River Teeth Revisited

Dear BCSE Participants and Parents,

Several weeks ago,  Michael West, Elisabeth Dee and Jonah Moreland presented their individual experiences on BCSE to the Upper School student body during assembly.  With beautiful articulation and each in their own unique way, they captured moments of the BCSE journey and made them momentarily accessible to their peers.  They chose their most precious river teeth, dug them out of the loamy old growth forest soil, and held them up to the light for all to see. 

Please follow the links below to read their evocative, poetic and stirringly honest tribute to our shared experience.  You will not be disappointed.  I have also included a link to the pre-assembly slideshow, with never-seen-before images by Mr. Harris.

Michael West's Talk

Elisabeth Dee's Talk

Jonah Moreland's Talk 

Pre-Assembly Slideshow

As you know, we are offering the Inside Passage Sailing Adventure in Summer 2011.  It bears mentioning that this trip was inspired by your conversation in Octopus Cove, where you asked a very simple and profound question - why don't we keep going?  Well, this coming summer, we are going to do just that - keep going, for six weeks, along one of the most remote, wild and stunningly beautiful coastlines left in the world.  I hope you will be able to join us on this epic journey that you had the vision and courage to suggest.

Thank you for the memories forged in shared adventure.  Thank you for the inspiration for future adventure.  Thank you for the river teeth.

Commodore Cole

Final Swim Call

Dear BCSE Participants,

It is not clear to me how best to articulate the way you have impacted me over the past two weeks.  Your generosity of spirit, respect for each other, easy laughter, selfless spirit, vulnerability, willingness to share your thoughts openly and unencumbered spirit of adventure and fun have left me deeply moved.  Thank you.

I trust that you have had the chance to rest, reflect and start to share our journey with your loved ones.  Perhaps, like me, your dreams have been filled with a stream of consciousness that includes sun-baked faces backed by steep green mountainsides and emerald waters.  Or perhaps you have found laughter and sentiment in the photographs, journal entries and salt-stained clothing that became our traveling companions.

I spoke with Profe this morning.  She sends her love and finds herself missing your encouragement, conversation and ever-presence.  Likewise, I find myself cracking a huge, ridiculous-looking smile whenever I catch sight of our burgee, don my swimtrunks and flippy-floppies, or hear Kesha (which never happens, of course... ;).

I have put together a gallery of my photographs.  You can view it here:

BCSE 2010 Featured Gallery

You may also be interested in checking-out the following Cruise Track map which includes our daily anchorages, rhumb lines, and many of your photographs.  Check back from time to time as I will continue to update it in the coming week.

BCSE Cruise Track Google Map

As you embrace summer, with all of its craziness, I encourage you to recall the stillness of Blind Bay, the grandeur of Toba Inlet, the haunting loon calls in Octopus Cove, the magic of a bioluminescent breast stroke, and the simplicity of life under sail.  Remember the self-confidence and courage you discovered, whether jumping into cold, deep, dark salt water, living in tight spaces for two weeks, or beating into the wind with a 30 degree heel angle.  Above all else, recall with fondness your new extended family and shed its light on those around you.

With great love and beam winds,

Captain Cole

Solemn Tranquility - Michael West

The following poem is shared with Michael's permission.

Solemn Tranquility

Listen. Listen.  Can you hear
the wind, rushing through those trees there?
Doesn't it just calm your soul?
And beckon you to come on home.
But I cannot, my heart is tied
down to what time's made mine:

To the mountains, to the heat,
forever my joy to repeat.

But if I were to let it go,
and you inside my breast to grow,
I would discover hidden delight,
one that comes at evening's last light.
So I drink in what I can for now
and soak in the sunlight under your boughs.
I think, I ponder, I hope, I pray.
The future, the moment, of yesterday.

What shall happen when that time comes
when I must return to where I've come from?

I shall remember thy sweet breeze
that created serene melody.
And wish for time for my return
Until I come again, to learn.

Michael West

Looking for River Teeth

At a late night Wednesday meeting on a sandy beach in B.C.’s Gulf Islands, we asked everyone for an observation or a vivid memory from the trip thus far. The responses were moving and often rather extended. Following are one scribe’s attempts at meaningful excerpts….

Jenny: First everyone did their own job – now everyone pitches in like a family.

Luke: In such close quarters for such a long time our “friend face” breaks down and we behave toward each other more like a family.

Sam: Sailing for the first time as a team with little supervision, showing Mrs. Powers what we could do.

Hope: Sailing itself – that the focus is a lot on the journey and not just the destination.

Becca: Lots of things – learning to laugh at ourselves – taking control of the boat as a team – being excited about something, as a group.

Lauren: Everyday there’s something new that I learn about myself, or a question I discover that I never knew I had. More than anything I think this is about learning how to work as a group while learning about yourself.

Kristen: Waking up before everyone else because it gets bright so early – the prettiest and calmest part of the day. Knowing that anything could happen that day.

Mr. Cole: Sharing my sense of place with you – the emotions that that brings up. The significance of this place to me and of being able to show it to you.

Michael: Falling in love with the sailing experience – the excitement of it. At the same time learning to slow down and reflect during our down time – having this time away from the rush of the everyday.

Rod: Sitting together at the end of the day and talking about the great events and the bad events. Laughing about all of them and knowing we’ll remember them in a year and still laugh.

Mr. Harris: Witnessing the family feel of the group and getting to feel welcomed into it.

Elisabeth: Learning to trust everyone – being able to put faith in their ability to take care of captaining a boat.

Spencer: Seeing Mr. Cole be so calm in stressful situations.

Adam: Seeing a different side of our teachers – outside of school – and existing as a family.

Grant: The laughter, the singing, and the dancing.

Ms. Pratt (Profe): Seeing my friend Mr. Cole as a teacher for the first time – and getting to know each of you.

Mrs. Powers: Everyone sharing their knowledge with me – and being in this place – the sights and the smells.

Mr. Patteson: The intense curiosity that everyone in this group has – kids and adults – the desire to learn more, to experience more, to soak it all in. Nobody here thinks they are too cool to get excited about moon jellies.

Blog entry #2

On the eve of the end of our first week away, we met to bid a fond

farewell and thanks to Dr. M. and Ms. Fagan. We also paused to
reflect on some of

the memorable experiences that have defined this exciting, challenging, and

wonderful week.

Spencer - Being able to get the boat up to full speed (9 knots!)

without the engine running.

Rod - Being able to row out with the dinghy and take

pictures of the spinnakers flying.

Luke - Collecting giant pieces of wood for the fire,

even though it never happened.

Sam - Learning how to set a good stern line through

many trials and many errors.

Jonah - Paddling along the shore in a kayak and seeing

kingfishers, and being amazed that this was saltwater and not a lake.

Jenny -

Swimming with Lauren on our backs in the freshwater lake, looking up
and seeing a

rainbow and glaciated peaks.

Dr. Malatesta - Seeing students discover how to love

upwind sailing and other difficult things - embracing the hardships.

Kristen - Learning

to love the morning jump into very cold saltwater.

Lauren - Laughing and laughing, at

the hard things and the fun things.

Adam - Losing a shoe overboard and then 3

minutes later falling into the sail locker.

Mr. Cole - Seeing the boats come together at

the end of the sailing day, seeing the energy that the tired students
suddenly have as

they call back and forth, telling each other about the experiences of the day.

Becca -

Getting to know people in a different way, in a different setting.

Hope - Licking a

banana slug!

Grant - Spending time with people I know in an environment that is new

to all of us - the little chats at night and sharing our experiences.

Elisabeth - Rowing

around in the dinghy waiting to anchor, feeling disbelief that the
water was so calm

and this place so beautiful.

Michael - Surfing down 4-5 foot seas on a beam reach and

a following current, and laughing as I thought about Mr. Cole trying
to use the head

downstairs.

Ms. Fagan - Choosing to do things that are hard or scary, and working on

becoming the person I want to be.

Ms. Pratt (Profe) - Seeing everyone grow in their

skills, and feeling supported by everyone on the boat.

Mr. Patteson - Thinking about

the nervous students in last week's class and the increasingly
confident sailors on the

boat today.

Safe, sound and charmed in the Sound