Goodbye Post- Coulter Bailey

Well, this class was certainly interesting and an eye-opening experience. It was great to go fishing, explore the Boston Harbor Islands, and learn about different marine life. I definitely wouldn't have had as much fun if it weren't for the other students, and it certainly made it an awesome time.

It's sad that it's over, but it was still a great experience, and not something I will forget! I'm sure I'll spend more time on the waterfront, and when I do I'll think about this class and especially Karissa, Berit, Steve, and Stevie!

No Whale Watching Today! Aquarium Instead - Coulter Bailey

Due to the rough seas today, the Aquarium Whale Watching was cancelled, and it was unlikely any of the later tours were going either. Since we were already down there though, we decided to go to Boston's Aquarium! We saw a lot of fish, some African Penguins, and sting rays! We definitely made the most of today, and it was still fun to see the fish, even if they weren't big whales out in the ocean.

Public Hearing for the Waterfront- Coulter Bailey

Today, we took a trip down to Boston's waterfront, and sat in on the Downtown Waterfront Municipal Harbor Planning Advisory Committee that was looking at the Boston Marriott Long Wharf's expansion plan.

The agenda was:

• Planning Area Property Owner Presentations:
• Boston Marriott Long Wharf- Yanni Tsipis, Senior Vice President, Colliers International
• Long Wharf- Dick Mulligan, Senior Project Manager, BRA/EDIC
• 255 State Street- David Lucey, Head of U.S. Operations, Pembroke Real Estate
• New England Aquarium- Bud Ris, President, New England Aquarium
• Submission of Downtown Waterfront MHP Request for Notice to Proceed
• MHPAC Questions and Comments
• Public Questions and Comments

The hearing overall seemed to be very successful, and Yanni Tsipis spoke about how the Boston Marriott Long Wharf planned to change how the building looks itself, and how they plan to change the area surrounding the hotel to make it more pleasing to anyone visiting the waterfront. Yanni spoke regarding how the plan was to make the waterfront more appealing surrounding the hotel by putting in more chairs, benches, and planting more trees and grass.

When the meeting was opened up to questions from the Advisory Committee, several people had issue with how this was exactly going to be done, how it would affect the surrounding area, and how long it would all take. Yanni did a fantastic job answering these questions, and genuinely took the time to listen and respond to his audience.

This public hearing showed that the Marriott Long Wharf cares about its surrounding community, and wants to know what they think about the Marriott's plans to expand. It was a very interesting meeting, and brought the people together to gain insight into a project that will affect many.

Fishing, Swimming, and Dissecting- Coulter Bailey

Day four of our Snails to Whales class had us starting up earlier than previous days (8 am) to board the legendary Belle boat. This fishing vessel, captained by Charlie, took our class out from the docks by the Barking Crab Restaurant, and led us to Lovells Island. On the way, we stopped to do some fishing. Most of us, including myself, caught Black Sea Bass, which were relatively small, but still put up a fight to get into the boat. These fish actually start off as females, and turn into males, which is quite interesting, and not something I would think happens in fish.

My Big Catch!

In addition to the Black Sea Bass, we also caught Flounder, and a large Striped Bass. The Bass was difficult to reel in, and put up a big fight, but we were eventually victorious in getting it on the boat. We killed the fish, and put it in the cooler waiting to dissect it later in the day.

After catching our Striped Bass, we continued onto Lovells Island, where we spent time walking around and swimming in tide pools. We managed to find similar marine life to what we found by the Barking Crab including different types of crabs. The crabs included invasive Asian shore crabs, as well as green crabs, and hermit crabs. We also found Common Periwinkles, and Rough Periwinkles attached to many rocks in the tide pools. Along the shore, and in the water there was rock weed with large poppers and Northern Rock Barnacles. There were also Orange Sheath Tunicates, and while there used to be more, they have depleted because they smack into rocks and fall off other rocks during storms. This does not happen as much in the harbor, which is part of why the Orange Sheath Tunicates are so popular on the docks.

After spending time in the water, we made our well back to the Belle where we would dissect, and clean the Striped Bass on the way back to port. Starting out, Captain Charlie cleaned out the fish's insides, and showed us the different parts of the fish's anatomy. We took a look at the bass's stomach contents, and concluded that it had eaten shrimp, and other small sea animals. It was quite a treat to see the dissection before us, and watch how to clean a fish. Some also ate some of Bruce's home made Ceviche, but I was not adventurous to try it. Regardless, it was a great experience, and a great time on the water! It was a great way to spend a Monday, as we got to fish and swim, and learn about some things I have never seen before.

The Big Catch!

After the Dissection

Exploring the Docks of Boston Harbor- Coulter Bailey

Today in Snails to Whales, our class walked around different parts of Boston Harbor starting at the Marriott Long Wharf, and ended up at the Barking Crab Restaurant. As an introduction to the day, we began by looking at the harbor next to the Marriott Long Wharf to get a feel for what lives on the rocks, on the shore, and in the water. Looking at the rocks, we saw green seaweed, or rock weed, that actually attaches itself and lives on the rocks. There was also red seaweed, but we only saw it in the water, and there wasn't as much as the green seaweed. We were also treated to nature at its finest, as we saw a seagull attacking and eating a crab.

Photo Credit: StevieMarie LaMonica

After seeing this primal event, we continued on down along the water stopping to look at more marine life. One thing we learned about seaweed was that seaweed that receives more sunlight but less water, becomes much brighter, and healthier than seaweed that is more in the shade, and more in the water.

We also spotted a family of mallards shedding their winter insulation feathers, and preparing themselves for summer.

Photo Credit: SteveMarie LaMonica

Shortly after seeing the mallards, we met a boy and his mom who were throwing bread in the water to attract striped bass. Deciding to do the experiment ourselves, we moved down the dock and actually managed to have several striped bass come up to the surface. It was definitely a cool site to see striped bass coming out of the water surrounded by the dock and large boats to eat some stale bread.

After these stops, we wound up on the docks by the Barking Crab where we broke into groups, and looked at marine life more closely. Here, we laid down on the dock looking into the water and seeing what was growing on the pillars and floating dock at the waterline. Able to take pictures, and make notes, we found several interesting species living below the surface. Some of the water life included blue mussels that had seaweed, Golden Star Tunicate, as well as Orange Sheath Tunicates growing off of the blue mussels. We also saw many barnacles, which seemed to be Northern Rock Barnacles that were growing mostly on the pillars themselves. It was cool to see the barnacles up so close, and see how they attach to the pillars.

Northern Rock Barnacles

The blue mussels were very interesting, as they had many living organisms living on them. Some of these included the Golden Star Tunicates and Orange Sheath Tunicates, as well as the Red-eyed Amphipod, which look like tiny shrimp crawling around the mussels. Unfortunately, they died shortly after being out of the water, but it was cool to see how they were attached to the blue mussels living off the nutrients.

Outside of Blue Mussel

Inside of Blue Mussel

Another picture of the blue mussel that looks like a fish's head!

Outside of Blue Mussel

The orange stuff that is on the outside of the blue mussel in this picture is the Orange Sheath Tunicate, which grows in colonies, and usually lives off different organisms.

This day marked the beginning of the scientific portion of the class, as we investigated organisms much more closely, made observations on what we saw, and took phenomenal pictures of anything that interested us.

First Day on the Water- Coulter Bailey

Today in Snails to Whales, we took our first trip out on Boston Harbor. It was great to be able to see Boston's skyline from the water, as it is makes one appreciate the city in a much different way. Shortly after we boarded the ferry and began to leave the harbor, we saw a Fire Department boat doing its water exercises, which was an awe inspiring site. After this rare spectacle we continued on passing Fort Independence, which was crucial in protecting Boston from the sea. The fort has been rebuilt several times, and currently is preserved as a state park.

On the other side of Boston Harbor is Deer Island, which is Boston's Wastewater Treatment Plant. Deer Island is a state of the art facility that handles all of Boston's waste, and breaks the sewage down so well that it can even be safely consumed. With Deer Island being part of Winthrop, the town reserves the rights to paint the plant whichever color it wishes, and employs its own residents to do the job. This is a continuing production, as there is always some part of the facility that needs to be repainted.

Past Deer Island is Thompson Island, which is home to Outward Bound's Education Center teaching students in environmental education, as well as peer leadership. Adjacent to Thompson Island is Spectacle Island, which actually looks like a pair of glasses on their side. These help make up Boston Harbor's thirty islands that all are fantastic for anyone to visit.

The first stop on the ferry was Georges Island, and while we did not get off the ferry, we did have a chance to look at the island. It also used to be a military fort named Fort Warren, and even has a ghost called the "Lady in Black" who was a wife of a Confederate soldier imprisoned at the fort.

After Georges Island, the ferry continued on past Peddocks Island, which is one long island, but may be separated due to erosion possibly next year. Across from Peddocks Island is Houghs Neck, which is home to public government subsidized housing. While government housing is great, it is not the best location as it is far away from Boston, schools, grocery stores, and any public transportation.

The ferry's next location was the Quincy Fore River Shipyard, and the stop is directly across from a decommissioned World War II naval cruiser named the SS Salem. It is obviously a very old ship, but it was great to be so close to such a large, historic ship.

Overall, the trip was great! We saw some incredible islands that make up Boston Harbor, and it was very interesting to learn about the history of each one, and how they have evolved over time to be a part of one of the cleanest harbors in the United States.

First Class- Coulter Bailey

My name is Coulter Bailey, and I have lived in Greenwich, CT my whole life. I transferred to BU from Denison University in Ohio, and have enjoyed it ever since. I'm in Metropolitan College, and really like that I can work and go to school at the same time allowing me to be very busy, and have a full schedule.

I have been going to Nantucket my whole life, and I love the ocean. I enjoy fishing, swimming, and everything there is to do on the water. I did an Outward Bound program where I kayaked through the Puget Sound for a week, and it was an unbelievable experience. I saw some awesome marine life, and look to see more in this class.

When I first heard about this class, I thought it would be very interesting, and fun to take. I mean going on the water for 6 days and learning about the ocean? Sounds perfect to me. Also, I need to fulfill a Science requirement and this seemed like a great way to do it.

Today in the bathroom, my group did a water experiment to determine whether water drains in a sink clockwise or counterclockwise. We did the experiment twice, and had very similar results. The first time, we plugged the sink, filled it up, and watched the water drain. We all agreed we saw the water drain clockwise. We did the experiment exactly the same way one more time, and agreed we saw the same thing: the water draining clockwise.

After doing research, I have determined that it depends on how the water was introduced into the drain so it can flow either clockwise or counterclockwise no matter what hemisphere the drain is in. The Coriolis Effect, which is "the observed curved path of moving objects relative to the surface of the Earth," (http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/coriolis.html) does not affect small bodies of water like sinks or toilets. But, the Coriolis Effect does affect such things as hurricanes because they are much larger, and move counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere, and clockwise in the southern hemisphere. This is also because of the Earth's rotation.

So, in conclusion, the water's flow is determined by the drains themselves, and not the Coriolis Effect, as a drain or toilet is too small to be affected by the Coriolis Effect.


http://www.snopes.com/science/coriolis.asp

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=can-somebody-finally-sett