Dartmouth students participating in the University of Pittsburgh's Semester at Sea program are hoping for smooth sailing during the rest of their term after the 591-foot Explorer ship, which serves as a floating campus for 650 students, recently weathered storm conditions a program representative described as "epic."
Dartmouth juniors Meredith Lunn and David Ofer were on board and are finally continuing with the program following the Explorer's unexpected repair stop in Honolulu.
The ship, which left from Vancouver, Canada, on Jan. 18, encountered heavy rains and waves as high as 55 feet, according to Paul Wilson, a spokesperson for the program.
"It was a bit scary," Lunn said, recalling her fourth-story window plunging into the water. "We had just gotten used to the rocking of the boat. That night, around 2 a.m., we were just like, 'Okay, this is normal.' Then the beds started sliding, and our dressers moved. I got slammed into a wall on one of the big waves."
Classes continued throughout most of the turbulent weather, with students sitting on the floors of classrooms to avoid injury from loose furniture or falling televisions. Classes were cancelled Jan. 26, and students stayed in public spaces. At one point, program officials had students don life vests and separated them by gender.
"It was just an action in preparation of emergency procedures," Watson said. "Women and children first."
While Lunn escaped with only a "honker of a bruise," she estimated that 40 students received stitches for their injuries. One member of the crew was reportedly treated for a broken arm, and another for a broken leg.
The bulk of the ship's damage occurred when a wave broke an upper-level window and flooded the ship's bridge, the nerve center which contained the ship's new electronic navigation systems and controls for the ship's engines. This led to incorrect reports that the ship's engines had been damaged.
"The engines weren't damaged, but their control systems on the bridge were, and we had to switch to manual control," said Watson, adding that divers examined the ship's hull integrity when it arrived in Honolulu on Jan. 28.
"Structurally, the ship is seaworthy and stable," Watson added.
Lunn agreed, but also said that some damage, such as much of the broken furniture and holes in the internal walls of the ship, was downplayed by Semester at Sea officials.
"There's a big dent on the front of the boat that they're trying to keep hush-hush," Lunn said. "A bunch of people were taking pictures of it, and now there's a guy standing on the front screaming 'No pictures!'"
"It's the nature of ships at sea," Watson said. "But this could well be the [program's] worst [weather], based on what the students experienced and the damaged caused."
The weather has been blamed on a common low-pressure system that moves out of China known as the "Shanghai Lows."
Although the detour has forced the program to drop Korea and Japan from its itinerary, flights beginning Feb 10. will take the students to Shanghai. From the Chinese metropolis, students will fly commercial airlines to continue with their original schedule and then return to the repaired ship at a later date.
While Lunn was interested in seeing Japan on this trip, she says she understands the unpredictable nature of living at sea.
"It's a disappointment, but we're going to make the best of the situation," Lunn said.
