Caroline Bowman with her classmates. In the background is the 134 foot Sailing School Vessel "Corwith Cramer".
Adventures in Cuba and the Caribbean
“How many people can say a pod of dolphins brought our sailboat into Cuba?” Caroline Bowman, a Stockton University sophomore from Ocean City, posed the question on her blog from a unique study abroad semester which took her to diverse Caribbean islands to study sustainability issues. Obviously, the answer is “not many at all!” Caroline, the daughter of Jennifer and Charlie Bowman and sister of 13-year-old Katie and 10-year-old Kelsea, is currently conducting field research, learning about centuries of Caribbean history, charting weather conditions, conducting “snorkeling based” coral reef surveys and much more—all from the “classroom” of the 134-ft tall sailing ship Corwith Cramer. The historic vessel is visiting St. John, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and Jamaica in addition to Cuba and other stops, all in the name of education and research. “Today was eventful,” one of her teachers blogged of the once-in-a-lifetime educational experience, “but we are learning that that is nothing unusual.” It’s all part of Caroline’s semester studying with the Sea Education Association’s “Colonization to Conservation in the Caribbean” program. The dean’s list student and Stockton varsity sweeper on the field hockey team was one of approximately 25 young people from diverse U.S. colleges and universities chosen to participate.
The program is held in conjunction with Boston University. Caroline spent the first six weeks on shore in Massachusetts studying oceanography, nautical science and marine studies, just to name three areas of a diverse curriculum. Upon her successful completion, she embarked on the “sea” portion in St. John.
“I am so proud she is following her dream,” Jennifer said of her daughter, a fourth-generation Ocean City native and a Marine Science major at Stockton. “She is a surfer, kite-rider and loves being on the water,” her mom said. “She didn’t want to go too far from home to college, which is why Stockton was such a good choice for her. However, this experience is making her more confident in her abilities and is giving her a unique perspective. In 45 years of the program this is the first time the ship was allowed to go into Cuba. She might be the first person from Ocean City to go to Cuba (since President Obama and the Cuban government relaxed travel restrictions.)”
“We learned very little about Cuba (in traditional history classes). We are the only Americans here making a truly unique experience,” Caroline blogged. When she arrived at Santiago de Cuba, she thought of the island nation as being a bit mysterious and foreboding, but that soon changed.
“Everywhere we went the people were saying ‘We love Americans! We love Obama!’ The turn in my perspective regarding the people of Cuba was a turn for the better,” she wrote.
Another unique moment came when they met an artist and celestial navigation teacher from Canada who rented a home and whose artwork was influenced by storms, fire and weather systems. The artist was excited to learn the young people with whom he was interacting were sailors.
Caroline can definitely claim that designation as a result of her time on the tall ship. Each student takes a shift on watch with chores such as cooking and cleaning, lifting the sails and watching the anchor among other duties. Each student also takes a turn as Junior Watch Officer and taking full command of the vessel during a shift.
Readers wanting to follow the progress of the voyage can go to the website www.sea.edu and click on “Corwith Cramer.”
In the meantime, Caroline is enjoying her remaining time studying from her sailing ship “classroom.” But she said she loves and misses her friends and family and is looking forward to a return to Ocean City.
“I can’t wait to tell everyone about (her adventures)” she blogged.
