Setting Sail

Junior Jane Sarno knew she wanted to spend a semester off campus, but she didn’t want to go the traditional route of studying in a romantic country. Instead, she wanted to navigate the ocean — literally.

On Nov. 25, Sarno set sail on a 3,000 nautical mile, six-week voyage from St. Croix Island, with possible port calls in Montserrat, Dominican Republic and Jamaica to a final destination of Key West, Fla., as part of the SEA Semester, a study abroad program through Sea Education Association in Woods Hole on Cape Cod.

“I have always loved sailing and the ocean and I came across this program through the Semester Away Program,” she says. She researched the program, under the auspices of Holy Cross’ Center for Interdisciplinary and Special Studies, and “knew it was something right up my alley.”

Sarno, a sociology major with a concentration in environmental studies, is joined with 17 students from other leading liberal arts colleges, including Bowdoin, Colby, Middlebury and Smith. They’re sailing in the school’s 134-foot tall brigantine vessel, the Corwith Cramer, one of the most sophisticated research equipped vessels under sail in the United States.

The Sea Semester Program consists of 12 weeks of study (eight weeks for the summer session) divided between a six-week shore component at Woods Hole and a six-week sea component in the Atlantic, Atlantic/Caribbean, or Pacific. Sarno, of Boston, selected the “Documenting Changes in the Caribbean” program, which began in early October.

During the shore component, Sarno developed a research project that will be tested and completed aboard the Cramer. In the next few weeks, she will be researching the zooplankton biomass and productivity levels around the Caribbean, especially around Montserrat. She will also be testing the waters to see if the distribution of zooplankton correlates to the varying nutrient levels of chlorophyll and iron.

“The shore component was amazing,” says Sarno, days before setting sail. “It was one of the best experiences of my life and we have not even left for sea yet. In Woods Hole, my classmates and I took three classes: maritime history and culture of the Caribbean, oceanography I, and marine environmental history. We have learned so much about the islands we will be visiting, done multiple research projects about environmental issues in the area, and we have learned the history of how sailors used to navigate the seas.”

Sarno, a self-described lifelong sailor who spends her summers at Martha’s Vineyard, is excited about providing weather observations to a national database; learning to chart the course of the vessel using pilot charts, nautical maps and celestial navigation; and serving as the Junior Watch Officer, taking full command of the vessel during a watch.

Besides studying oceanography and maritime studies, another benefit of the program is the augmentation of team-building skills.

“There’s an intellectual growth that occurs,” says Gary DeAngelis, associate director of the Center for Interdisciplinary and Special Studies, who worked with Sarno during her applications process. “The biggest thing that I notice when students come back is how much maturing has taken place because of their involvement in the program.”

Sarno agrees.

“The shore component was much more amazing than I thought it was going to be. It wasn’t just classes; it was a total community-building experience. The people in class are more than just crewmates to me now, have formed a bond that is absolutely unreal. We have become so close that we know how our group dynamic will be on the ship. It is our sense of community that we formed at Woods Hole that will get us through all the toils at sea.”

Related information:

# Listen to periodic podcasts of the trip on the SEA Semester Program Web site # Sea Semester at Woods Hole