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September 20
2010
Four Central Park Students Journey on
the Hudson
Voyage is filled with lessons, experiences
 Four
Central Park International Magnet School students took sail for
five days on the Half Moon, a full-scale replica of the Dutch
ship that Henry Hudson sailed in 1609. The students sailed the
same journey that Hudson did when he led a Dutch and English
crew into the unchartered river, traveling from what is now
known as the NY Harbor to Albany. The students did not by any
means just sit back and enjoy a ride up the Hudson. They were
responsible for running the ship which meant overnight work
shifts, detail-oriented tasks, learning an array of jobs and
logging their journey.
 Eighth
graders Jacob Chank, Lilly Herrmann, Cassie Semerad and Tahjha
Wright along with students from Albany and Taconic Hills set
sail on September 13 from King Marine in Verplanck, NY. From
the moment they set foot on deck, the students were put to
work. Cleaning the deck and finding spots to sleep was just the
beginning. Within 45 minutes, the students had been given a
work schedule, each with an array of important
responsibilities.
Some of the
responsibilities along the way included testing the water,
setting the sails, setting the course and journaling. That
meant, all of the students had to participate in on-the-job
training and learn quite a bit about celestial tracking, wind
speed, salinity, wildlife, line handling, sail handling, working
the rig, watching the anchor and more. Within a few hours, all
of the students had learned how to correctly belay and coil the
ship’s running lines.
“They are involved
in all aspects of running the ship,” said Dan Brudos, a third
grade teacher at Central Park International Magnet School who
was also aboard the ship. The students worked in six hour
shifts from 6 – 12 or 12 – 6 pm. Each also served night watch
for an hour overnight. “They learn how to set sails and run the
ship,” said Brudos. ”They also learn how to read maps and
charts, everything that has to do with sailing the ship. There
is a fair amount of math and geometry involved.”
 Math
isn’t the only lesson the students learned on the journey. The
young shipmates were also responsible for checking the water
conditions and looking for various items in the water. They
studied Hudson and learned the history of his original voyage.
“They read the first mates journal and how the Dutch
interacted,” said Brudos. They also had to forego showering for
four days since there is not a shower on board. Brudos said
this sometimes turns students off and away from taking the
adventure.
Each day, the crew posted entries and
provided an update on the progress of the journey. The logs are
available online:
http://www.halfmoonreplica.org/livinghistory.htm
Brudos said the
students learn many lessons in an array of areas like
environmental science and natural history, math, science,
English. “They study tides and the Hudson River tidal current,”
said Brudos. “They see Bald Eagles. They also practice writing
as they journal.”
Schenectady
students have an opportunity to participate in the annual
voyage. Brudos said students must apply for the trip.
A group is selected from the applications.
The
replica of the Henry Hudson was built in 1989 and has been
sailing the east coast ever since. The New Netherland Museum is
the non-profit, educational institution that owns and operates
the Half Moon
as a traveling museum.
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