing.

Before you think I’m about to set off on a leisurely cruise on the Love Boat – complete with cabana boys retrieving umbrella drinks and rubbing my shoulders with sunscreen – let me explain a bit of what I’m about to experience…

Only one bag of gear can be brought, and it must fit onto my bunk. The bunk is your only “private” area on the ship, and that privacy consists of a thin curtain to close your bunk. The student interns and I will be working together in watch shifts. The Denis Sullivan using a Swedish Watch System of a group of 4-7 people who together rotate through the 24-hour operations of the vessel. The watches are rotated, and are four to five hours long. This goes on for 11 days! This means about every second or third day, I will be expected to be on watch in the middle of the night for those hours. It’s suggested we bring earplugs to tune out some of the noise in the day while trying to catch some rest.

Watch duties include water sampling, lab analyses, boat system checks, helmsmanship and seamanship, and assisting in the galley (kitchen). There are classes in chart reading, coastal piloting and celestial navigation. Education and the running of the boat are one and the same.

And cleaning. Lots and lots of cleaning to keep the wooden ship tidy and in good working order.

There is no smoking, no alcohol, and no audio equipment allowed. Another suggestion is to bring a journal, a deck of card, or books to read.

A generous donation of a “foulies” (which is a rainsuit for sailors) – was made by a good friend in the Seattle region – and are on their way via FedEx. While I certainly hope I won’t need the foul weather gear, at least now I’ll be prepared if I do. I’m quite certain putting a garbage bag over my head in a big storm would surely call me out as a true sailing novice…

My first experience being around tall ships came in July of 2006 at the Tall Ship Celebration in Bay City, Michigan.

Armed with a press pass graciously obtained through my hometown local newspaper – I was thrilled to think I was going have my first opportunity to serve as a reporter for the day.

I recall leaving from Rockford to Bay City extremely early in the morning so I could arrive in time to board the welcome boat – the Princess Wenonah. We sailed out of downtown Bay City along the Saginaw River where it empties out into Lake Huron. I truly enjoyed the company of others – some who were sponsors of the event from local businesses, other photographers, and other dignitaries. The weather was warm and hazy, a bit overcast – and much to my surprise – many of the ships came in with their sails down (admittedly, a bit to my disappointment from a photography standpoint).

But I was so taken by the whole experience. There’s just something so amazing about seeing large vessels moving by the power of the wind, and to appreciate the history, the craft, the very art of sailing. Someone mentioned the ships would come back again five years later. I knew right then and there – I would have to be part of the next event in some manner.

Little did I realize I’d setting off for what is most likely going to be the adventure of a lifetime!