Ang's Senior Project

 Today I finished up the remaining work for my project. I worked on my slide show, printed a few things out for my table, and wrote my entire final paper. I tried to keep myself busy today by finishing up the final touches for my projects. I printed out my crew familiarization sheet from OHP and my sea time letter from when I was on Roseway. I think it will be cool to show my sea time letters because it reflects the work I have done and do on boats in a professional way. I am excited to share my final paper with my advisor, mentor, committee members, and Kelly. There was a lot to write about and I am really happy with the progress I have made today. I have really enjoyed writing my blogs and sharing my adventures with everyone and I hope you have enjoyed learning about my senior project. (todays hours: 1 total: 79.5)  Fair Winds  -Ang  

This past week I learned a lot more about the process of rigging sails and preparing the sails to be used this summer. I spent a lot of time climbing and going aloft which was really fun but also challenging. This is because when you're aloft and new at going aloft you're getting your direction when you're up there. Although I enjoyed this part of my senior project it was also slightly scary because there is a risk of being so high up and also doing a job. But it was definitely a good experience and I'm glad that I got to learn with a supportive crew. I think doing this type of work has given me a good starting point if I were to return to OHP (wink, wink). This past week everything ran really smoothly and transitioning off the boat was sad but I think being on campus for my last two days of  senior project will be fun and will help me focus on what I need to get done for Express Fest. I also did a lot more photography this week which I was happy about and I edited a ...

So today I didn't work on anything for my project since it was my moms graduation. Although I had the day off today I am planning on finishing up a few things Monday so that everything is all set for express fest. The only things I have left to do is write my final paper and finish my slide show. I am hoping to have this all done by Tuesday morning. I also finished all my hours Wednesday which was a relief. Sorry this blog is shorter than usual but stay tuned for my reflection.  Fair Winds  -Ang 

i have the coolest mentor (aloft the other day)    Today I woke up to the sound of Holly’s voice. We had a little bit of a sleep in which was very nice. As I attempted to get out of my bunk Holly was telling me that there was a slight change of plans. After hearing that I shot up, jumped in the shower, and packed up all my stuff since I am heading home! I am actually going to be finishing up the rest of my senior project (Monday and Tuesday) at Proctor! Surprise! Although I am going to miss the boat so much I definitely want to return this summer. Anyways, once I came out of my cabin ready to go Holly told me that we would be traveling to the MET school. Normally the students come to OHP but today we got to drive to Providence and teach at the school. Once we arrived at the school we did some lessons with the students. We did a bouncy project similar to the one that was done with students last week. It was fun to watch them try and figure out how to make boats out of tin foil ...

Sadly only a few days left on the SSV Oliver Hazard Perry . Tomorrow I am going back home to Hampton! Before I tell you about my plans for the remainder of my senior project let me recap this amazing day for you! I started the morning off with of course one of Holly’s smoothies and a crew muster in the mess. Then I jumped into some photography of the engine room and the crew working, specifically Jamie and Josh. Then I helped Josh strip the paint off of the cap rail which was very satisfying. We striped the paint off with a scrapper for a while but I was not complaining because it was so fun in my opinion! We also had three Met student interns come aboard today so they also helped strip and sand the cap rail.                                                                      ...

What a perfect day! The fog had finally lifted and the sun was out in full effect! I started the day off with my camera in hand ready to capture more pictures of my day and the crew! At 10 we had MET students come aboard and had them help with all different projects on board. I got to photograph the work that they helped us with. After lunch I organized our sea lab and worked on uploading my photos from my camera to my phone so that I could edit them before putting them on my computer. By the time I had finished with all my photos it was climbing time. I grabbed my harness and got ready to climb up to the main topsail to furl the sail. This took a little over an hour since we had to loosen gaskets, swim the sail (reach, grab, and pull outboard), bust the sail, and then tighten all the gaskets again. Although it sounds like a lot it was SO fun. I love going aloft and seeing the boat from a different angle. By the time we were done with everything aloft it was time for our end of day mus...

I started the day off by relieving Josh as the DWS (duty watch stander) and I took the responsibility over the ship for the day. This was something I was very excited about and ready to do! It was my first time ever doing a solo watch and I had so much fun with it. Although I still am on watch until I get relieved tomorrow morning my day was filled with all of the fun watch person duties. I headed on deck to do a walk around of the ship and spent some time taking pictures with my camera. The weather was really good this morning so the lighting was great and I captured some good pics. After that I headed down to the tween deck to check in with Holly. She suddenly told me I would be learning how to drive our white boat which is roughly 15 ft and a center console. I headed to the floating docks with Luke where the white boat and rescue boat are tied up. I started her up, drove around OHP, and cruised for a little with Luke. Normally I’m used to driving small boats that have an outboard a...

This week I learned a lot! Working on boats there is always something to do and something to learn. During my first week I have already learned a lot more about different maintenance projects/tools and also how educational programs run on the boat! I have adapted a good familiarization with the inner workings of the boat and where things are located. This is a good skill that I have acquired because it will benefit me tomorrow when I have my solo watch day. From roughly 0815 till the next morning at 0815, the responsibility of OHP is in my hands. I will be setting the flags, doing the boat check, and engine room check by myself. This first week will definitely benefit me a lot tomorrow as I step into this role for the first time.  So far I’ve really enjoyed my project and working on the boat. This project is up my alley so I knew from the start that I would enjoy anything I’m asked to do! When it comes to living and working on boats I’m pretty open minded about trying new tasks si...

Today we stepped off the boat and had a fun day off! The day started with breakfast and some sunshine on deck! The weather has been very inconsistent here for the past few days so the morning sun felt amazing. After laying on deck I got ready for the day. We took off the top of James' Jeep and headed to our first destination! After a scenic drive we arrived at Cliff Walk which is exactly what it sounds like, a walk along a cliff. Throughout the walk we watched as the fog rolled in and looked at some green algae called sea lettuce, Ulva lactuca , and other varieties of red/brown algae. It was fun to have a little science lesson while on the walk! I also collected a lot of sea glass which was fun. As we explored different tide pools by the shore we also found trash and plastic in the water, some of which was out of reach. We grabbed as much trash as we could throughout the walk and disposed of it after we were done. Although my senior project is focused on living aboard the Oliver Ha...

  My day started with the realization that it was Friday! YAYA. I began the day by setting the flags with Holly since we were still on watch until our turn over. After breakfast and morning muster I jumped into some projects. First, I helped Lee, one of our amazing volunteers by cleaning and greasing all of the bomar hatches located on the tween deck. After working with her for a little bit and getting through our checklist I took off the tape that was on the nav shack from painting yesterday. This job was very satisfying to say the least. Today we also had a few Met interns come onto the boat so they also were helping out with maintenance projects. A little later we had an inspector come aboard to test all of our fire equipment and run our CO2 fire suppression system which was really cool to watch. I got to see all of the steps to testing this process and got to learn more about his job. After that we had lunch and I was extremely happy when I saw that Josh had picked up a bag of...

Today I woke up at around 0740 to get ready for the day and prepare to turn over for watch. At 0815 Holly and I relieved our second mate, Clint and deckhand James from their watch. After the turn over and our morning muster I was excited to hear that we would be climbing aloft today! We grabbed our 5 point harnesses and got ready to climb. The first part of the climb was going up the shrouds. We climbed up the shrouds until we got to the futtock which was the next set of shrouds tha t lead to the top on the foremast. Although this may sound scary it was very safe and fun (mom don’t worry:)). Once all six of us were up there we went out on the yard and busted the sail. This is when you pull the sail up and use the lines to tighten the sail against the yard to make it more secure. We did that on both sides of the yard and then made our way down. quick paint break to see a jelly that was floating by By the time we had finished aloft all the Met students had arrived for their 10-2 activiti...

Another day on the job! This morning I woke up, showered, and got out of my cabin to grab my mug for another one of Holly's amazing smoothies (I think it's gonna turn into an every morning breakfast necessity). After our crews morning muster I checked off all of the things I have to know on my Day one familiarization sheet which was really exciting! It’s crazy to think that I am already on day three of being aboard OHP and I know so much about the boat! By the time Holly and I finished going over my sheet three of our student interns had arrived who come aboard Wednesdays and Fridays from the MET School. Since they have been interning for a while they walked me through their boat check where we did things like check bilges and record information from the machinery in the engine room. They also showed me the steps for pumping out gray and black water which we did today. While the water was pumping out we went over how to use the climbing harnesses for when I get to go aloft to h...