2022: Semester by the Sea, MAR 355 - Coastal Cultural Experience

Huntting Family History by Molly Fowler “The harbour of Sagg” emerged as a coastal port around the mid-18th century, establishing a trade route between Sag Harbor and the West Indies which would give the colonial community a cosmopolitan feel - much unlike other communities in the area. Instances of whaling ships commuting from Sag Harbor have been recorded as early as the 1760’s, cementing the process of whaling as a lifeline for the community. However, it wasn’t until Col. Benjamin Huntting I took a leading role in establishing the local whaling community that the industry flourished. In the wake of the American Revolution, Huntting and his business partner Stephen Howell sent two ships to travel off the coast of Brazil in 1784 using the Atlantic trade winds as a guide to lead them to the whaling grounds. By making use of try pots, which were designed with flat sides to conserve space on an already crowded ship, blubber collected from whales could be stripped, put in the pots, and ma

Conscience Point Shellfish by James Stegmann On our latest adventure this week, the class visited Conscience Point Shellfish hatchery and explored parts of the Peconic Bay by kayak. Shown above is the logo for the Conscience Point Shellfish hatchery. It depicts the facility they work out of along with an oyster. The hatchery is conveniently located right on the shoreline of the North Sea Harbor on a body of water known as Conscience Point. The class was taught about all the different life cycles of all of the different organisms they hatch at their facility. The organism they choose is most beneficial to the environment and what they have focused most of their manpower on is the oyster. However, Conscience Point Shellfish also grows clams, bay scallops, and even the algae to feed the juvenile bivalves along with the oyster. Conscience Point Shellfish’s mission is to help reduce the lethality of harmful algal blooms in local waters by increasing the number of algae-filtering organisms.

Riverhead by Riley Smith We went to the NY Marine Rescue Center in Riverhead’s Long Island Aquarium. I grew up on Long Island, so I had gone to the aquarium many times already, but I had not had a background tour of the rescue center where they rehabilitate marine mammals.   We got to see where they work with seals and sea turtles that were rescued for rehabilitation and will hopefully be released back into the waters. Their rescue is seasonal, where normally turtles are rescued in November to December due to cold stunning or hyperthermia, and seals during January. They typically work with 4 different species of sea turtles since those are in the Long Island area: Atlantic Green, Loggerhead, Leatherback and Kemp’s Ridley. The different species can be easily distinguished, and they are all susceptible to boat strikes, cold stunning, hunting, ingesting debris, etc.   A sea turtle's typical rehabilitation process can last 8 months. They want to take blood samples as soon as possible a

Double Meaning Decor by Abbie Belknap Houses can usually be viewed as a reflection of the people who live inside. We decorate our houses in our own personal styles, but did you know you can tell a lot more about the family from just the decor? The Southampton History Museum provides a beautiful example of this. In the late 1800’s, decorating your house was less about what you liked and more about how you could express your wealth to others. In a closet somewhere boxed away is my mom's expensive wedding china. Probably never to be used except on very, very important occasions (I still have never used it). However, in the Rogers Mansion, china like this was used for everyday meals. Using such china for every meal shows a general lack of caution about potential chips or breakages. Knowing that if anything happens to break, it's not a big deal and could easily be replaced indicates an immense amount of wealth. Not just any family can afford to replace such expensive china. This pi