Day 6: June 4

Pin Pravalprukskul writes:

This morning we met the team of Around the Americas, who are sailing around North and South America to raise awareness of issues affecting the oceans like ocean acidification, the melting of polar ice caps, and pollution, as well as to educate people about the exciting new marine research that's being done. They had just passed their first-year anniversary of the expedition, having left Seattle on May 31st last year. Zeta, their Shipboard Educator, gave us a tour of the boat (Ocean Watch), which is a cozy home and a research lab all in one. She also told us about the experiences they've shared on their expedition and described the kinds of data they've been collecting, including water quality data and jellyfish samples. They had journeyed through the Northwest Passage in the Arctic Ocean, which is considered a highly dangerous route because of the sea ice - but because of global warming the chances of navigating the Passage are now much higher. The crew have been docked in San Francisco for a couple of days to welcome anyone - schoolchildren, researchers, passersby - onto their ship to learn about their expedition. I'm definitely inspired to learn more about the oceans after hearing about the crew's mission and stories.

This is our intern group and Lorraine with Zeta and the Around the America boat:

In the evening, we boarded boats again - but this time for another purpose. The bi-weekly South Bay Yacht Club (SBYC) Friday Night Race was on tonight, and a couple of us had the chance to be on some of the race sailboats. Alex and I joined a crew that consisted of a family and some of their friends. We had left the harbor and were just getting ready to start the race when we saw three boats colliding right in front of us! There was some frenzied walkie-talkie communication and eventually we were told that the race was canceled for the night. We later found out that the Race Committee boat, Annabel, had sustained some damage from the collision. Jing had been helping out on the Committee boat, and she told us that the collision hadn't been too bad. Phew!

So instead of racing, the crew took us on a scenic tour of the Bay. We sailed towards the Golden Gate Bridge, passing several landmarks like Treasure Island, Angel Island, Alcatraz and Fisherman's Wharf (so many sea lions!). It was exciting to see them up-close in the sunset. We sailed right into the heavy fog until we couldn't see our surroundings and had to use radar to track our location. Several times we heard boat horns, but it was only a few minutes later that we could actually see the boats (thank goodness for radar!). I really enjoyed the rocking of the boat with the waves, though it did get pretty violent at times. I had never been on a sailboat before and it took while to figure out the boat terminology they were using, like 'jib' (the front sail) and 'tack' (turning the boat in the opposite direction). I'm already looking forward to the next race!