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September 12th, 2009 – St. John’s, Newfoundland
by Zeta Strickland
(Sept. 12): Today’s log comes from onboard educator Zeta Strickland, who arrived in St. John’s ahead of Ocean Watch to help arrange our Newfoundland visit. Take it away, Zeta:
What a difference a couple of weeks make! Ocean Watch arrived in St John’s on Friday morning and tied up to their pier right in the heart of downtown. It is now Saturday afternoon and I am sitting in the pilothouse typing on my computer. Well, to be honest, I am trying to stay focused on my typing, but the challenges abound. These, however, are challenges of the most enjoyable and welcome kind; the types of challenges that continually remind how wonderful it is to be in this city and on this boat.
The first challenge is the view. Directly behind me on the pier is a beautiful private yacht and tour boats offering rides to see icebergs and whales. In front of me I have an impressive view of Signal Hill, an historic site that was the reception point for the first transatlantic wireless signal by Guglielmo Marconi in 1901. Over a century after that first wireless signal, I too am wireless, checking my email from the boat, thanks to the public wi-fi. Signal Hill is indeed a hill, the tallest one I can see, and with its location directly next to the harbor entrance it played a significant role in harbor defences for St. John’s from the 18th century to the Second World War. The hillsides are lined with row houses all painted in bright, jelly-bean, colors and neat white trim. And there are trees: beautiful green, tall trees.
(Did I mention it’s sunny, calm, and a glorious 58 degrees? I understand this may not strike you as incredibly warm, but it feels like it’s 75. The crew are all wearing shorts for the first time 2.5 months. Hats are off, feet are bare. Does it get better than this? Yes, it does.)
To my left is the public pier, and just a block away is a stunning variety of shops, restaurants and pubs. The mile-long sidewalk along the pier is a favored walking path by families, sailors and business people on their way to and from work. Which brings me to my second and wonderful challenge of staying focused: the people. In addition to being a beautiful city, St John’s is also incredible friendly. Since our arrival we’ve had a variety of people stop by to welcome us to St John’s and Newfoundland. Everyone is friendly, curious, and eager to tell us about the town and ask us about our travels. It’s a good town, a good location and very good people. All “capital G” Good.
Tomorrow we open our doors (and our boat) to the people of St John’s, with the “official” port call activities of our visit. Our open house (open boat?) will include tours of the boat by the crew. Scientist Harry Stern will show how technology and ice charts helped our travels through the passage, as well as explaining the other science taking place on board. Our education tent that describes the project will be up next to the boat, and we’ll be leading activities for all ages including building an arctic food web and exploring how ocean acidification is impacting sea creatures.
(I can also hear bagpipes playing somewhere behind me.)
If today’s traffic is any indication we will have a steady stream of people coming by tomorrow. Our location is perfect for the open house, and this location is thanks to our hosts in St John’s, the Fisheries and Marine Institute of Memorial University. This Institute provides education and training to many industries and has many industry partners. These partnerships have been evident as they have worked with the harbor to secure our (perfect) docking location (thank you Captain Parsons!) and spread the word about our visit to local media, industry, public and educational groups. Word is out and our visitors tell us they saw us on the news, heard Mark on the CBC radio, and read about us in the local paper. Their own website even has us featured prominently on their main page. In addition to arranging the details of our open house, they have also set up a public lecture pairing our presentation with one by Dr. George Rose, professor of Fisheries Conservation at the institute.
The individuals at the institute are also assisting with the behind the scenes logistics, including off-boat accommodations and transportation. Their hospitality is amazing and appreciated, and guarantees this crew will leave St John’s well rested, well fed, showered and with clean laundry.
If we leave at all.
- Zeta Strickland with photographs by David Thoreson
This crew log submitted by Iridium OpenPort and Stratos
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