Jonathan Gerard is looking forward to his summer break.
He's going to spend two weeks of it living, eating and working with two dozen strangers on a tiny wooden ship tossing about on the Atlantic Ocean. Oh, and he's paying for it, and there will be a test at the end.
Gerard, of Albany, is a student at Union College, majoring in American history and pre-med. He and 11 other Union students will spend Wednesday through June 24 on the Half Moon, a replica of the 1609 ship Henry Hudson used to explore the New World for the Dutch East India Company.
The students are the first participants in a new mini-term course involving the college and the New Netherlands Museum, which owns the Half Moon.
Union Professor Carol S. Weisse designed the course after she had a “life-changing” experience on the Half Moon two years ago. She served as a volunteer cook on the ship when it was used to film the movie “New World.”
“I felt it would be a wonderful program for Union College students to participate in,” Weisse said. The ship's 12-member crew will join the students, but the students, novices all, will have to help run the ship.
“They will have to learn how to sail, navigate, chart weather patterns and be involved in every kind of duty a sailor would have done 400 years ago,” Weisse said.
They will learn sailing firsthand, under the watchful eyes of the experienced crew and captain, Weisse said. “He's very safety conscious,” she said.
To earn their college credits, students will conduct labs, maintain a field journal and write a final paper, she said. Course work will combine history, environmental science, maritime medicine and geography.
They will study soil samples, area plants and wildlife and do water chemistry. They will read journals of 17 th century Half Moon sailors and compare those accounts with current conditions.
During their trip, the nine men and three women students, most 19 and 20, will live on the Half Moon with the sailors and with Weisse, Union Professor Robert Wells and Betsy Henry, a water chemistry professor.
The tiny wooden Half Moon, built to hold a crew of 20, lacks most modern conveniences, other than a bathroom and kitchen. Students will sleep on a deck floor, along with the anchor cable. They will climb masts and stand latenight watch, much as did 17 th century sailors.
“There are no showers, beds, cell phones or Internet,” Weisse said.
The Half Moon will set sail from Athens and travel to the three rivers that once defined the boundaries of New Netherland: the Hudson, Delaware and Connecticut. The ship will end its trip in Wilmington, Del.
Students had to write an essay to get on the ship, Weisse said. “We were looking for adventurous students,” she said.
Gerard said he jumped at the chance to sail on the ship.
“I'm an American history buff. When I first heard about the trip, I didn't know it was for credit. I thought it was a great opportunity. When I learned more, and found out it was for credit, I jumped at it. It's a chance to learn more about the roots of the country and how it was discovered,” he said.
He admits he's a bit intimidated by the trip and the idea of spending two weeks in close quarters with strangers. “But I know it will build relationships and I'm absolutely thrilled about this adventure,” Gerard said.
His only worry: “I hope I don't get seasick.”